The Young Professional's Guide to the Working World

“Laying the Foundation: It’s What’s at the Core that Counts”

Here’s a hard lesson that university students learn after they graduate and enter the business world: College does not teach you how to handle yourself or build a career in the commercial sector. You will almost surely enter the corporate environment unprepared if you grew up in a family that didn’t share business acumen at the dinner table.

Moreover, most companies do not try hard enough to acclimate young hires to corporate life. As a result, most neophytes must figure out on their own how to get ahead. Some lessons come early and hard. For example, no one guarantees that you’ll get promoted. That often takes a while. Moving every few years to a new position is not smart. Firms view job-hoppers with suspicion. In business, a reputation for previous achievement often means less than the work you’ve done recently. And guess what: Your boss is more worried about his or her career than about yours.

Although external circumstances and other people often influence your career, charting your path is your responsibility, so take a few positive steps, such as developing more work skills and searching for opportunities...