From the campus to the office

- Your first steps towards life in a professional working environment are so important. You'll be faced with a whole host of unknown factors and questions that you might not have answers to at first. How does your new environment operate? How do you get ahead? How can you make an impact? Ultimately, you need to know where to start and what you need to do to get on track in your new career as quickly and effectively as possible. There are a whole host of things that are changing about the world of work. Firstly, how we work and what we want and expect from our working lives in general is evolving. Those starting their careers will be focused on different rewards to previous generations. These may include emphasis on financial gain, work life balance, working with purpose, and finding the right career fit to name a few. Secondly, we live in economically changeable times. At different points in time, different skills will be required by the market. That means as you start your career, particular skills that you've developed and plan to develop will be rewarded more than others. Regardless of how the working climate is changing, what we do know is that there's always going to be a period of transition when starting in the world of work. The good news is there's a way that you can take charge of your professional image, and navigate your path in new and unfamiliar working environments, helping you to create success early in your career. There are key differences when it comes to creating success in an academic versus working environment, and we'll explore those differences and how to tackle them throughout this course. The first step in creating a fruitful and rewarding career is to develop a strong professional image. And the way to achieve that is to acknowledge your environment is changing, and how you create success and are rewarded in your new working environment will differ from how you were successful and rewarded in your academic life. So let's take a moment to consider why you should focus on your professional image when you start out in your career. You will encounter a transition when starting your working life. Building a strong professional image will help you to prepare for a smooth transition, and to acclimatize in your new surroundings quickly. Your professional image will guide how you interact with others, and how you come across to others, and how you navigate your career. A successful transition will help you to build effective relationships and enhance your emotional intelligence. Being prepared for the move into your professional career will enable you to avoid common mistakes graduates make as it will boost your confidence at work. When you started college or university, were there things you wish you'd known? Lessons that could have been learned quicker with the right guidance or insights? Of course, part of any transition is trial and error, learning as you go. But what if there are some key insights that will help you to get on track quicker, smoothing that transition for you? In this course, that's exactly what you have access to, key insights from business psychologists, recruiters, and business leaders, working with graduates in commercial organizations.