Not every change in life is smooth sailing; and the transition from college to the professional life happens to be one of the most challenging and stressful one. Knowing how best to handle it will therefore relieve you of much pain that most graduates undergo as they try to reconfigure their brains to shift from the student operating system to a professional mode. The transition should not be a tough one though if you set your priorities right and manage your expectations well.
Some of the high ranking issues you need to get alignment with as you transition from being a student to being a full time corporate professional include the following:
- Budgeting and personal finance management
Coming from a scenario where you were used to meager college budgets and getting to the corporate huge monthly paycheck can be both confusing and deluding for entry level professionals fresh from college. What appears to be a huge sum of money at first might lead you to extravagant spending which will eventually leave you penniless towards the end of the month. In worst cases, you might end up sinking into debt as you always rely on your end month paycheck to clear the accumulated credit debts over the month. If not monitored, this excessive expenditure might lock you into a debt trap such that you get enslaved to your job in order to keep repaying your recurring monthly debts.
To avoid such a scenario you will need to create monthly budgets and stick by them; while saving or investing the extra income earned. Opening a fixed deposit account where you can be regularly deposit your extra income on a monthly basis will help you keep the money out of reach and only withdraw it when necessary. Other ways you could make use of your extra income is by accumulating it until it is enough to invest in treasury bills or mutual funds that guarantee you higher rates of returns above prevailing inflation rates. You may also choose to engage in online trading in order to grow your savings. In this case you may need to work with a trusted online trading platform – for instance, in the case of Binary Options you should make sure you only work with known, regulated binary options brokers.  Bottom line is; as much as you can always ensure you are saving and investing your savings in order to start your own path to financial freedom.
- Time management
In you college days, you could miss out on a class and the lecturer would not necessarily have an issue with that. Another poor habit common among most college students is lateness in attending lectures or in submitting assignments. While these could be overlooked by the lecturers and other administrative staff in your college, the corporate world offers you a different response to these poor habits. If you find a good boss you will be given a notice first hen the weakness is identified and the second time you will receive a firing letter.
In the corporate world, systems are dynamic and everyone is always on the move in order to meet set deadlines and targets; you do not want to be the one holding your team back. Understanding your job description is very important as an entry level professional. However, your responsibility goes beyond mere understanding what you are supposed to do to actually delivering on your assignments and doing that on time. Setting realistic deadlines for specific work streams and ensuring you are aligned with your boss on the specific deliverable and when they are due will save you long hours of pressure and stress when rushing to finish client work in the last minute.
- Work life balance
Unlike in college where you had long holidays where you could go out and have fun with family and friends to unwind from the routine class work and exams, in the corporate world your free time is limited. If you are lucky, you might get two weeks off per year and even then you might not have the advantage of when to go for leave. This means for about eight hours each day for the whole year you are glued to your office sit or somewhere in the field working with clients. Your social life may start deteriorating and in worst cases this might overflow into your physical health.
Thankfully, in most corporate jobs you will be having the weekend for yourself compared to campus days where you were always thinking about assignments and reading for exams during weekends. To strike a good balance between your work and your social life, you should spend the weekends exercising, catching up with friends and family as well as engaging in other personal development activities.
Every minute of your life is valuable when you are in the corporate world and you should make it count. The weekend should be your weekly unwinding time from the pressures and stresses that come with the fast corporate world in today’s dynamic business ecosystems.
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