Settling into Working Life

By Indre Bagdonaite

Everyone’s decisions, opportunities and journey after University will be different and can depend on several factors. Equally, every job will have its own advantages as well as difficulties and inevitably it takes time to adapt.  But there are a few steps you can take in order to ease the transition into ‘working life’:

Take personal responsibility

In order to progress within your role, and indeed your career, it’s important to keep learning and pushing yourself rather than ‘just getting by’. Draw upon your experiences at university of independent learning where you had to take on a lot of responsibilities as well as manage your time well in order to juggle your social and academic life. Although you receive support from the likes of your tutors and lecturers, the responsibility ultimately falls on you. This is the same with any job. You are likely to be supported by your colleagues and line manager yet, it’s important to take initiative, be proactive and to have a willingness to learn. To make a good impression, try to be punctual, reliable, meet deadlines and targets to the best of your ability, and respect those around you.

Be committed and dedicated

Whether this is your dream job or more of a stepping stone, try to have a positive attitude and fully commit your time, energy and work ethic. This is especially important if you are working as part of a team. Being dedicated will enable you to learn transferable skills, understand different perspectives as well as developing a determined mindset. Being committed to your role and responsibilities early on will also help you in the long-term as it will be reflected in your references and network which will ultimately help you to progress along your career path. To make the most of this opportunity, try to learn as much as you can from those around you who perhaps have more experience and bear in mind that they have your best interests at heart and want you to succeed.

Try not to take things personally

This is especially true for a role in customer service. There will always be people who have something to complain about and in a customer service role, you will find that some customers may take their frustrations out on you. This does not reflect on you as a person and therefore, you shouldn’t allow it to affect your attitude, as this may affect your performance. It is not your responsibility to fix other people’s personal problems. Unless, the problem relates to your work role – it is not your duty to take care of it. Moreover, when you are new to a job, there is a lot to take on board and there are likely to be times where you make mistakes or face criticism. So, try not to be discouraged and remember that it’s all a part of progression and growth. After all, overcoming challenges, facing setbacks, and taking on board constructive criticism as well as learning from mistakes are all a part of developing professionally and personally.

Show ambition

Being proactive and showing ambition will help you make a good impression. We encourage you to put yourself forward when the right opportunities present themselves and to believe in your ability and the value that you can add. Being mentored in some capacity, perhaps through your reviews/appraisals, is a great opportunity to track your progress and ensure you are growing personally and professionally. And finally, try to network and make connections inside the organisation you are in as well as in the wider industry.

If you’re yet to secure a job and make this transition, why not read our article about how to effectively prepare for the working world? You can find the article here.