The transition from college to the professional world was a sudden one. At the beginning of May, I was a student scrambling to organize the bibliographies for my final college papers ever; then, I blinked and found myself ending May as an Editorial Assistant. I was (and still am) incredibly excited to begin my new position and immerse myself in the world of educational publishing, but let’s face it: starting your first job out of college can be intimidating! After two weeks of fumbling through databases and matching people to the textbooks they’ve worked on, I thought I would share a few insights I’ve gained from being a newbie at a corporation.
1. Embrace the change and normalize nerves.
It’s very easy to trap yourself in a perfectionist mindset when starting a new job. You might be tempted to scold yourself for the anxiety and confusion that accompanies your first few days, but that won’t help you adjust. You nailed the interview and got the job—that means your employer knows you are capable of doing it! When I’ve found myself feeling nervous before a meeting with my boss or panicked when I’m completely unsure how to do a task, I’ve reminded myself that everyone has felt the same way—including my coworkers on the Editorial team! Even the highest-performing people at your company had to start somewhere with first-week or first-month jitters. Pay attention to the voice in your head—is it encouraging you or beating you down? Catching self-deprecating thoughts will be especially important in your first few weeks, as this is the time when you’re most prone to feeling like an imposter. If you start working right now on stamping out the critical voice in your head that tells you that there’s no room to feel uncomfortable or afraid, it will serve you well for your entire professional future, when you’ll evidently be faced with more transitions and more challenges.
2. Find a way to document everything.
Whether it’s typed in a Google doc, scribbled on a notepad, or recorded, every piece of information you get in your first few days—from HR resources to software training sessions—might be something you’ll forget later on if you don’t take care to store and organize it immediately. I decided to record the Zoom calls I did with one of my coworkers who was training me to navigate new systems, and I’m so glad I did. A few days later, when my boss asked me to perform a task on a database, I had the Zoom recording available to remind me exactly what to do. Even though it might feel tedious to document everything, it will save you a great deal of head-scratching and panicking later on.
Another tip: bookmark important webpages that you’ll need to access frequently right away! That will save you at least a few seconds per day of clicking through pages to arrive at your destination.
3. Figure out who to ask which questions.
This is perhaps the most important thing you can figure out while you’re new to the job. Not everyone will be able to answer all of your specific questions, and your boss may be too busy to respond to your various inquiries. Which HR person’s contact info can you file away for the times when you have questions about healthcare benefits? Who can tell you more about the proper etiquette for scheduling meetings? Don’t be afraid to rely on people at your level or even below your level, too—they might have some of the most up-to-date information on how to perform your role. I’ve been very grateful to my boss for his willingness to answer my questions, but I’ve also found that my fellow Editorial Assistants have been absolutely invaluable and highly responsive when I have a burning question I need to get answered right away.
4. Get to know your coworkers as much as possible (and it doesn’t always have to be work-related!)
You might feel shy about reaching out to your coworkers to set up introductory meetings or coffee dates, especially if you don’t work with them directly. However, I’ve found that getting to know my coworkers in an informal context—from chats about the questionable behavior of cicadas to swapping memories about study abroad—have helped me feel a lot more comfortable as a new employee and a lot more excited about my role. The people you work with have diverse backgrounds and various hobbies; if you demonstrate interest in their lives and the projects they’re working on, both inside and outside of work (without coming across as too creepy, of course), they’ll appreciate it immensely and think of you as a caring, diligent, and dedicated coworker. This effort will definitely pay off later, especially if you’re in a position where you need help! We’re all human, and your coworkers will be a lot easier to work with if they like you. Don’t hang back—take the initiative and reach out!
5. Treat every mistake like an opportunity to learn, not a failure.
You will mess up at many points, you will need to be told the same thing twice, and chances are, you might even do something you wish you could take back. It’s all part of starting out, and trust me: people aren’t judging you nearly as harshly as you think they are (but if they are judging you, this company is not for you!) I was embarrassed when my coworker had to walk me through each individual step to navigate a database, even though he’d answered my questions a few times over email already. He didn’t mind, though—if anything, my request to proceed through the steps with him on a Zoom call demonstrated my eagerness to master this skill. You’re much better off asking a question multiple times or acknowledging a mistake than holding things in and flailing about aimlessly. Your coworkers and supervisors will appreciate it much more if you show a clear effort to correct your errors and admit it when you get something wrong.
6. Figure out how to maximize your productivity and avoid burnout.
The professional life can be nice because you can clock out at the end of the day, head home, and relax, but the workday can feel very long at first. To avoid losing focus or burning out, think about what productivity strategies were most useful to you while you were working on big school assignments and consider applying those strategies to your work projects. I find that focusing intently for around 20-30 minutes on an important task and then taking 5-10 minutes to do a smaller task, like going through my work emails, helps me conserve my energy and spend it wisely. In my experience, the “afternoon slump” (or the hour or two after work) can be quite brutal if you don’t have a plan for making the most out of your time and staying engaged, so be prepared!
7. Lastly, give yourself a pat on the back for starting a new job with a learning mindset! A few months from now, you’ll probably forget you were ever an anxious newbie.
