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One of the most challenging periods in life is the transition from school to work. As one recent college grad put it: "For 21 years, I was supported by my parents, encouraged by my teachers and able to choose how I spent my free time. It's hard to get used to waking up at 6:30 a.m. every day to work for a boss who is obsessed with the bottom line and cares little about my self-esteem."
Mel Levine, M.D. and author of "Ready or Not, Here Life Comes," calls this transition period the "start-up years," and says it claims its share of unsuspecting victims.
"Many individuals in and around their 20s come to feel abandoned and anguished," he writes. "They start to question their own self-worth and are prone to make some awful mistakes in their choice of career or in the ways they perform as novices on the job."
It's an affliction Levine has named "work-life unreadiness." And he says it's quite normal for young people to feel ambushed by adulthood, because they lack practical skills, habits, behaviors, real-world insights and frames of mind pivotal to launching a career.
How can you avoid falling victim to work-life unreadiness? Start by examining your proficiency in 12 areas that Levine says are essential for successfully taking on the demands of a career:
Inside Insight
Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? Your interests, passions and values? Be sure you are pursuing work for which you're suited.
Foresight
Do you know what your chosen career requires and entails? You must be able to anticipate, plan and prepare for a particular career or project within that career.
Self-Launching
Do you have the ambition, energy and optimism to start your career? You need to be able to motivate yourself, work independently and know how and when to take rational risks.
Comprehension
Are you able to decipher explicit and implicit job survival requirements? Don't expect your manager to spell everything out for you; you'll have to figure out much of what the job requires on your own.
Pattern Recognition
Are you able to discern recurring themes, precedents, rules and irregularities? Proficiency on the job depends on your ability to derive guidance from hindsight and use experience to predict the future.
Evaluative Thinking
Can you evaluate issues, opportunities, products and people? You need to know what and whom to believe.
Skill Building and Adaptation
Can you acquire, access and apply "hard" and "soft" skills in a versatile manner? Many of the skills you need on the job are not those you would have acquired in school -- be alert to what capabilities you need to develop to succeed in your chosen occupation.
Work Efficiency
Are you able to harness and allocate mental energy, delay gratification, persevere and deploy efficient work and organizational habits? Employers value those who are dependable and generate a high level of efficient output.
Productive Thinking
Can you organize, prioritize and solve problems? Are you able to resolve conflicts and cope with stress? The workplace is often unpredictable. You need to be able to think and work in a constructive and creative manner.
Communication
Are you able to express yourself well both orally and in writing? To acquire credibility, you must be able to sell yourself and your ideas.
Forming Alliances
Can you develop positive working relationships? You need to gain acceptance as well as demonstrate that you can collaborate with others and function as both a leader and a follower.
Political Behavior
Do you know how to cultivate relationships with people who could have significant influence over your future? You need to know how to please your boss, colleagues and key decision makers.
No one is perfect in all areas, but if you have a massive deficit in one or are sub-par in three or more, it could cause you problems. Developing yourself in these areas will help you achieve on the job; remembering there is light at the end of the tunnel will give you strength to persevere.
"Inevitably you will encounter ego bruises," Levine advises. "Look at these wounds as temporary setbacks; don't allow them to discourage your long-range plans."
Mel Levine, M.D. and author of "Ready or Not, Here Life Comes," calls this transition period the "start-up years," and says it claims its share of unsuspecting victims.
"Many individuals in and around their 20s come to feel abandoned and anguished," he writes. "They start to question their own self-worth and are prone to make some awful mistakes in their choice of career or in the ways they perform as novices on the job."
It's an affliction Levine has named "work-life unreadiness." And he says it's quite normal for young people to feel ambushed by adulthood, because they lack practical skills, habits, behaviors, real-world insights and frames of mind pivotal to launching a career.
How can you avoid falling victim to work-life unreadiness? Start by examining your proficiency in 12 areas that Levine says are essential for successfully taking on the demands of a career:
Inside Insight
Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? Your interests, passions and values? Be sure you are pursuing work for which you're suited.
Foresight
Do you know what your chosen career requires and entails? You must be able to anticipate, plan and prepare for a particular career or project within that career.
Self-Launching
Do you have the ambition, energy and optimism to start your career? You need to be able to motivate yourself, work independently and know how and when to take rational risks.
Comprehension
Are you able to decipher explicit and implicit job survival requirements? Don't expect your manager to spell everything out for you; you'll have to figure out much of what the job requires on your own.
Pattern Recognition
Are you able to discern recurring themes, precedents, rules and irregularities? Proficiency on the job depends on your ability to derive guidance from hindsight and use experience to predict the future.
Evaluative Thinking
Can you evaluate issues, opportunities, products and people? You need to know what and whom to believe.
Skill Building and Adaptation
Can you acquire, access and apply "hard" and "soft" skills in a versatile manner? Many of the skills you need on the job are not those you would have acquired in school -- be alert to what capabilities you need to develop to succeed in your chosen occupation.
Work Efficiency
Are you able to harness and allocate mental energy, delay gratification, persevere and deploy efficient work and organizational habits? Employers value those who are dependable and generate a high level of efficient output.
Productive Thinking
Can you organize, prioritize and solve problems? Are you able to resolve conflicts and cope with stress? The workplace is often unpredictable. You need to be able to think and work in a constructive and creative manner.
Communication
Are you able to express yourself well both orally and in writing? To acquire credibility, you must be able to sell yourself and your ideas.
Forming Alliances
Can you develop positive working relationships? You need to gain acceptance as well as demonstrate that you can collaborate with others and function as both a leader and a follower.
Political Behavior
Do you know how to cultivate relationships with people who could have significant influence over your future? You need to know how to please your boss, colleagues and key decision makers.
No one is perfect in all areas, but if you have a massive deficit in one or are sub-par in three or more, it could cause you problems. Developing yourself in these areas will help you achieve on the job; remembering there is light at the end of the tunnel will give you strength to persevere.
"Inevitably you will encounter ego bruises," Levine advises. "Look at these wounds as temporary setbacks; don't allow them to discourage your long-range plans."
Last Updated: 24/09/2007 - 3:50 PM
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