Beyond Grades – Preparing for your Career

In school, getting good grades is really important. But in the professional world, you need more than just a 'good performance'. Here are some other ways to prove you can be a great employee. 

1. Learn time management
   Learn how much time you need to research and write a paper, get to your classes and jobs on time, fit a workout in your day, and still have something of a social life. In your professional life, you’ll need to know how to manage your time to meet deadlines, tackle to-do lists, and avoid banging your head against the wall in the process.
   
2. Gain relevant professional experience
   Jobs, internships, externships, student organizations, and volunteer projects in your industry will prepare you best for the working world. Your future employer will take your experience as the absolute best indicator for your potential in a new position.
   
3. Be able to give and receive feedback
   Learning to accept praise and criticism is incredibly important. You’ll participate in employee reviews with your boss someday, so the ability to hear different types of feedback, internalize it, and adjust accordingly will matter to your job performance.

It’s also important to learn to how to give feedback to others. When you collaborate with colleagues, you’ll have to offer positive and negative comments on others’ work.

A version of this post first appeared on Becky Johns’s blog.