Updated May 5, 2023
Tips to Rock Your First Job
The first job is how you set sail for your most remarkable career. But if you think it will happen by default, it would be your greatest mistake. You need to take charge and make it happen. Many people start their first job, don’t put effort into making their career great, and complain about their first job most of the time. But you don’t need to be among those people. You can make your mark. You can stand out in the crowd and prove yourself indispensable to your organization.
But how do you do it? Do you need to have a magic wand that you will whirl and twirl, and your dream career will arrive? Nope, that can only happen in fairy tales. You need to take one small step each day to be at the top of your game, and the good news is you don’t need to accept what happens to you; you can design it by your choice.
In this article, we will offer you six solid tips that have the power to revolutionize your first job. Just take notes if you need to and apply them one by one. You will see a massive difference in your confidence level and career graph.
Are you ready? Let’s dig in.
6 Important Tips for the First Job
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Design your career
When you join your first job, you will see that most people will get busy designing their travel vacation, but very few will develop their careers. Instead, they believe in default mode, and career happens to them instead of them creating their dream future. Why join them? Walk away from 97% of the crowd, and once you settle down in your first job, take a weekend to design your dream career. Follow the outline below to make it more convenient.
Include your ultimate career goal. If you’re 23 years old, what would you want to be 40 years from now? We know that it’s almost impossible to have a clear idea about it. But put it vaguely. It will get more precise and transparent as you progress in your career. Just remember the theme of work. Do you want more challenges? Do you like office premises more or outside the market? Are you social with coworkers, or do you prefer to be alone? If you still don’t get any idea, do your research. Find out who you are, your core values, and your talents and abilities. Then create a theme. Once you have a theme, please write it down and divide it into five years’ milestones.
If you have to reach there 40 years from now, where must you be after five years? There will be a lot of ambiguity, but write it down until you get the right thing. Once you’re done with five years, divide the first five years into 1-year milestones. One year from now, where would you like to see yourself? Take a different sheet and write down where you would like to be in 1 year. It should be more apparent than five years or 40 years vision of your career. Under that, write down four goals you need to achieve to accomplish your 1-year milestone.
Suppose you want to double your income in 1 year! Write that down, and under that, write down four goals to achieve your desired income. Then divide it into monthly, weekly goals and start working on them. You will be far ahead of the rest of the crowd if you decide to design your career in your first job. Your first job is essential as it sets the direction of your future ambition and future accomplishments.
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Build relationships
Relationships are everything. When discussing relationships, most people think it’s all about extracting what other people can do for you. Wrong! Instead, it’s the exact opposite. It’s about what you can do for other people. Leadership guru Robin Sharma has a famous saying. He says – “Life is short. Help enough people.”
What if you take that plunge and start helping people from your first job? Yes, when you join your first job, you may feel that everyone around you is more experienced, smarter, and better at business than you. But everyone has something to teach to everyone. So, you can help by offering a book or making a recommendation, phone call, or anything to help another person.
The best way to do that is to take a notebook and write down the problems people discuss. And once you write it down, think whether you can help them with that or not. If you can, do your part. Eventually, you will see that people around you like you and feel obligated to help you. And you would build great relationships with all of them. Remember, you don’t need to fit in, but yes, you need to help people. Relationships are all about helping people. And it starts during your first job.
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Grow each day
The journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. This is a familiar quotation for starting something new. But there’s one missing link here. We will add it for you. And it’s this – You must take that single step daily. If you don’t take one step today, you’ve missed a day and an opportunity to improve.
No matter what you do in your first job, the first thing is to ensure it’s beyond your comfort zone. If it’s easy and not helping you go beyond your normal being, it’s a waste of time. So, seek out those opportunities every day. Find out one thing you can do daily to get scared about. The best place to start is to start in your domain.
Let’s take an example. Suppose you’re in sales! And even if it’s your first job in sales, you’ve been successful with young people. Try a different segment now. Try out people who are in their late forties. Talk to them. Make cold calls and see what happens. Scary, right? But do it anyway.
