In a world where the hybrid and remote work environment is dominant, graduates should be seeking to work at the office more often than not.

Fresh out of college and just landed your first job? Were you given the option to work remotely whenever you want? Are you required to go into the office once in a while?

Don’t settle for the bare minimum. It’s true that most people work remotely from home most of the week, but as a fresh graduate out of college, going into the office brings so many benefits to your career.

There is no comparison to the exposure you get at the office than when you stay at home. It can be the difference to getting the promotion you want sooner than another employee.

I’ve taken it upon myself to work at the office five days a week as a graduate, and the impact has been tremendous. Here are the reasons why a graduates’ exposure to the office is essential for their career:

#1: Networking

I can’t stress enough how important it is to network, in any job. From networking with senior leaders to networking with the interns below you, the people you meet and leave a good impression on will definitely help you later on in your career.

Going into the office everyday has allowed me to catch everyone who works in my floor in person. I’ve been able to meet so many new people by going into the office every day and the people I meet help introduce me to other coworkers on the floor.

During my internship, I was introduced to a senior manager from a team that I was interested in joining. We introduced each other over coffee, and I asked her if I could join her team once I graduated since I was graduating early. She ended up giving me the chance to join her team before my graduate program started in the summer.

The power of networking was responsible for that opportunity, and it gave me a leg up over the other graduates in the program since I started working half a year sooner than them. This is one of the many ways networking can benefit you as a graduate, and you aren’t able to leave the same impression virtually as you do in person.

#2: Collaboration

There’s nothing like being able to reach out to someone in the office for help on something. With just a simple walk to someone’s desk, you can ask someone for assistance on something.

The more questions you ask, the more you learn and the better impression you leave on the rest of your team. Not to mention it’s easier to collaborate on a project that has to get done.

It saves the stress and hassle of not being able to reach out to someone for an emergency via call or text.

By being in the office, you can sit down with someone without having to schedule a meeting every time you want to catch up. In addition, your manager can interact with you easily to check in on you and assign you more work.

The office environment allows for a lot of collaboration, which can only help you grow as you begin your career.

#3: Absorbing What You Hear

I’ve had to sit down in front of my manager several times at the office. In some cases, I’ve had to sit down in front of their manager, which happened to be the manager for the team in the entire country.

You’d be impressed at how much you can learn from listening to the conversations your managers have with other people. I was learning about things I wasn’t expected to know until years later.

I’m naturally a curious person, so when I heard things I didn’t understand, I searched them up or asked other people around me to explain it to me.

The good thing about being a graduate is that there’s so much to learn on the job. You can hear what people from other teams are talking about and even other divisions. Everyone is essentially more knowledgeable than you, so you learn so much every day.

You wouldn’t get that exposure working from home all the time.

#4: You Impress Senior Leadership

People have gotten used to working remotely for the past four years, and that includes the most senior managers at their companies.

Now, that doesn’t mean everyone works remotely most of the week because the truth is that companies are trying to get employees to come back into the office more often.

Most people fresh from college land their first job knowing they can be remote for most of the week. If you want to truly stand out from your colleagues, going into the office as much as possible is the easiest way to impress your managers.

The head of my team for the entire country was impressed by my commitment to go into the office every day. Leaving a good impression on him was important, and I know that moving forward with my career I have his support.

Something as simple as showing your face in the office as often as possible as a graduate is so game changing.

#5: Unannounced Events

Most of the time, events at the office are announced to the team via email. But what happens when something goes on that is unannounced to some members of the team?

Being in the office as much as possible gives you the opportunity to catch a meeting, an event, or a surprise visit for the day. As a graduate, it is more than likely that your coworkers will allow you to join them in things going around the office since you’re new and trying to learn so much. At least that has been my experience so far.

There have been so many times I got invited to client meetings that were going on last minute that I never would’ve been invited to if it weren’t for me going into the office so much.

You never know what can happen on any given day at the office, so the more you go in, the higher the chance of being there for something surprising or unannounced.

I know that at some point in your career the hybrid option will be necessary, especially when you start to raise a family of your own. In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to push yourself to go into the office as much as possible.

You want to make sure to leave a good impression on people and get the opportunity to bond with your team. Only good things will come out of this habit of going into the office as much as you can, I can promise you that.