As a recent college graduate starting my first “real job” in the middle of a pandemic, I understand the struggle. I graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Economics and started working for Strategic Voyages. While I feel like my college education did prepare me for professional life, it’s been an adjustment nonetheless. For one, there is definitely less hand-holding at a professional job than there is at college. There are no “participation points” and there’s definitely no syllabus of upcoming deadlines and progress checkpoints. For this blog, I’ve compiled a short list of tips and reminders that have helped me navigate my first professional job and adjust to post-graduate life. 

1. Don’t be afraid to speak up

It’s possible to disagree without necessarily being disagreeable. The difference between these comes down to how you phrase your responses and relate to people. You don’t have to agree with everything people say, but make sure to phrase yourself in a polite way. Remember that you’re all on the same team and working toward a shared purpose. 

A mistake young people often make at their first jobs is being too timid to contribute to conversation out of fear of not being knowledgeable enough, saying something that’s incorrect, or the idea getting rejected. However, all of these possibilities are better than your boss and coworkers assuming you have nothing to contribute. 

2. Work hard and be punctual

Hard work can be as important as talent when it comes to succeeding in your professional life. For example, the “10,000 hour rule” states that to truly be a master of a skill you must dedicate 10,000 hours of practice to that skill. Practicing something and mastering it takes perseverance and dedication, two traits that employers often look for in their employees. 

Being punctual is a very basic but important tip to remember. Being late can signal to your boss that you don’t take your job seriously. If you struggle to arrive on time for your job, your boss may start to question your level of competency, dedication, and professionalism. The same etiquette applies to communication via email. Although college was intended to prepare you for your first job, oftentimes recent grads aren’t used to the frequent emailing required of a professional job. Nevertheless, this is important as almost everybody has deadlines to meet and superiors to report back to. You don’t want to be the reason for a delay. The quicker the response, the better; however, make sure that the email is free of spelling and grammatical errors before sending. 

3. Improve your Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

One of the most important ways to make an impact at a job is to leave behind a good impression on the people you worked with. Although your first job may not be exactly what you envisioned or what you want to do long-term, it’s still a chance to meet new people, gain new experiences, and network. How you relate to people and the way you chose to lead your team can make a huge impact on your success. Having the right team of people around you and a support network you can fall back on can make a world of difference.  However, be careful not to fall into the category of people-pleasing and prioritizing favors others ask of you over your own work and deadlines. 

4. Work at Building your Confidence

Having confidence in yourself and your own abilities can open so many doors. People with more confidence and less skills consistently get chosen over people with less confidence and more skills, simply because they believe in themselves. “Impostor Syndrome”, feeling as though you are not experienced enough or good enough, can stop you from taking opportunities and growing your network. Remembering that there’s a reason you were chosen for the job can help alleviate these feelings and give you the security to take on new challenges. A lack of confidence usually stems from being unsure of ourselves and our ability to tackle challenges. It might be helpful to take an honest look at ourselves and assess our abilities as well as our shortcomings, and then dedicate time to improving those shortcomings. Practice makes perfect, and practicing tasks we are unsure about usually overcomes natural aptitude. Another good way to build confidence is to prove our doubts wrong. It’s hard to know what you are capable of until you are truly tested, so take risks and actually try things you don’t think you can do. 

5. Communicate with your Boss

To make sure you’re working toward the right goals, weekly check ins with your employer can be helpful. Asking questions like, “What could I do better? What’s going well? What do you need from me?”, can allow you to make sure you’re both aligned for the same purpose. By having these dialogues, you can learn your boss’s preferences and expectations. Checking in with frequent updates for your boss can be helpful for the both of you. Updating them periodically with the status of your current project makes it clear that you’re working diligently and making a contribution. 

Ask questions when you are stuck and need help, but make sure you’re being as independent and resourceful as you can be before coming to them for help. You can seek out constructive criticism occasionally, but it will not match the frequency of feedback from your professors and school advisors. It’s up to you to understand what accomplishments your boss finds valuable. 

Your first job out of college matters for a myriad of reasons. It’s the first step in your career and you will likely be dedicating a few years of your life to it. By keeping these things in mind, working hard, and maintaining a positive attitude, you can make a lasting impact and a good impression at your first professional job. Starting your career off strong lays the foundation for bigger achievements to come down the line.