Great you secured a job offer, and you are starting your placement, huge congratulations! Next challenge is the transition. The ‘transition’ from university to work is essentially your probationary period to see if you can work in the team doing the job they need you to do (note this works both way, you don’t have to stay!).
Companies don’t tell you is how to readjust to the change of environment. A willingness to learn can be beneficial.
In this article, I will explore some aspects that change when you start working. These include the transition from studying to working and free time, housing arrangements, communication and language, prioritising the workload and teamwork and stepping up.
Studying to working and free time –
It’s easy to become accustomed to a long summer holiday after studying from the September to May. I struggled to balance the additional workload in second year, I used to think even if I did 20 minutes of studying instead of swim training, for example, I could learn something I wouldn’t have learned that day.
A placement have me an understanding of working life that demonstrates how, for most people (who aren’t teachers in schools), summer holidays don’t exist in the working world.
Studying every day at any hour changes to a schedule of working 9-5.30 (which isn’t enforced so out of self-respect consider swiftly switching off outside these hours). At work you get your evenings and weekends back (in theory). This is where you can get your work life balance and explore other interests (if you still have the energy after your working day).
Housing arrangements –
Wanting to save money I looked at house sharing and having the experience I did I recommend you check out the existing tenants to prevent any surprises. Try making a list of pros and cons of house sharing/commuting to see what would work for you.
Communication and language –
At university I picked up slang. But slang was not useful for a placement. Therefore, by being ‘professional’ I was able to portray a version of myself that others could work with. This human perception is important for gaining trust, respect and expanding your remit.
Prioritising the workload –
As a student I went from balancing writing up lectures, preparing revision materials, reading and writing coursework to as an employee, making sure I was ready for meetings, had my actions as up to date as possible, and that I was on top of my emails as much as possible.
In both cases, time is the biggest factor for how much gets done which isn’t a big surprise, but a placement helps you work more effectively as you have more deadlines. For example, working at 80% to make sure you do what you need to do and working the other 20% thinking about what’s coming up. Whereas at University there is arguably fewer consequences for not spending ‘enough’ time studying.
Teamwork and stepping up –
At university a lot of the work is independent and group work may difficult as people may not contribute equally.
However, at work teamwork is essential to work continuity, productivity and service delivery. During placement you will be working in part of a team under supervision, taking responsibility for tasks regardless of your level of interest, therefore you will need to communicate more frequently than you may have been doing at university, at times which may not suit you.
Conclusion –
Whereas in university you will be responsible for turning up to lectures and paying your rent on time, at work you will be responsible for being punctual and being on top of your workload.
Unlike university where you don’t have to build trust and respect among your peers and lecturers, you will have to do so for your teammates. Therefore, work needs you to have a range of interpersonal skills that university doesn’t necessarily prepare you for.
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