Written by Meaghan Bitters, Asst. Advertising Manager

There are many stereotypes about college students. Some of them include that college students are known to complain, be late, and still act like children. They may not all be true, but it’s important to know how to conduct yourself in the professional world after college.

Here are a few tips to make your transition from college to career more efficient:

1. Stop complaining.
A lot of people work long hours and reap little benefits. Get over it; it’s life.

Once you accept a job, you’ll be there for a while. You can stay with that job forever, get laid off, get fired, or choose to leave, but you must realize that this job is important and people will treat you like a real adult now, so you need to act like one: be on time and look and act presentable.

2. Party in moderation.
You can still enjoy a week day happy hour, just make sure your drinking isn’t compromising your career.

You’re in the real world now, so if you show up to work the next day smelling like a bar, you might get fired, or at least reprimanded.

Gone are the days when it was ok to drink heavily all night and get a couple of hours of sleep.

Not only can you ruin your career by doing so, but you are also ruining your body.

As you age, you’ll feel your body can’t handle the amount of alcohol it once could.

You’ll have worse hangovers and maybe begin to enjoy a quiet Friday night at home after a long, hard week, rather than a night out on the town.

3. Learn to cope with stress.
If you’re still looking for a job six months after graduation, it’s okay. If you have a mental breakdown at work in front of all of your new coworkers, it’s not ok. Always make sure to take deep breaths as needed, and find a way to deal with stress.

We all react differently to stress, so find something that works for you.

You can go for a run or walk, ride your bike, go to the gym, go shopping; as long as you’re doing something to release stress in a positive way, you’re good.

However, if you get stressed so you go on a food, alcohol or drug binge, you are not properly handling stress and are actually making the stress worse.

Binging leads to lengthy stress-induced after-effects.

4. Create a healthy lifestyle.
No one wants to age quicker than they have to, so cut out all your toxic habits.

Pick a reasonable time that you can wake up every day, even days when you don’t work, which will allow you to be productive.

Go to bed at a reasonable time every night.
Your body will thank you by holding off on aging if you treat it well, which means getting enough sleep each night.

Drink enough water and learn how to cook.

You’re officially an adult, which means replenishing the proper nutrients and drinking the amount of water your body needs.

Luckily, we live in the 21st century, so learning how to cook is easier than ever. Just Google easy recipes and start practicing, you’ll get the hang of it.