3 Crucial Working Tips for your First Job

How long did you take to ease into your first job? For you to feel comfortable yet professional?

To be honest, I’m definitely not one to have “enough” experiences for such a post but who decides how much is enough? If you’re curious, I have just a little over 2 years of working experience working from age 17 to now, and I graduated from University last year.

I have worked in many different places and they all have their own pace. My post here today is to mainly talk about what I’ve learnt from working as a full-timer (not an intern, a temp or a part-time staff) in the office and the problems I faced + how I dealt with it.

Having said that, I too, have done retail and F&B work (waitress / retail associate) and they don’t always have a specific manager. It could be the shift manager of the day so if you’re lucky you got the good-tempered manager, hooray.

Otherwise, pray that you don’t step on the toes (or paws) of the angry lion.

What I’m trying to say is that this post might help you in all walks of life – dealing with your colleagues (ahem, managers) and what you should do before you act on something.

I’ll do my best to keep this post light because my work life has been pretty hectic and annoying these days. I’ve even been thinking of taking leave whenever I wake up. Ah, what a dread.

Btw, if you’re an experienced professional, please exit HAHA (I kid). This probably does not apply to you but you may read on.

Okay, let’s get this rambling started.

Here are 3 crucial working tips that I feel are worth to take note of and practice when you begin working as a fresh grad.

1. Whenever a more senior person in the company asks, “Oh, are you a fresh grad? / is this your first job?”.

Honestly, this is a perfectly normal question but because I got the opportunity to work in an MNC (multinational corporation), there is always a certain look from them as I am a fresh graduate (and also from a private university). There is ALWAYS prejudice against people from a private university, believe me. With the competition out there like that, you can only win with your soft skills and to show your eagerness to learn during the interview.

Anyway, I took it in my stride (as best as I could) to make sure I don’t feel small and thought of a way to sound more confident. Since I’ve had other relevant experience as an intern and a temp staff, I decided that I should begin answering such questions with a much more positive “YES, this is my first job since graduation BUT I’ve had some experiences before this so I’m pretty excited to learn even more here“, etc.

If you didn’t get the opportunity for internships and other work to build your resume / portfolio, no worries! You can just change the line after BUT to: “I’ve always had an interest in this field and I’m pretty glad to have an opportunity here while learning the ropes from <insert manager’s name>!”.

I find this almost instantly gets a different reaction from the person asking as opposed to me answering with a plain but polite “Yes, just graduated *smiles*”. It shows personality and excitement that the other party will definitely be able to feel.

I mean, EVERYONE will be fresh from school at one point in their lives. It’s just a matter of how you make your introduction sound.

If you actually can’t be bothered about what people think of you at work, and prefer showing your potential through work alone, you may skip this step! 🙂

2. When you make a mistake that was not entirely your fault, and your manager points it out.

What should you do?

Firstly, ask yourself if the reason why you made that mistake was because you assumed it should be done that way OR were the process actually communicated to you in that way by someone (manager or anyone).

If it is because of an assumption (and only that), admit your mistake and make sure not to do it again.

However, if you were just following instructions from someone (manager or anyone), ask yourself if you have evidence that the process was communicated that way.

I say this because many a times, I do something according to what I thought was the right instructions and my manager asks me the reason for my “mistake”. I answer with a “You told me ___ and I thought ——“. The next sentence that I am slapped with after my ‘explanation’ was a “Do not assume”.

This, imho, is actually a mistake that I constantly make.

It isn’t that we should always prepare a black and white evidence for your actions, but it is always good to ensure that you have a clear idea of your responsibilities.

Try explaining the reason for your actions to your manager while showing that you understand the process. After all, there must be a reason why you did something that seemed logical in your eyes. If your manager gives you another perspective for why some things should not be done that way, be open and stand in that person’s shoes, or you will never be open to change and improvements.

One more thing for this point. If you do have evidence that you were just following instructions from someone, and your manager still blames you without caring to listen your side of the story, you are not at fault.

Your manager just does not have the decency to clarify the issues. Please ignore and don’t take it to heart. It’s not worth it.

3. Taking up ambiguous jobs or being pushed to help with an event

Ambiguous jobs are called that for a reason. They do not have a fixed place in any other person’s job scope because they are mainly ad-hoc.

When you are entrusted with an ambiguous job that does not seem to fall under your job scope, ask yourself if it hinders with your main job scope.

What is the purpose of your position? What is the opportunity cost for doing that instead of your job scope?

If the ambiguous job you are entrusted with stops you from showing a good portion of your capabilities, see if you can suggest someone else who has a better expertise for it.

If all else fails, and you are most likely chosen to add Ambiguous Job #1 into your role (as you have no choice), express to the other party that you will try your best but that you cannot guarantee you are able to keep on doing it. Show your confidence in a project / event / job only if you think you have the bandwidth to complete all other expected duties of you stated for your role.

The same goes with events. You are called to attend an event and/or help out with the preparations. Get an opinion from your manager after you have collected your thoughts. If you decide to take it up or turn it down, give legit reasons. Although the event is not yet passed over to you, you, as an employee, are always accountable for your actions.

You need to know that if you turn a request down, a justification is needed. You can’t say yes or no, without a reason. Should you take up the request, ensure you have sufficient time set aside for your main tasks.

On the other hand, taking up ambiguous jobs may not always be bad. If you excel in executing it, the spotlight is on you! Just make sure you’re not allowing people to ALWAYS dump such tasks to you. Hear their reason, justify if you have the bandwidth, then decide to take it up or not.

Alright! It feels like this post is getting slightly too long. I’ll just post about these 3 points for now. Should I have anymore to add, I shall post a part 2 version!

Anyway, if you are a fresh graduate (or to-be), I hope these pointers give you some help when you step into the working world.

Not everyone is your friend. Not even your manager LOL.

Learn to be tactful when answering and questioning, because this is literally adulting life and you need to be responsible and accountable for your actions.

That’s all for me!

All the best in your job hunt or your first job!

With 💕,