Not only did you just graduate college but you also managed to beat out dozens of applicants securing that first real job.
Congratulations! You did it! But the learning doesn’t stop there.
Here are some lessons you can expect to learn at your first real job:
The early bird catches the worm…. and the boss’ eye.
Big Boss is watching. He or she will be keeping a close eye on the tardy employees as well as the eager and early ones. Nothing will show your boss that you’re serious about your job quite like arriving early to work each day. It says that you understand the necessity of getting into the right frame of mind before starting your day.
In college, arriving to class late simply meant having to find a seat somewhere in the back of the room. There were no real repercussions to your tardiness. You were on your time and spending your money. However, on the job, there are ramifications to being late to work. You can be slapped with anything from a verbal or written warning to termination.
Deadlines are meant to be followed.
Just as showing up to work early speaks volumes, so does missing deadlines. They exist for a reason. Deadlines are vital to a company’s success—so keep them. Besides, nothing screams irresponsible and untrustworthy quite like a missed deadline.
There’s a whole lot less patting on the back.
As a college student, you may have become accustomed to working hard on papers and exams and reaping the fruit of your labor in the form of good grades from professors and praise from your parents.
Unfortunately, the “real world” isn’t quite so rewarding. Yes, you may have done this really great thing at work that saved the company tons of money; or came up with an awesome idea that created more efficiency in the office, but all you’ll get is a “well done, now keep it up,” at best. That’s it. Why? Because the hard truth is—that’s what you’re getting paid to do—produce.You are allowed—and even expected—to make mistakes.
There’s an unspoken window of opportunity that mistakes (of course contingent on the magnitude of the error) made by you will be forgiven, but it slowly starts to close from day one. Your co-workers, supervisor and boss will understand that you’re fresh out of college and are therefore on a learning curve. Over time you’ll come to accept your mistakes for what they are—learning opportunities.
There’s a real world out there and you just stepped into it.
You’ll have to figure a lot of things out on your own. Your colleagues will be busy doing their own job and won’t have time to stop and explain things to you.
However, if you do have a question, don’t hesitate to ask. Chances are your co-workers will recall what it was like for them when they first started the job and assist you. Just be sure to pay close attention to instructions given in order to pick up things quickly. You don’t want to find yourself in a position of constantly having to ask for help. Make an attempt to adapt quickly to the job, so it will quickly adapt to you.
You may have to sacrifice pay to get what you want in the end.
The pay won’t be too great but the good news is, it’s just your first job. With hard work and dedication you’ll eventually get the position you have your eyes set on. Be patient. You’ll work your way up to better pay, but in the mean time, save, save, save.
Your weekends won’t be the fun-filled times they once were.
Much of your spare time will be devoted to sleeping, eating and catching up on the shows you missed during the workweek. Since you now work full-time, you can expect your social life to be just about nonexistent. Unless you hang out with colleagues or manage to make family and college buddies a priority, you’ll be staying in most weekends.
While it’s good to try to keep up a social life and enjoy your time outside of work, you’ll likely be too tired and want to designate the weekends for rest and relaxation.
Network. Network. Network.
Chances are you got your job from a contact of a contact of a contact. It may be an old adage but it’s no less true today: It’s not what you know but who you know. According to Fox Business, between 60-80% of jobs are found through personal relationships. So, it makes sense to stick with what’s been working and to form relationships with your co-workers. Perhaps that co-worker who’s been in the company for more than a decade has some pull with the boss.
In addition, friendships (especially newly formed ones) need to be nurtured. You get back what you put out. Remember, you are the new one coming into something that’s already been formed. Extend an olive branch. Be friendly and in no time you’ll make friends.
Knowing some of the things to expect during the transition from college life to “real life” will only make recent college grads better prepared to handle the newly entered workforce and continue to succeed in life and in their careers.
(Feature Photo via The Everygirl)