From one recent college grad to the next — most students think that after graduating high school their college transition would be smooth. But, as it turns out, for most young adults it's extremely hard. After all, the assignments get more difficult and it is the first time in most people's life where they don’t have to ask their parents for permission—which means wide-open freedom.
That is a lot of freedom for any young person. Now, take the responsibility of being a college student and multiply it by ten. That is how much responsibility it takes to be a functioning adult in society. It can be very overwhelming for new adults and recent college graduates. Luckily for them, a list of great tips to help transitioning into adulthood can be found below.
Everyone knows how college life is: do your work as soon as classes are done, so that way you can go to parties and party all night. Unfortunately, that is not how the real world works. Your college classes most likely started in the afternoon so you could sleep in, but your new job begins in the morning, so you have to wake up early. You must get better sleep so you can be well prepared for your career in the morning and attack the rest of your day.
In school, many students were able to squeak by just showing up to class on time. Other than that, their schedule was wide open so they didn't have to schedule or budget their time at all. They could roll up wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
Unfortunately, being able to budget your time is a crucial skill that most young adults don't understand until later in life. Having that skill as soon as you get out of school could be extremely useful to the new contributing members of society.
Often in school, especially around other peers, it could be perceived to be the “cool” thing to behave immaturely. If you break something or do something foolish in college, your peers will often encourage you. If you do something like this in the “real” world though, you will be looked down upon, and you will often lose your job.
Employers don't like it when their employees act immaturely, even outside of the workplace. This is because it is a reflection of their judgment as a boss, and it reflects negatively on the company itself. It is difficult for a lot of fresh graduates to learn how to adapt to behaving with maturity.
A common misconception for newly graduated students is the difference between a job and a career. A job is something that you have to motivate yourself to get out of the house to go to. It is possible to have a full-time job and still hate it. This is what happens to many new college grads. They dive headfirst into the first job they are offered, and they don't know their true calling.
A career, on the other hand, is something that you enjoy going to day after day, and you could be content doing it for the rest of your life. A career is what college students should be striving for, and it may even take a couple of tries to find the perfect job.
The sooner that new college grads understand that their social patterns will be much different after graduation, the more comfortable life will be. Most college students end up trying to incorporate their old ways into their new life. This can be extremely hard.
Having social patterns change is different from eliminating them. The main thing that is going to change when it comes to social patterns is how late the social events last, and the number of people that show up. Adult gatherings are usually a couple of people, and they typically end around ten o'clock, at the latest. This isn't always the case, but sometimes having a small get together is more relaxing than having huge parties.
When it comes down to it, the career you are applying for will take the best candidate applying, regardless of what degree they have or where they went to school. Get it out of your head if you have a degree from Dartmouth that you will automatically get any job you apply for. That is just not how it works.
Get into the habit of developing good work habits and a good work ethic. The candidate that works hard, is genuinely personable and easy to relate to is often the one that’s going to get the job. Also, don't be disappointed if you don't get any calls back. That is just how the job search process works. And know, if you don’t get the job, you probably weren't what they were looking for, which means that wasn’t a good fit for you. Keep looking.
Bottom line, college students should be told more thoroughly what adulthood is like. Most of them come out of school bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for the world... but they have no idea what to do. They don't know the first thing about finding a career, a place to live, paying bills, etc.
Recent grads need the help of those already in the work force today to help train them to become better citizens. And, they need to be taught, in school, how to do basic things so that they don't get in trouble with the government or anyone else for that matter. College grads need your help to figure out life. After all, they’re still in the process of becoming adults. The more help they can get, the better.
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