Have you ever wondered,
“How has my college (university) education schooled me for the real challenges of life?”
Don’t get me wrong.
For all purposes that a college education and educators actually do seek to serve, I do think that a college education has immense value. It has transformed me in more ways than one. It gave me lasting friendships not only with my college mates but also, with professors who have gone on to become my personal mentors. It gave me a window to dive into intellectual pursuit in an unbridled manner. It gave me the opportunity to see the world without having the “burdens” of adulthood – think taxes, bills, annual leave and what not.
Of course, thank you, Daddy and Mummy.
Yet, I do think there may be certain behaviours and mind-set that need to be “unlearned” to be relevant and successful when a graduate steps into the working world. Of course, our college experiences will differ vastly.
But I shall base this article on my past college experiences as a college student in Singapore, teaching and mentoring dozens of undergraduates over the past years and of course, my observations of recent graduates, in general.
1. “Authority needs to be respected and feared at all times”
For some unfathomable reasons, this is like an unspoken rule that I’ve observed, especially in Asian cultures with a high power distance – that you should and can never get too close to your professors or other figures of authority in college. Yes, they are the purveyors of knowledge and determine (almost) your fate so you’d better comply and toe the lines.
Except that you realize when you step into the working world, expressing dissent effectively and tactfully is a trait to be celebrated. In fact, great bosses go as far as to encourage dissent. That being the nail that sticks out doesn’t always get… hammered down.
Instead, there are times to challenge the conventional wisdom (”we’ve always been doing it this way”) and offer differing and radical ideas and solutions, even if you may be the youngest and only person in the room who thinks so.
Not for the sake of being different, but being relevant when the situation calls for it.
2. “Examinations are your only assessment”
College life can be likened to a series of short burst sprints. Even if you aren’t consistent, you can make a last minute dash and still do decently well for the “defining moment” – your examinations. It hence, lulls many into thinking that it’s the “results” that matter, not the process.
When you enter the working world, the “defining moment” is almost… every moment. It’s a lifelong marathon with numerous pit stops along the way.
Even if you’ve got that coveted job of yours, you are still being evaluated and re-evaluated on a daily basis. If you’re client-facing, none of your clients is going to bother about which college you’ve studied in the past or what was your GPA.
They are only bothered about at this point in time – how your role, company and her offerings can make a positive impact to them and their company in the future. If not, they will be sending you out of their door in no time. So yes, there’s nary a moment to slacken and be complacent just because, you got your foot into the door.
But on the bright side, you’re almost starting on a blank page, every single day. With new challenges and opportunities to leave your mark.
3. “Failures are bad”
There’s a huge stigma about failing, at least in the academic sense. Your grades tank and you can immediately say “good bye” to your scholarly career, when you get a C or D. And of course, since a college education is meant to prime you to be career-ready, failing at assessments aren’t something to be proud of because they are a gauge of your operating fundamentals, or the lack of.
But the nature of the working world is such that you will no longer be cocooned by the four forgiving walls of your classroom or your professors’ warm embrace. You will make mistakes, you will screw up (gloriously) and you will have your fair share of poor judgments and lapses.
But that’s how you will truly grow as an adult. Ask any corporate leader you respect for their advice on making it to the top – chances are, you will learn from them it’s never rosy, but their ascension to their current roles are almost always fraught with innumerable battle scars.
Or as Mark Zuckerberg once said,
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk... In a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
4. “Certainty is a given”
A college education can be largely linear. Everything down to the assessment criteria, list of reference materials, academic schedule and even… knowledge of your professor’s hobbies are provided for you either through your college’s LMS , website or Mr. Google. Put it plainly – you are spoon-fed.
But the tendency of having all the information presented to you on a platter over four years is that you get lazy and take certainty for a given. Life in college affords you perfect knowledge. Life in the working world can be the exact reverse – full of vagaries and chaos. Imperfect knowledge.
Attend enough corporate talks by change management experts and you know that this is a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world that we are living in.
Beyond being a buzzword, you will know nothing is constant in our world of flux.
From having friends who are “restructured” (laid off) from their cushy corporate jobs in their twenties to witnessing your peers make life altering decisions (like getting married, having children or coming out of the closet) to discovering that your school mates had taken their lives because of work and life stresses, you start to appreciate the transient nature of life, even more.
The last I’ve checked – there’s not a Learner’s Guide to the module, Life 101. You never know what’s going to happen next. So all the more, make this current moment and your work count. Learn and read voraciously, live and experience deeply.
5. “It is what I know, that matters most”
One tends to conflate success and self-worth during your college years with your GPA, academic awards and your grey matter. You may be a social recluse but if you’ve the book smarts and intellectual discipline, you will do just fine. In fact, you will still be duly recognized and rewarded. This is because intellectual capital is probably the most important key to winning the college game.
When you enter the working world, you will start to learn that no man is an isle. You could be the smartest and most knowledgeable person in the room (though you should not). But you could well be extremely handicapped.
Guess what?
You will need the help of the IT guy (girl) when you can’t send your important documents to your boss over the internal network. You will have to get through the secretaries and PAs of your clients first if you like to schedule meeting with them. Your mentors and sponsors, if you have them, will be the ones who will open doors for you when you are stuck and helpless at your career crossroads.
And that’s where who you know (social capital) and why you know what you know (clarity and communication skills) count for so much more. So never think you’re too high (or low) for connecting with someone or having that small talk.
It could just be a prelude to something big.
In closing, a quote from Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers, probably sums up these sentiments most aptly,
“You have all the time in the world to learn everything that needs to be learned – and you have less time to unlearn it”
The former takes effort and focus. The latter needs mental openness, courage to step into spaces of unknown and that willingness to “start it all over again”.
Our world needs more nimble and adaptive individuals to be ready for tomorrow.
Why not, start today?