Getting Ready for the Real World
By: Mary Gumellus Arabaca

For many graduating students, the time interval between college graduation and the start of a first job is often confusing, tough and demanding. College doesn’t give you too much of an inferiority complex. On the other hand, job-hunting can become a pressure in itself.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Project yourself as someone willing to work. Employers usually seek young professionals who have the potential, focused, eager to learn the job, and are willing to put their best foot forward.
   For that reason, start to picture yourself as someone who can work under pressure and meet deadlines beyond expectations.
2. Adjust your lifestyle. If you are used to submitting school papers until the wee hours of the morning, you definitely have to change that kind of habit. Your employer expects you to present an attentive and keen mind everyday you report to work.  And meet your deadlines and deliverables on time.
3. Learn more about your employer. Even before the interview process, you have to get as much information as you can about your prospective employer. And once you’re inside, you have to abide by the rules and regulations and other guidelines written in the employee handbook.
4. Establish a name for being a responsible employee. Companies don't expect perfection from new hired employees whom they know will go through a learning curve.  However, they do expect them to do their jobs as responsibly as possible, contributing their fair share of work to the business.
5. Professionalism in the Workplace. To impress and be recognized, show them that you are someone who can be relied on to do your work. Deadlines in the workplace differ from school deadlines. In college, you might have been able to beg your professor into giving you an extension but in business environments, missing deadlines is almost a sin.
6. Be competitive. No matter what your specialized work involves, competition is inevitable. You have to exceed your target. As a new employee, it is best for you to make a good impression. Supervisors and managers always take note of such accomplishments of aspiring young professionals, and take note of  them for more challenging work projects.

Struggle to get the finest job offers from the best and top employers, but don’t forget to condition yourself and understand everything you do with a realistic vision of what to really expect. Seek and take advices from all the fresh graduates that have come before you, in that way, you’ll be ready and more equipped when you begin job hunting.

Good luck!