Lessons I Learned From My First Job

India
February 23, 2016 8:47am CST
After you finish your academic courses, time comes to enter your dream profession. After several rounds of tests and interviews, when you finally bag the position you have dreamed forever, the world seems to be the most beautiful place for you! A new chapter of your life starts when you step into the position of a professional. The most important point is that, the ‘real education’ starts now. Things you have learned so far in the institutions, will seldom help you in practical situations! Often, the dreams you have nurtured so long, can be shattered on the very first day of your job! Things can land you into an utter disillusionment from the very beginning. The office environment can turn unpleasant and unfriendly, because the situation is different from that of the schools or colleges, where you enter a classroom filled up with people who are in the same status or position, but in workplace you have to coordinate with people belonging to different levels of seniority, coming from different backgrounds. One more thing is there. While people enter their professional life, they leave the safe shelter of parents or guardians, to face the tough realities of the world. Often, the struggle changes a person and situation moulds his/her character. So, the behavior or reaction you normally expect from your senior, the behavior which you think is quite ethical and human, is not always found in reality. And, the result is frustration which can finally change your character too! Now, when I look back to those times when I was utterly disappointed by the hostile environment of the workplace, I can analyze things in a mature way. It is not easy to change jobs frequently, specially when the offer is lucrative for anyone on this earth. And you cannot land yourself in the world of endless despair. And there is no guarantee that the new job will be better! Then? As social beings we always love to communicate, to express our views and values and distinguish ourselves from others. That is the primary way of being a human! In the way of sharing our views, we make friends; but it also gives rise to enemies while there are clashes of views. With time I have realized that office is not the ideal place to express myself as a person, to share my views and opinions. I am supposed to learn and do the work I am being paid for. There will be enough time to get a perfect friend, till then I have to carry on the search silently. If I cannot make friends, I should not make enemies at least! I should always remember that there are various ways of saying ‘no’ to things I am not obliged to do; it is not necessary to make a prominent refusal, but I can avoid things indirectly. The most disturbing part is the flock of gossip lovers who love to spread stories. Often those stories can reach the ears of your Boss and it can affect your career indirectly, because everybody is human being after all. So, the best way to escape this is to become utterly boring! Keep your mouth shut up in every occasion, agree with almost everything as much as possible, forget about your values and ideas, give extremely brief and ignorant answers to curious questions. Gossip lovers seldom pay attention to uninteresting people. But remember, never be rude with anybody. And don’t ever think of crossing someone regarding such issues. Never get involved in gossips as well. If the seniors are not cooperative enough to guide you, do not lose patience. Stay quiet even when you are insulted. It is not wise to argue with the seniors even when they are wrong, because it will invite more problems. Hopefully this problem will not last forever if one remains calm. Rather try to find people who will value your efficiency. From the day you join your first job, be very cautious about your social media activities. Strictly refrain from giving office updates at the social media pages and adding your colleagues to your network without prior thinking. Also avoid sharing your personal information with colleagues. Remember, it takes time to find a ‘true friend’! If this article makes you think that workplace is the worst kind of hell for lively people, it is not like that. You have to maintain some rules for a few months only, gradually you will become old and things will become less critical. If you find the place too hostile, opportunities will come after one or two years, to change the job. So, never lose hope! I think the suggestions would be helpful for the newbies who are going to join their first job, or just have joined! Best of luck to all of my brothers and sisters!
3 people like this
4 responses
@BelleStarr (61050)
• United States
26 Feb 16
I was lucky in the last 27 years of my employment, I loved my job and the people I worked with.
3 people like this
• India
26 Feb 16
It's so nice, really!
1 person likes this
@Shayani (250)
• Pune, India
24 Feb 16
We all have many things to learn from our first job in our career, since we were just a fresher, vulnerable, and adaptable then, which makes us an easy target in office politics, gossips and all. Once we developed an understanding of dealing with people and their petty issues, we can keep ourselves restricted to whom we want to communicate and whom we dont. I too had , many learning from my first career job and now I am still learning more...
2 people like this
@trivia79 (7828)
• El Segundo, California
24 Feb 16
have you ever experienced to be one of the topic of gossips?
1 person likes this
• India
24 Feb 16
Yes, I heard stories that I was lazy and inefficient(!) while the truth was just the reverse. I was quite energetic and enthusiastic, but the seniors were not willing to assign me works with the logic that I would not be able to do it, without ever checking my skills! So, it pained me lot!
2 people like this
@trivia79 (7828)
• El Segundo, California
24 Feb 16
@arundhatiwriter ouch! they didn't trust you in short! if that's the case, it's not healthy for you to stay that long in that company anymore!
1 person likes this
• India
25 Feb 16
@trivia79 Yes, I left the job after one year, because if there is no recognition, there is no security.
1 person likes this
@avi256 (8489)
• Pune, India
16 Mar 16
It was a mesmerizing experience for me to read through this post and I felt as if my life was going through flashback of last 6-7 years since the first day when I entered the corporate world. Just 4 responses for this post is really disappointing. Well ,since I have myself completed almost 7 years now in IT sector I could relate with most of the things you have written. When I look back and compare my thoughts to what they were then , I think I have become more wise, more diplomatic and have started playing safe now. Workplace is one place where too much honesty could go against you. If you flow with the wind, you may not be very successful, but it would land you to safe junction. There were times when I was very expressive when I felt that my boss or management is not on the correct path, but lately I realized its not what you say but how you say it matters the most. Most of us face the major problems in the first year, when after engineering life, we are suddenly exposed to this unforgiving world, where you are not sure who are your real friends and your real enemy. If we accept corporate world with its own idea of existence , and if blend our ideologies with them then we can surely enjoy and be successful. But if a person is looking for some eternal satisfaction, its not gonna be there unless you create it for yourself.