Prepare yourself for the hard truth: University is nearly over. Gone are the days of sleeping till 4pm, drinking during the day and writing endless essays throughout the night. In the precious few weeks until your graduation, this is the time to brace yourself for what is to come as you enter the world of work. Read all about the shocks you'll have to face, compiled by Lizzi Hart, a Marketing Assistant at the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, the leading consultancy for graduate jobs.
1. You need to regularise your sleeping pattern
It's time to set yourself a bed time. Now we know you're not a child, but working 9-5 and five days a week will be a struggle if you don't get enough sleep. Although speaking from experience, binge-watching Luther until 2am every single night while simultaneously Twitter-stalking your boyfriend from 2003 "just to see what he's up to" totally counts as regular.
2. You will be poor(er) for a bit
Graduate, meet Council Tax. Every month your new acquaintance will cost you a chunk of your salary (it's calculated against your property cost and residential area) on top of other bills and rent. Sorry about that. You'll still always find money for booze though - despite being in the minuses. A skill no employer has yet to appreciate...*hiccup*
3. You'll need to find somewhere to live
You knew this day was coming, but now you have to decide...should you move home, or try and stay living in your Uni's city? The latter means you can stay with like-minded friends in a city you love but will be more costly (if youre friends don't all run back home crying for their mum's cooking). The former will save you money, but let's face it, probably suck.
4. Job? Wherefore art thou job?
It's definitely worth mentioning that the time that you spend at home and looking for a job feels about SIX THOUSAND TIMES LONGER than it actually is in real-life-actual-time. Don't get downheartened; start your own business, blog, website - anything! Or just enjoy the perks of being able to eat from your mum's fridge and enjoy a cold glass of wine in your parents' garden at 3pm on a weekday. Whatever.
5. Ahhh.... debt.
Sometimes it's easy to forget about your tuition fees because you never see any of the money and assume it must have gone on a librarian's salary and the cost of that one really heavy textbook your lecturer gave you to keep, but unfortunately you'll have to start paying it back soon. HOWEVER you won't need to pay back Student Finance until you're earning over £16,365 (if you started university before September 2012) or £21,000 (if you started after September 2012). Result.
6. New job = new tea rota
Unfortunately, this is true. Consider it office etiquette, whenever you want a drink, you'll be expected to extend your offer to your colleagues - meaning you'll have a timely trip down to the kitchen. However, it's a great ice breaker if you need to burst your bubble of shyness - everybody loves a tea, and you can be the genius that brings in BISCUITS.
7. You'll need to get a new wardrobe bits
Apart from Cosmo, it's hard to find a workplace that will fully embrace the sight of you in a onesie - but don't fear, nobody will notice that you just have the same 3 or 4 tops from H&M's nice workwear section on rotation. As usual, everyone's too busy faffing about themselves.
8. You will be savouring your holiday allowance
It may seem pale in comparison to the 3 month summer holidays you've gotten used to, but you'll now be clinging to an average 25 days of holiday. This actually works out as a pretty sweet 5 working weeks, and you'll always have weekends and bank holidays off - which, in the working world, mean they instantly become huge party occasions. Every cloud.
Just remember, you've evolved into an educated adult with enough potential and independence to rule a small country. It's up to you from now on, so go ahead and be brilliant.
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