http://youintime..com.ng/2016/06/fresh-graduate-getting-ready-for_18.html

So you are rounding up college & all smiles because you know it's been worth the time & hard work!

Let's go back in time some 10 years, when you were in grade school. You had fun while learning - class work was like play, & play like class work. If you had older ones like I did, you always looked forward to high school 'cos to you, that was the place to be to gain self worth & a sense of independence. Little did you know that it actually came with much more demands & real pressure. Real pressure in comparison with grade school.

Again in grade school, because you had fun while learning, time seemed to have passed by so fast. Then you got into high school & it seemed to take forever! But guess what?! It was all over. All over at last - done with the ordeal called high school. Afterwards & funny enough, you somewhat found yourself reminiscing high school moments. I mean, who wouldn't?! Those early adolescent years...

...By that time of your life, you began to realize that indeed time would take its course, & so you appreciated the Changes & Phases & Progressions of life. You imagined the future & had an idea and or picture of who you would want to become based on the career path you chose for yourself.

Now you are here - "quarter to graduate" from college. You don't quite know exactly how things would play out as you get ready to meet the labour market, but you feel confident - deep within you, all's gonna go well. Why the optimism? You've been equipped through formal education, personal everyday life experiences & ofcourse home upbringing.

With this background, let's fast track to the near future, two to five years after college.
You're offered employment in a firm as a fresh graduate, if you have been lucky to have done internship, you would be quite familiar with an office setting. If it is your very first time, no worries, settling in is actually not an herculean task. Since you are a fresh graduate with little or no experience, it is very likely you would start off as a management trainee and at the end of the training - say a 3-6 month period, management can appoint you to any department or section of the company; this is usually backed with a letter of confirmation.

Job description of a management trainee? Jack of all trade, master of none; some would say. Basically, a management trainee is subjected to different tasks in one or more sections of a firm in order to measure areas of his/her competency. Most likely than not, after an overall assessment, a management trainee would be assigned to the section in which he or she is deemed a perfect fit.

Remember the changes, phases & progressions we mentioned earlier? Let's apply it! Your status has changed - employed; and you would be undergoing quite a number of phases as you climb up the corporate ladder. As a management trainee, below are a few work nuggets you would want to consider from the very first day:



1) Maintain key observation and closely monitor activities in your unit. That's one of the ways you can stay focused, learn & grow.

2) Never find yourself idling away. Always find something to do!

3) It's okay to be excited & show zealousness, but don't be too ambitious.

4) Practice self assessment. Ensure you do a review of both the work you have done & the skills you have acquired.

5) Be flexible: this is not the time to decide what you want to work on. You MUST try out every & any thing that is thrown at you. Trust me, in the near future, you would see the HUGE significance of this!

6) Religiously go through the company's handbook, very essential! If there are materials on how the company started, was formed, etc, read up! This actually should be one of the first things you do upon employment. I purposely brought it last 'cos I wanted this to sink in & linger on your mind. A lot of times, either we are in a hurry to go through the handbook, or we skip it entirely.

Ouch! Time's up. This is all we can take. By next episode, we'll be expounding on each nugget & their relevance to building your career.

Till then, stay blessed!

Carchi
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youintime..com.ng
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