The journey of thousand miles begins with a single step of growth you must take every day to be top at your game and become a better professional.
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Pursue continuous learning
One of the top universities in the US reported that only 10% of the students who pass out choose to read after completing school. So, we can clearly say that 90% of students don’t. Do you like reading? If not, there are other alternatives. But it would be best if you learned continuously since your first job.
If you think you’ve said goodbyes to school and don’t need to study anymore, you will end up as 90% of the crowd do. If you read a book monthly, you would be better than 90% of the crowd and come among the top 3% of professionals. You may listen to the audiobook if you can’t read. But learning has to be done. And you don’t need to read or listen to anything you’re not interested in.
Choose the subject you like and read a book monthly for a year. You will see a drastic difference in your knowledge, how you work, and how you see the world.
Yes, reading and learning need commitment and hard work. And during your first job, you may need leisure, fun, and excitement, but be grounded. To make your mark in your career, you need to learn continuously. And the best time to start is during your first job.
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Use the first job as a stepping stone.
It may not seem easy in your first job because you suddenly step beyond your educational horizon and enter a corporate environment. People are new. Things are new. The working environment is dynamic and often complex. And you are scared. We all know that feeling. The first job is scary, but at the same time is an opportunity to grow. At the beginning of a first job, you may get scared. It’s natural; let’s face it, we all get afraid occasionally. You get scared that means you’re stepping beyond your usual boundary and you’re growing. You’re put into an environment where everything seems strange. Get over that feeling as early as you can. And begin to realize it’s a stepping stone instead of a stumbling block. You’re learning, and the first job catapults your learning ability.
At the beginning of your first job, talk to someone who can understand your situation, empathize with you, and give you good advice. You need to choose the person with care. Talk to that senior colleague and make a good connection. Ask him/her about anything you can help them with. And he/she will help you cope with the new job and its challenges.
Soon enough, you will realize that your first job offers much learning and you’re growing steadily in your corporate environment. Your worldview is changing. You’re getting more mature, and you’re becoming a better professional.
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Be grateful
This is your first job. And a lot of bad things may happen. People may get rude to you. You may receive a ton of criticism. It’s possible that you won’t immediately understand how to operate things. You may not fit in and find troubles as you don’t. But still, your first job is something you should cherish! Why?
- Before this job, you were unemployed. And still, many people are waiting for their first job but cannot crack it. So, even if it’s not great, you’re employed because of your first job.
- Your first job has made you responsible. People around you started valuing you more. You become more accountable to yourself and others for your actions.
- It has ensured food is on the table every day. There are 70% of people who go hungry every day.
- There are a lot of people who are waiting to join the company you’re in now. This is your first job. You’re facing challenges. But you’re in. They’re not.
- Your first job offers you many opportunities to learn and grow every day. You’re getting better every day.
For the above reasons, you need to be grateful. If you’re thankful, you will be in a positive mindset. If you have a positive attitude, you will perform better. Better performance will lead to better outcomes, and guess what? You’ll ultimately get promoted. Being grateful for whatever it is, you harness the power of a positive attitude.
The above are the six tips to rock your first job. You will see that it’s not always related to your first job. But if you do the above regularly, they will significantly change your experience in your first job. Why? Because they’re fundamentals, every professional should follow once they begin their career.
The usual scenario is taking things casually when joining your first job. You’re still in student mode. And you take time to be in a professional way. That’s okay. As soon as you shift, it’s better for you as a professional.
When you get your first job, the company takes a lot of risks. When they hire you, you don’t have much or less experience. They trust you for your abilities and potential. And you begin. They invest time, effort, money, and faith, and you land your first job. So, never take your first job for granted. It’s a direction you set for your career. Learn, grow, and get better as much as you can. And follow the above steps. Make sure you follow them as we’ve sequentially presented them. First, you need to set a vision, and then you can gradually work toward it. And know that only one thing will set you apart from the rest of the crowd, and that’s this question –
“Everyone can! The question is – Will you?”
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