Leaving Campus and Going to Work [Paperback]

T. Jason Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2006

For a college graduate still basking in the glow of a newly-minted diploma, the transition from campus life to full-time work can be an enlightening, if not a downright shocking, experience. You arrive at the front door of your new employer ready to contribute -- with your academic formulas, theories and practices ready to implement -- only to find a whole new education awaits you. The real world of work, and no one prepared you for this experience. Many resources help you find and get that first job out of school, but what do you do once you're IN that job? Leaving Campus and Going to Work provides invaluable guidance about successful behaviors and how to avoid 'derailing' your potential in that critical first year of your first job. Carefully read, considered and applied, this resource can help you not only survive your first year of full time work, but build a solid foundation of work behaviors that will benefit you your entire career.

Editorial Reviews

Review

T. Jason Smith has written an excellent book that can prove invaluable to the young person in your life. -- Alan Caruba, Bookviews.com, March 2006

This book is a must read for all college students and all new employees. Well done sir. Well done. -- William E. Cooper, Reader Views, March 2006

Very highly recommended, especially for new college graduates as well as those going through a career change. -- Midwest Book Review, March 2006

From the Publisher

It’s been many years since I walked into my first real job for a small company in coastal Virginia. Though certifiably graduated from an institution of higher learning (I had a degree to prove it), and innocently believing I knew all there was to know about life, I quickly realized over the course of my first year of employment that there was a great deal about the ‘adult’ world I didn’t know. Things like managing money, working with people I didn’t like, and learning I had to live with the mess I created when I failed to double-check my work. I eventually figured a lot of it out on my own, but don’t think learning those lessons wasn’t painful. It was.

HR professional and author T. Jason Smith has taken his many years of experience and written a guide for new college graduates entitled, Leaving Campus and Going to Work: Practical Guidance for the First Year of Your First Job After College. Instead of the typical advice about how to find fame and fortune in your job, Smith guides those new to the working world in ways to build a solid foundation in their first year of their first real job. He focuses on both developing successful behaviors that can pay long-term dividends, and avoiding behaviors that can only create problems over time.

A key strength of the book is its conversational style. While the thoughts and advice given throughout the book are exactly what new professionals need to know, the manner in which it is written makes you feel as if you are having a relaxed conversation with the writer, instead of receiving a lecture from a more senior professional. Before you know it, you’ve picked up on a way to curb a bad habit or found a new thought to consider. Another strength is that, in most cases, Smith does not tell new professionals what course of action they should take in most cases but instead, presents the pros and cons of the decisions they have to make and leaves the final outcome up to them.

I have reviewed quite a few of the best-selling career advice guides, and from time to time, I must admit I end up a bit confused about the message they are attempting to deliver—if there even is one. Not with Leaving Campus. Though the topics range from managing your own development through dating your co-workers to the complexity of balancing your time, Smith utilizes real-world examples I can connect with, and this makes the messages even more clear. And what was most clear to me was the main message the author is trying to send--which is we are more than what we do for a living. Smith closes the book with some personal life experiences, containing a message about mastering work in the midst of your life, that, if nothing else, young people entering the workforce today need to consider.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Aspen Mountain Publishing (April 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977723763
• ISBN-13: 978-0977723768
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,795,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stuff I didn't know, July 2, 2006

By 

John McGlothlin "John" (Katy, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Campus and Going to Work (Paperback)

A friend of mine bought this a few weeks ago and I borrowed it to read while travelling to a job interview. It was not what I was expecting. Alot of books like this are very wordy and kinda hard to read, but this book explains things in what I call 'normal' language. I saw why each topic (and there were many) was discussed in the book (they made sense to know if you were working), and while there were some definite dos and don'ts in the book, most of the chapters told you the pros and cons for you to make the decision. I'm still looking for a job right now, but I've already picked up a few things that would even help me in my temp jobs. I would recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all new graduates!, May 3, 2006

By 

Thomas - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Campus and Going to Work (Paperback)

This book is a remarkable look into the do's and don't's of your first real job after college. No one else has approached the subject of "I've graduated, I have a job, now what?" with the insight and humor that Jason Smith applies in this book.

The book teaches any young professional (or seasoned vet) about how to avoid the pitfalls, mistakes, and failed expectations that many new hires face. Jason Smith has seen it all in 14 years of HR management, and has some very sage advice based on his own experiences.

The author has recorded an in-depth discussion of the book, which can be heard on the "lockjaw radio" podcast .

Highly recommended!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful, March 23, 2006

By 

Jessica Lewis (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leaving Campus and Going to Work (Paperback)

This is a great book to introduce you to the working world. As a graduating senior in college, I really appreciate the insight and personal experiences the author revealed about the inner workings of the corporate environment. I feel much more prepared to handle my first job after learning how to talk effectively with my boss and how to prepare for the unexpected. The book covers all kinds of areas, from trying to fit with company culture to balancing your personal and working life. The chapter on finances, budgets, and planning for retirement was also a plus, since no one ever really explains those things to you. It is a funny, well-written book and is an essential guidebook for anyone entering the workforce.