If you are graduating this year or you have just left school last year, congratulations. Many will tell you that entering the workforce is very much different from going to school, they are not wrong, however, today I am going to do the opposite and point out what are the similarities between the two and hope you find comfort that workforce isn’t as daunting as you think it is.
Find the right job
Finding the right career for you is pretty much the same as you find the right course to take in your school. There will be trials and errors. The dream job is not what you think it is like after you get your knees deep in the water. That dreadful job you never will think that you will ever work in sometimes ended up the best job in your life. So never be quick to judge what works or doesn’t work for you until you waded through the muddy waters.
The Right Company
It is like choosing the right school to go to. Every student wants to go to Stanford, Yale and Havard so does every adult wants to work at Google, Exxon and Apple. However, it doesn’t guarantee a good job if you graduated from top schools. Same goes for you having experience in a top company, doesn’t guarantee your success in promotion and pay raises. True that it will increase your chances but hard work and smart moves pay off more than going to the right company. You may want to read this to determine the right company for you. So it is not the end of the world if you can’t get into any of the Fortune 500 companies, just like you’ll do well without going to MIT.
The Bosses
Bosses are like teachers, they are mentors but they are humans too. Whereas teaching is a self-sacrificing profession, but we all have our own share of bad teachers, those who doesn’t care how you turn out as long as you turn up for his lessons. You may argue that teachers are graded through their students’ grades. It is not far from how a boss is being appraised too. The more successful his team grows, the higher he climbs. Frankly speaking, I rather have a good boss than to go to a good company. I learned more from a good mentor than I would in a good environment in the long run.
Peer Pressure
You would have thought that there are no more geek and jock cliques after you left school, I’m sorry to pop your bubbles. Cliques are still a commonplace in the workforce. Now it is more like who clicks with who or who works with who. It might not be as tight knitted as the school playground but it is there. Just have a look around during lunch time and you’ll find out who hang out with who most of the time. My advice is not to stick with any of the cliques but to move around and expand your network in the company, you might never know when you will need the other person’s expertise to help you complete your projects or work. And yes, bullies exist in the workplace too.
Watch out for Part 2 of this article. If you know someone who is graduating this year or your workplace has a new employee fresh from school, forward this article to him or her. Let’s do our part for the younger generations and ease them into the workforce.
Feel free to share your thoughts on the topic above at the comments below.
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MiddleMe 
Got my first job on Upwork and loving it!! Thank you for telling me how to set it up and everything a while back! Definitely paying off!!
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Congratulations!!!! I wish you all the best!!
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Thank you!!
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Right on !
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Thanks!
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On target. And thanks for the expression “pop your bubble” I’d never heard, which is delicious 🙂
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Haha.. I love using when I was a teenager.
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God you are doing great job i am graduating a year later with diploma and being a engineering student both college and getting a good job is kinda stressing. 🙂
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Great!! Do remember to come and read up some of the articles which are going to be useful to you before you start finding a job.
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And don’t forget, that bosses are also just human beings. Offcourse you need to have the right amount of respect, but they won’t eat you 😉
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Great advice too!! Thanks sharing your wisdom!
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Can I mention one thing here?
Remember those classes during which time seems to crawl slower than a snail? This also happens, and I mean a lot, during weekdays for professionals.
So much we love that bell ringing!!
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Hahaha!! Great point to add in!! We do watch the time tick by at the corner of our PC!!
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Great post !
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Thanks so much
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I am just happy that I started with my wife our own business. I was also independent before that but in between I did work for some companies and I was never really happy there…
So now we can create more or less our own schedule and have more time as a family.
My experience when working in bigger companies is that people in power always tried to keep that position and try to get newcomers who might be a threat out of the workplace.
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Great observation! But I’ve been fortunate that big companies have treated me well and fairly too. 🙂
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Perfect post, sums it up well! Lisa x ww.thirtysomethingbelle.com
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Thanks, Lisa and welcome to MiddleMe!
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hi kally
how are you?
fine, i hope…
have a nice day
daniela
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Thank you, Daniela!! I wish you have a fantastic day too!
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Totally true — but you didn’t talk about how the employees can be like herding {cats} children! Maybe in Part 2! Thanks for your lovely insight 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your tip!!!
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I’m sure you can articulate it much better 😉 Thank you for all your wisdom!
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Bonsoir KALLY je viens t’offrir
La fleur de L’amitié prends en soin
L’amitié à une grande place dans la vie
A toi de la garder
Certaines places sont cassables
Mais une amitié fidèle ne peut pas se briser
Alors donnons nous la main
Belle soirée , bises , Bernard
Belle fin de semaine
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Beautiful poem, Bernard. Did you write that yourself? It touched me and made me smile. I value your friendship too.
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I’ve never realized that workplaces still have cliques–very eye opening
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Thanks, Brianna. The cliques are very much subtle unlike in school but they are very much there. People tend to herd around for comfort and security.
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🙂
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