Transition!

The Transition here I am referring to is the transition from a college student to a corporate professional. I have been working for Capital IQ, a Division of Standard & Poor's for the past six months, though as an intern earlier and now as a full time employee, I noticed certain major differences on my role as a student and as an employee. During my last semester of B.E., I worked as an intern for three days a week(Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)  in the company and attended class work at college(UCE, OU) for the remaining three days. This is when I had the opportunity to analyze Corporate Culture while I was still a student. Thanks to Capital IQ for making the transition from a student to an employee very comfortable and flexible.

The prime difference I noticed is the level of Responsibility. The obligation to carry forward an assigned task to a successful completion is more on the employees than on the students, be it any company, any domain, any industry. Generally, people willing to accept responsibilities with challenges will be more successful in this competitive world and their growth chart will have a rising curve. Dedication and Commitment to work makes one more responsible is what I observed.

The ability to work in a team and to work with the team is very very important. Another keen observation is that working in a team is different from working in a group. Teams generally have well-defined goals, certain motives and protocols which the team members have to adhere to, for overall performance.  The work done at college/school is attributed to individual effort but most of the corporate companies/organizations encourage team-work. Hence, a todays employee should always be a good team player and  it is always good to have a good rapport with the co-employees.

Decision Making! The right decision at the right time makes a difference. Decision making may be hard sometimes but is very important for management and leadership skills. Good decision making actually is a mix of several skills and qualities like identification of various options, evaluation, judgment, firmness and confidence. Problem-solving is also linked to decision making which is crucial not just at the workplace but also in other aspects of life.

Timing constraints and work pressure, the buzz words of corporate executives are tightly-coupled according to me. The ability and capability to complete the assigned task and delivering the results before the deadline is very important, otherwise it turns out to be work pressure leading to "stress". A student on the other-hand generally would not have pressure to stick to strict deadlines. In a corporate world, one should possess the ability to work under any situation, in other words, one should be versatile and flexible to adapt to the dynamic work environments.

Etiquette is also equally important at corporate level. The way we speak (in person and on phone), eat, drink etc add to one's conduct. Last but not the least, I feel its always good to carry a smile on face which enlightens you and also your work environment and hence helps deliver quality results. On the whole I personally feel, to be successful, a professional should be a responsible team player and should have the capability to learn, explore, experiment, enhance skills and enjoy work.