Getting your very first proper job is one of the biggest milestones and achievements that you experience in your whole life. It’s a massive moment of independence and the key towards making your own money which in turn allows you to be a real, mature adult. Of course, we all know there are certain things that come along with starting work, but what about the bits that people don’t always share? Here are things that no one tells you about your first job.
You can head into your first real job with all the training and knowledge in the world, but really, you know nothing, Jon Snow! The true heart of any career is the experience, so you will stay as green as a five dollar bill until you throw yourself into it and start working in the real field rather than having your head in textbooks and checklists about what makes the perfect employee.
Never ever assume that you know everything there is to know before you start the job. No matter at what level you enter, and how qualified you appear to be, there is always so much more to learn. If you can approach the job with that ready to learn attitude, you will be just fine and you will get along with everyone.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you first ‘first job’ will be your last! Every time you start a new position, and sometimes even when you are promoted into the same company, the first days of that role will make you feel just the same as you did all those years ago when you dipped your toe in the world of work for the first time. It gets easier with time, but it will always the same!
You can anticipate the ins and outs of the role that you are starting, but something you can’t anticipate is the what the culture of the company and the work environment will be like. Make sure that are willing to go with the flow so that you fit in as best you can. It’s almost like starting a new school as a teenager!
Even if you only see this first job as a stepping stone to better things, there is a chance that you will make friends that last a lifetime, just like you do at school and just as you did at college!