First day on the job? Here's what to expect

by Graduan

Expectations are a human trait. We expect today to be better than yesterday,we have expectations in our relationships and of our favourite sports team. We also have expectations of ourselves - how we perform in the classroom, how we project ourselves in public and, now that we've graduated and gotten a job, how we will do in the workplace. Because we are generally hopeful beings, our expectations can sometimes be skewed in that we expect only good things.

So when it comes to something as serious as our career, we have fears about not meeting our own - and the company's - expectations. To better cope with the many new situations in our first job,we should be realistic about what to expect.

Expect to make mistakes

One of our greatest fears is to make mistakes. This is one of the greatest setbacks for fresh grads. The logic is simple:“I make mistakes, mistakes lead to bad things for my company, my company fires me.” But this logic is very narrow because the world of 'mistakes' has more than one dimension.

The propensity to make mistakes is built into our nature.We will always make mistakes in our career, so don't sweat it.

Secondly,mistakes are a natural consequence of risk-taking. Educated risktaking is necessary in making business decisions.We can't know everything - sometimes we just have to go with our best guess after all the facts are evaluated.

Finally,mistakes are often the best way to learn. There are always two sides to the coin: something can go well or it can go bad.The important thing here is to learn from our mistakes - so, don't make the same mistake twice!

Expect to be challenged and surprised

You should also expect to find out how much you don't know.Don't take this as bad news, but see it as an opportunity to learn.

No one came into this world knowing everything. You weren't born knowing the quadratic equation, did you? (If you did, please ask your mother what she ate while pregnant, and tell us the secret!).

Even as you will learn about yourself, you will also be surprised at what you will learn about others.The university life you had was very much a sheltered one.

Now that you are in the working world, you will be more exposed and you will meet some of the craziest characters around. Expect to have a rude awakening meeting the Crazy Gossip Woman, the Neurotic Photocopy Guy, the Spaced-Out Accountant, the Mean Boss and many, many more.

Don't get me wrong, you will run into some very nice people, too, but do expect to meet a 'rojak' bowl of humanity.

Expect to be judged … regularly

Let's not kid ourselves, this is the real world - and you will be judged on the quality of your work.This makes sense for the company - and for your own progress. Instead of fearing it, embrace it.

Make it a habit to check with your manager regularly. It's like quality control in a factory assembly line. If a factory worker waits till the last minute to check on a product, he or she would have missed all the errors that might have happened during the process. Sometimes, it's not even errors, but how things could have been done better or more optimised.

Unless you 'check in' regularly, in other words, have discussions with your boss about your work, you won't know what you could be doing better. Expect to have an impact Your contribution will add value to the company which employed you.You must believe this and start your first day of work with this expectation. Every little bit counts.

As a newcomer, your responsibilities will not seem to have a direct impact, but the way you do things will. How you format your reports, how you write your emails, how you perform during meetings, how you crisismanage a situation - all these things will reflect on you and will have an impact.

Effective communication is an organization's lubricant, the oil that ensures your company's engine doesn't overheat. So craft every email with the pride of an artist.

Manage every meeting with the precision and sensitivity of an orchestral conductor, opening it with a framing statement and an invitation for everyone to help reach a certain goal by the end of the meeting.

Every discussion, whether in a formal setting or not, should be made with the express intention to resolve the issue at hand. If emotions run high, call a timeout until the coast is clear again.

Expect to be bored

Boredom happens. It's a fact of life and it will appear in your working life as well. There will be days when all you do is look at the clock every few minutes and it will feel like eternity waiting for the day to end. Expect that this will happen once in a while.

The question is: what do you do about it? Sometimes, your brain will need to undergo 'defragmentation' and has to run on 'idle' for a bit.Don't worry too much about it. Just come back the next day ready to have a better day.

Sometimes, however, boredom is symptomatic of you growing beyond your current position and a signal that you are ready for bigger responsibilities.Talk to your manager about this.You can even suggest other responsibilities you can take on.

Expect to be recognised and rewarded Recognition and reward is what every good company will give its deserving employees.You probably shouldn't be putting up banners and huge neon signs saying 'I deserve a big bonus!', but you shouldn't be too shy about it either.

Most of the time, smart employers will know when to reward a hardworking employee and your prize will come in due time,whether it's in the form of a compliment, a promotion and/or a raise.

But if you believe your reward is overdue, then by all means discuss your career path with your manager and determine what you still need to do in order to get to where you want to be.

Expect to move on

If you are one of those lucky ones who lands a dream job after university, or can at least say you love your job, you may decide to stay a while to get the best out of the experience.This is obviously the smart thing to do.

However, once you feel that you've made the best out of your time there, don't feel obliged to stay simply out of loyalty.

Expect to be happy

Stepping into working life is a fascinating journey. It really does get better as time passes. Setting,managing and re-setting your expectations is an acquired skill and your mastery of it gets better with time.

What I have written above are simply guidelines, and not hard and fast rules that must be applied word for word.You can really only try your level best. Once you are sure that you have done this, be content with yourself and savour every day's experience.