STP: Student to Professional

The transition from student to professional has always required a significant shift in mindset and behaviours. However, in recent years, the gap between student and professional behaviours appears to be widening. We want to solve this problem and enable students, early careers professionals, and all those who support their development, to more easily, rapidly and successfully navigate the transition.

As we adapt from a learning environment to an employment one, the mindset and behaviours required of us change. Much of what has helped us to be successful in education will no longer serve us well at work. Until now that transition has been undefined and opaque to many - particularly those students who come from more diverse backgrounds. We have adopted an evidence-based, research informed approach, led by early careers and occupational psychologist experts, to objectively map and model the mindset and behavioural shift from student to professional.

In recent years much has been written and spoken about the increasing gap between student and professional behaviours - despite concerted efforts from HE careers and Early Careers professionals alike. The key contributing factors to this include:

• The rise of perfectionism as a behavioural trait

• Social media presenting unrealistic expectations about the world of work

• Reduced work and life experiences during formative years due to COVID

• The success of widening participation and social mobility efforts - meaning more students from more diverse backgrounds are entering university life and professions

• The focus on ‘authenticity’ ‘bringing your whole self to work’ or ‘being you’ in employer brand campaigns, which has worked well for diversity but less well to set people up for a significant shift

• The step-change in delivery of an exceptional student experience at university, raising student expectations of life post university