If you are about to graduate, you're preparing for one of the biggest transitions of your life. Some of you may be continuing your education in graduate school or a post-doc, but most will be entering the workforce as employees for the first time. Do you know what life will be like as a full-time employee? Think about it: you've spent 12 years in pre-college, and 4 years in college, plus maybe some grad school. But 16+ years of being a student hasn't really prepared you for life as an employee. It's a culture shock when everything that used to matter suddenly makes no difference and - worse - when things you never cared about suddenly have huge significance.
I'd like to help you make that transition. First, this website has tools, assessments and links to useful resources to help you get and keep your first job. And in this blog, let me give you some quick tips on what does and doesn't matter when you take that job.
Your GPA, school and your degree don't matter
The online forums are full of resentful comments from college grads about how 'the hiring managers don't appreciate how smart I am'. Welcome to the real world. You should be very proud of your degree, especially if you got it from a prestigious school. It's a good credential. I don't mean to denigrate your achievement, but your Harvard or Stanford degree won't get you a promotion or help you win an office argument. By getting your degree you should have acquired skills, resources and attitude that enable you to tackle complex problems. The degree doesn't guarantee that - and the hiring managers know it. You will have to demonstrate your skills or you won't get the job. And once you are on the job, don't expect to be deferred to because of your education, school or GPA. It's a cliche now that Gates and Zuckerberg never finished college, but it's a fact. There are plenty of smart people out there with skills you don't have (see below) and they may or may not have the credentials you have, but your solutions, comments and suggestions will have to compete with or complement theirs.
The quality of your work matters
What does matter is the quality of your work. In college, you had a choice - work really hard and get the 'A', or settle for something less. At Michigan I took a summer course in the Philosophy of Science. It is a great subject but the professor was terrible. I was so bored and just wanted to sit outside in the sun. For the term paper, I sat down at a typewriter (these were the days before word processors, my friends) and wrote a stream of consciousness, 15-page tract, which I didn't even bother to edit or retype. I was happy with the 'B-'.
That's not a good strategy at work. I urge you not to make quality a dependent variable in your business work. You always have to do your best, given the time and resources allowed. Remember that you are no longer just working for yourself. Other people will be depending on what you produce, just as you will be depending on the output of others. Consider how you feel when a work product you've been expecting from someone else is a piece of junk. Don't end up being that unreliable person.
Another reason the quality of your work matters is that you were hired on your credentials, but you'll get promotions and raises based on your contributions. During your evaluation, it's better to have a body of work of which you can be proud, rather than to be making excuses.
As a final thought on this subject, go back and read my blog "Why Do We Need All These People?". You'll appreciate that when the time comes to 'right-size' the workforce (and it always does), the axe falls on the least productive first.
Results (and profits) matter
Unless you work for a non-profit, your company is in the business of selling something: services or products. There has to be a buyer for what you sell. Now there are a lot of reasons that people buy stuff, but usually you need to be solving a problem they have or filling a gap between what they have and what they want. That means the marketplace is going decide what you sell, not you. This has been a particular pitfall for many of the life sciences grad students I know who have gone to industry. They will see promising research on interesting pathways discarded for good and sound business reasons (like the market is too small, or insurers won't pay for the therapy). No one is going to pay you to be smart - they will pay you for work that helps them generate a profit.
Think of it this way: creating a marketable product or service ensures that you are making something of real value and of interest to people other than just yourself.
Other people matter
Probably one of the hardest things to learn as an ex-student is how to work with other people. Unless you've had an unusual experience, you probably haven't worked on a lot of team projects. Even if you had science or engineering labs, groups were small and often you got to pick your partners. But business is a team effort, and being a team member and resolving team issues are skills you'll have to acquire fast. You may find, as I did, that working with others who are brilliant and fun is actually the high point of your job.
There is an even bigger issue here. In your major you were surrounded by people who had skills and perspectives similar to your own. Sure, the professor is more accomplished than a freshman, but that's a matter of degree, not style. You are going to find all kinds of different people in a company: people who are good with numbers, people who are good with tools, people who are good with ideas, and people who are good with people. They are all necessary. There is a tendency, especially among technical hardware or software product developers to think that their contribution to the organization (building the product or service) is the most critical to the company's success. I know because I was one of them. Those of us in software development thought that sales and marketing were superfluous, because a good product will sell itself. If that's your opinion, I suggest you move into Sales for a couple of months and try it out. You'll develop an appreciation for the skills it takes to match a client problem to a solution, and the emotional strength it takes to recover from rejection. And you might even enjoy it - God knows some people do!
The point here is that it takes a variety of skills, personalities, viewpoints, and backgrounds to craft a successful business. Don't make judgments on peoples' value based on their titles, place in the organization or education.
Your boss matters
There is one person in your company who is going to matter more than any other - that's your boss. Figuring out how to work WITH your boss - not FOR him or her - will be time well spent. In your first days, you should make sure that you understand what your boss expects of you and the best way to do that is sitting down and talking.
I think the most important thing you can do is see your boss's problems as your own. Understand what motivates your boss and how your boss is judged and rewarded. Not the actual compensation of course, but what are the priorities? Is on-time delivery of products and services more important that the actual features? Is being on-budget more important than anything else? You won't know until you ask.
Managing your boss is a complex issue. That's why I devoted an entire dougsguide to it.
Finally
So life in the business world is different from school. Not necessarily better, but surely different. I hope you enjoyed your college experience. You had a lot of freedom to take the classes you wanted (even within the constraints of your major), you set your own schedule, and there was plenty of time each day for personal or pleasurable pursuits. In taking a job, you'll trade that life for a steady paycheck and a universe of opportunities to work with other people on fantastic projects. I meant this post to provide an realistic guide to the major differences between being a student and an employee. Don't be daunted or put-off by the differences. Just be aware that life as an employee has to be different from life as a student. Graduates make the transition successfully all the time. Recognize and embrace the differences and you will too.
Are you looking for your first job? Then check out "Finding Your First Job".
Got your first job and want to be successful? Start with "Working with Other People" and "Managing Your Boss and Career".
Need a background on how business works? Read "Business Backgrounder".
