By Boqian Wang

Among the numerous changes in one’s life, the school-to-work transition is an essential one. The future life is largely influenced by it. Thus, it is important to cope with the transitional period  with effective and positive methods. 

1. The differences between school and workplace

• The student stage is a crucial stage in life for growing knowledge and developing intelligence. Whereas, the professional role is a position in which a person works in a specific capacity, relies on one’s knowledge and abilities and works concretely in accordance with certain norms, and makes a contribution to society while obtaining wages.
• Students have a relatively flexible time schedule with more breaks, a syllabus that provides clear learning tasks. There are more knowledge-oriented academic discussions. But in the workplace, young people have relatively less free time, and face a faster mode of life.

2. Possible problems faced by young people in the transitional period

• The competencies developed in schools do not exactly correspond to those required by companies. Specifically, essential skills for instance, adaptability, analytical problem solving, communication, innovation and teamwork are not stresses enough importance for young people at school.
• Young people may be unconfident and fearful of an unfamiliar workplace. They do not know where to start and deal with their work.
• Unable to adjust to the transition, young people may develop negative feelings about the workplace, which can cause serious psychological burdens.

3. How to deal with school-work transition? Below are some suggestions.

• Prepare for work in advance. Prepare from your student stage by planning your future career. In addition to enhancing your professional knowledge, you can take part in a series of student society activities, internships or social practice to improve your social skills and comprehensive qualities, and give yourself the opportunity to be exposed to activities in the workplace before you graduate, so that you can develop a professional mindset and understand the rules of the workplace.
• Adjusting your mindset for employment and being psychologically prepared is the basis for a change of role. Generally speaking, careers are not always easy, and if you are not prepared, you may affect your own mental conditions or the progress of the whole team. Therefore, it is important to adjust your mindset in advance and be fully prepared for psychological “setbacks”. This is a necessary quality for a successful career.
• Learning knowledge with an open mind and improving working ability. After all, what a person learns during school is limited, especially with the development and progress of science and technology, new knowledge is constantly emerging. A lot of knowledge and ability needs to be learned, exercised and improved in the work practice. Although young people have learned a lot of knowledge and skills during their school years, they still need to learn new skills in the face of a brand new career, namely learn from experienced leaders and colleagues, constantly enrich their professional knowledge and improve their professional skills, and eventually achieve self-improvement.
• Proper and reasonable career planning is a key factor in career success. When planning your own career, you should measure your own abilities objectively and not be overly ambitious or under-ambitious. In addition, it is important to make a reasonable plan for your career, taking into account your professional knowledge and abilities. With a career plan, you will have a goal to strive for and plans for the future. At the same time, in order to achieve this goal, you must constantly strive to master more professional knowledge and constantly improve your skills. Being courageous and willing to contribute is an important sign of completing the role change. During the beginning young people should enhance a sense of social responsibility, so that you can better and faster complete the role change.
• Learn effective communication skills. Ensure appropriate language and accurate communication of information. Think structurally to find core issues and describe them accurately to avoid ineffective communication.
• Learn from the feedback from others. In the workplace you will receive feedback from your supervisors or colleagues. To figure out whether you are performing in line with the requirements of your role and to make more accurate evaluations about your behaviour, you have to rely on these feedbacks. The advice from others helps you to analyse yourself well. If the advice is reasonable, learn to take it on board.
• School support: education plays a vital role in developing the capabilities for young people to satisfy the demand of the labour market according to the report from International Labour Organization (2019).
• Social support: young people can seek support from public organisations. They offer, for example, employment advice and mental health support. These can help you to better adapt to the pace of the workplace.

Reference

International Labour Organization (2019) From school to work: an analysis of youth labour market transitions International Labour Organization [online] Available at: https://ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—stat/documents/publication/wcms_732422.pdf