Lessons from experience
by Siew Ching Chua
Relieved that you've finally landed yourself a job? The route to a successful career is not over yet; in fact, it has just begun with your first job, Siew Ching Chua writes.
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| Amir Rosman |
Finding a job is the first step to building your career. If you have successfully secured one, congratulations.You are now on the way to making it to the top.
But will you succeed, especially when there are others who are vying for the same spot on top? And how can you make sure this job will teach you the things you need to know for future advancement? You will be asking yourself these questions on a regular basis throughout your working life.
When it comes to career paths,we all have aspirations to climb the corporate ladder and reach heights and visit places we had never dreamed of while we were studying. But making that dream come true can be frustrating, as most of us are unsure how to achieve it.
The trick is to take the time to learn and grab the opportunities to excel, especially when it is your first job, for this is where most of our foundations and attitudes towards our career will be determined.
In our daily lives,we are often presented with chances and opportunities. While some people may not enjoy results in an instant, taking the first step to building a successful career, even if it is five years down the road, is essential to making your dreams come true. It all starts now.
Making it happen
Whether you will have a successful career or not depends on only one person - you. Having the right mindset will determine how far you will go in your career. If you are motivated and passionate, it is almost a certainty that you will go far. However, if you see your career as a 9-to-5 thing, then it will definitely be just that - something to fill up your time with.
You may not realise this, but how you fare during the job interview will determine how far you will go in your career.This is not because your employer will forever judge you on your answers, but it is the attitude you adopt during the interview that reflects your attitude to the journey you are about to embark on.
| When it comes to career paths, we all have aspirations to climb the corporate ladder and reach heights and visit places we had never dreamed of while we were studying. But making that dream come true can be frustrating, as most of us are unsure how to achieve it. |
Take Amir Rosman, for example.Now playing a regional role in an international company, Amir's attitude was to convince his future employers why they should select him above other candidates.
He did this by focusing on his strengths, directing his interviewers away from his weaknesses. And the trick worked, as Amir had given himself the chance to prove his worth. But even if you didn't fare well during the interview, don't despair. Perhaps it just wasn't the right job for you and the experience will only make you more aware of what you want and how you are going to achieve that. This is what Narzeenas Ibrahim, a division manager with Avon Cosmetics, learnt.
“My first job interview didn't go well because I was not fully prepared. I didn't know what to prepare. There were three interviewers and it took about 45 minutes,” says Narzeenas. “I didn't get the job because I panicked and was nervous. Thankfully, I was fully prepared during my next interview as I did my homework.”ework.”
It was definitely an experience that worked out fine for Narzeenas,who is a multiple award achiever for Avon and is on the fast-track to becoming the head of sales and marketing for the company.
A learning experience
Regardless of whether it is your first job or your third, every workplace will present you with experiences and knowledge that will prove valuable in the future. How you react towards each new experience will determine how you will progress in your career path. Always seeing the positive side to things will help you take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.
| Having the right mindset will determine how far you will go in your career. If you are motivated and passionate, it is almost a certainty that you will go far. |
Amir's first job as a junior analyst for operations (finance) might sound boring to many, but he saw it as a challenge to strengthen his technical skills as an analyst.The right attitude to adopt, this gave him the opportunity to learn more and to try his hand at everything. Also, realising the potential to grow in his company was something he embraced.
“The organization has given me a platform to grow on and I will definitely not waste it,” he says.“It's been six years since I got the job and I have never looked back.”
At the end of the day, you will realise that there is plenty to learn on the first job that will steer you towards the position you aim for. And one of the most important lessons you will learn is that even if you failed once, you can always try again.“One successful experience will somehow override the bad ones,” says Amir.
| Regardless of whether it is your first job or your third, every workplace will present you with experiences and knowledge that will prove valuable in the future. |
Moving forward
Unlike Amir,many of us don't usually stay with the first company that hired us.Nevertheless, our first job will still present us with a wealth of experience, often determining how we will perform in working life from then on.
Narzeenas's first job gave her the knowledge and confidence to move forward into a different industry and to excel there. She worked at her first company for three years, during which she was exposed to many things. This proved invaluable when she joined Avon.
“I learnt a lot of things - how to be a successful sales person, how to manage people and time, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, as well as communication skills,” she says. “The three years equipped me with lots of experiences, but I needed to try new things in a new industry.”
And thanks to the varied exposure in her first job, she continues to make waves in her current
company.
Making the right moves
There is never any lesson that goes wasted in our lives.This is particularly true when it comes to working life. The decisions we make today will determine what happens tomorrow.
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| Narzeenas Ibrahim |
| And one of the most important lessons you will learn is that even if you failed once, you can always try again. “One successful experience will somehow override the bad ones,” says Amir. |
When it comes to your career, a lot of what happens will depend on how you apply yourself.The diligence and time you spend on improving yourself will show when the time comes.
Many of the success stories we hear about didn't happen overnight. There will always be ups and downs, but this bumpy ride is what will make you learn more about yourself as well as your career.
With the right experience and knowledge, you will soon learn to steer the course you always dreamed about.
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