Be keen to learn, but don’t be too pushy.
Once you’ve landed your first job, you’ll be the junior everyone will tend to assign their boring tasks to. Don’t refuse some of these jobs, even if you think you’re overqualified. This is only one necessary step on the ladder of building trust with your work colleagues and managers. However, don’t accept being pushed around, particularly if most of your colleagues are men. Don’t allow them make you their coffee girl. Don’t become the girl who picks up lunch for her colleagues. Also, don’t tolerate sexist language or inappropriate behavior.
Try to connect to other women in the workplace.
One of the most helpful things you can do in your new job is to find other women to connect to. You don’t need to become close friends, but you can join their unofficial sisterhood based on helping each other. Be careful, though, before you decide who is worthy of your trust and who isn’t.
Your old college mindset is now a thing of the past
In school, everything that happened was mainly about you. The only things you had to worry about where your grades, your extracurricular activities and your acquired knowledge. At work, everything is about your employer. You are there to help them make a profit and grow their business. Rather than thinking of all things your employer should do for you, start thinking of ways you can serve the company you work for.
Avoid comparisons
Like-minded women can learn and grow together. They can also hold each other accountable of their progress. However, don’t start to compare your achievements to others. There’s no need for you to become judgmental of yourself, as this isn’t the most constructive behavior ever. On the contrary, it can open the gates to insecurity and jealousy. This is never a good thing, either at work or in your personal life.
Do your own thing
Each of us has strengths and weaknesses. Most successful women have an innate skill of playing on their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses. Work to improve your weak areas, but make sure that you put your strengths to good use whenever you get a chance.
Think of your first job as of a sort of apprenticeship for later. Read this blog from Hanover Search.
Many of my coaching clients consider their first job as being miles away from what they’ve always imagined. This kind of feeling is normal. You may need to change two or even more jobs before finding the perfect career for you. Don’t make the mistake to think that your first job is for good.
Learn to not take criticism personally
Even though it is hard to hear that you can’t cope with the requirements of your job, try to learn to accept constructive criticism. In fact, negative feedback can be an excellent opportunity to identify your weakest areas, in order to start working on their improvement. Everybody makes mistakes, and you’re not going to be any different. Learn to accept your mistakes and to use them to your advantage. They are nothing else but opportunities for improvement.
