Do you feel under prepared for the working world? Do the nuances of human nature, politics and bureaucracy leave you confused? You are not alone, because there is usually no corporate in the classroom!
The Hard Skills
Here’s the deal. You earned degree and you, along with most others, naturally assumed that was going to be enough. Yet, you (along with most others) somehow feel unprepared for the working world.
Here you are, a few years into your career … or many years into your career. You seem to have gotten a handle on the ‘hard’ skills. And if you don’t have a handle, you at least know how to be resourceful and figure things out.
Unbeknownst to you, this is exactly why you went to school… to learn how to figure things out. The purpose of college is not necessarily to ‘teach’ you how to be an engineer, a designer, a lawyer, etc. Rather, college forces you to learn how to learn in the context of your major. Yes, that’s right. College makes you face yourself at a deeper level so you can eventually learn how to learn in the workplace.
But, there is generally no corporate in the classroom, so what are the rules of handling quirky, difficult people?
The Interpersonal Skills
Whether college should teach the soft skills and the interpersonal skills is debatable. Surely, you did learn some of these things as a student.
However, the working world is full of humans outside of your major. The complexities of work are a completely different kind of beast. And since there is generally no corporate in the classroom, you must figure out how to work with difficult humans without scarring your career.
For example, it takes extreme emotional maturity to rise above others who tried to do you wrong. How about that ego? You must learn to keep that ego in check when it tries to blame others or talk behind someone’s back. Dealing with unreasonable people or moody bosses requires high levels of emotional intelligence.
I could go on, but the point is that there are an infinite number of interpersonal situations that can catch you off guard. If you’re not prepared, if you’re not emotionally agile, then all the hard skills in the world won’t get you far.
Lessons Learned
Generally, there is no corporate in the classroom. This is why I invite you to watch my video, “Five Workplace Lessons to Elevate Your Career.”
I discuss the following topics along with tips and lessons that will help you manage your day-to-day:
- Happiness at Work – why it’s not your job’s job to make you happy
- Autonomy in the workplace – separating self-identity from your job identity
- Behaviors in the workplace – why it is not your choice if someone likes you
- Career path – what you should ask yourself instead of, “what is my right career path?”
- Dream jobs – where are they, and what does it take to obtain your dream job?
If there is another work topic you’d like to hear about, let me know!
If you enjoy this content, I invite you to follow me on LinkedIn and ask me about free strategy sessions for your career!