It is easy to find information on selecting colleges and courses and many websites and articles are dedicated to study methods, exam writing and time management techniques. However, people neglect an equally important skill – and that is to make a successful transition from college to a career. Here is a few factors that you will have to adapt to:

Choosing a Career to go Into

This is by far the most important factor to think of and consider when choosing a college. Choosing a career path will determine where you will study, what you will study and how long. Skills Academy understands that it can be difficult to make such a big decision and has therefore created their careers page.  On the careers page you will find the top career fields you can go into with one of their courses. Each career field gives you the information you need to make your decision.  What the career page entails:

1. Skills you need in a workplace
2. Information on the types of jobs you can go into 
3. Helps you decide what career is right for you 

Career Pages

• HR
• Tourism
• Office
• Photography

A new Time Frame

As a student, you are used to having only afternoon classes or classes only on certain days of the week. Now you will have the reality of going to work every day, five days a week, from as early as 6 or 7 in the morning to 6 or 7 in the evening. In addition, it is no longer possible to skip your 8 a.m. class. Show up late too often and you will soon find yourself unemployed. Another time-related harsh reality is free time and vacation time. In college, you get used to taking long weekends away from campus and extremely long winter and summer breaks. Most colleges also have mid-semester breaks. Unfortunately, most employers are not that generous with time off. You may be lucky to get two weeks of vacation in your first job. Also prepare yourself – because you are one of the newest employees, you will not have much choice as to when you can take your vacation. Time management is a completely new concept in the workplace. You may have thought it was tough managing various group projects, tests, and other activities while in college, but it will be even more of a struggle to manage your time once you are working. Your career future depends on how well you can manage your time. College does not prepare you to working 40 hours a week – and how to take care of your health, so you do not burn out. Sometimes your entry-level job is not demanding enough. Some students worked so hard in college that they actually find the working world a welcome relief. You might even find, without homework and studying, you have too much free time. If this is the case, you can consider using the extra time to study part time or via distance learning – to obtain more soft skills such as management-, presentation- or computer skills.

Professionalism

People excuse and accept students to be a little crazy or irresponsible. In the workplace, acting unprofessionally can get you fired. Your colleagues and employers will expect you to adopt a professional attitude very quickly. They need you to be a self-starter, dependable and accountable. Professionalism is not something college can teach you, it something that you have to figure out or experience on your own. Be willing to admit and learn from your mistakes, be reliable, meet deadlines and be a team player. A friendly, positive attitude will get you anywhere!

Your First Position

Do not panic if your first job after graduation does not fit your plan perfectly. Many recent college graduates change jobs after their first year out; sometimes it takes that long to fully understand who you are and what you really want to do with your life. For others, this understanding might not come until even later in life. Start planning so you can make the transition to something better down the road. Keep track of your accomplishments and the transferable skills you develop in your early jobs that you can apply to better jobs down the road. Prepare yourself to start at the bottom. A large number of the jobs available for college graduates are, in fact, entry-level. These jobs often require long hours, low pay, and hard work. A misconception is that your major dictates the types of jobs you can work. While there are some specialised fields, such as engineering, where you need to have a degree in that field, the vast majority of jobs in business simply require a college degree. So, focus your job-search not on the types of jobs you feel you must apply for, but on the types of job that inspire you.

New and Different Challenges

College do not prepare you for many of the challenges you will faced as you make that transition from college to career. Some of the new challenges is:

• The emphasis companies place on teamwork skills
• The importance of dealing with all types of people and personalities
• Personal finance issues and budgeting
• Living on your own – or having to move back with your family
• Balancing work demands with family/friends/personal life
• Job-hunting skills, especially networking, interviewing, and salary negotiation

You can prepare for some of these issues by meeting with a career professional in your college’s career services office. CollegeSA also offers numerous articles and other resources on many of these topics. Visit www.collegesa.co.za to find out more about them and their partners.

Finding a job

College students often joke that job searching is a full time job! Obtaining a job is very time-consuming and a lot of work. As most experienced job seekers already know, you have to spend time every day looking for employment. Use all available resources, tracking down all job leads, and following-up on all leads and interviews. The more quality work you put into your job-search, the better your results. The Internet should really receive only a small portion of your job-search time. Instead, most of your efforts should still be using the traditional methods of networking – with family and friends, other students, alumni, professors, former co-workers and employers, etc. Having a college diploma does not entitle you to a job. Most employers will not be impressed with your grades or your education. Focus more on how you can use your talent and initiative to contribute to the employer’s bottom line. Be sure to tell the employer how you will make a strong contribution.