How can students actively groom themselves before joining the corporate world?



Description:  Students at college usually live a casual life and start worrying once they are at the end of their studies.  They stress over the thought of fitting into the new job role.  Grooming themselves, identifying areas of improvement and working towards it is an excellent way to prepare before entering the corporate world.

College life is full of fun and frolic and comes to an end soon enough. Students enter the corporate world as soon as they complete their education. Their carefree dressing and attitude towards life, in general, undergo a tremendous change. Personal hygiene, pleasant mannerism, presentable dressing, positive outlook, common courtesy, neat appearance, control over emotions, and an overall professional image are a few basics of the corporate grooming that the students need to concentrate on.

Students with a well-groomed professional appearance make a good impression at the workplace. The corporate world works very differently from a college set up. While there are no faculties to correct, there are peers and managers who help at times of need. Email, social media, workplace, telephone, and business associate etiquettes are some of the corporate etiquettes that need to be learned about. Students can be groomed with a few of these etiquettes, the others could be learned through training/ induction, and the remaining are learned through experience on the job.

Apart from personal grooming and learning corporate etiquettes, students might want to consider taking an online course. The course can be in a subject/skill that would be helpful in the future. Applying for an internship is also an excellent investment of a student's time since it grooms them organically into a professional role and enables them to build a solid career in the future.

Let us look at some of the changes that need to be made by the students to groom themselves before entering the corporate world:

Lifestyle changes: Eating healthily and sleeping well might look like a very unexciting tip but, working an 8-hour schedule every day is a big change from the easygoing college life. This kind of schedule change may need some getting used to and lead to changing the social calendar from going out every day with friends to catching up on the weekends.

Online Presence: The online presence of a student has more to do with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But it would be a great idea to clean up these profiles (remove partying photos) and start following news and groups that are relevant to the specialization/ skill in a more professional platform like LinkedIn. This will help to build a professional network and enable recruiters to consider the profile for any open opportunities.

Areas of Improvement: Identifying the lack of soft/hard skills and taking measures to improve them helps in the better performance of a future job. Reading a book, taking a class, asking a friend or mentor for help in improving a skill while at college is an excellent utilization of a student's time to groom themselves for the corporate world.

Female students might need to concentrate on their grooming like minimal makeup, neat hairstyle, minimal jewelry, and dressing to match the culture.  Male students might need to groom themselves in terms of wrinkle-free clothing with subtle colors, well-kept hair, and usage of mild perfumes. While preparing to enter the corporate world, students may also need to learn about Courtesy, table manners, cleanliness, and overall conduct at the workplace.

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