14 Reasons Why Your First Job Is Crucial

Entry-level jobs are tough and involve a lot of hard work, I know, but they are also the first step you take in your career.

They provide a very good occasion for you to both develop your soft skills and learn the technical part of the job. Most likely the salary is not too big and the work involves a lot of struggle, but it’s usually worth it.

Performing well at an entry-level job will get you a step closer to a better job.

I used to read this quote whenever I felt down at my job:

“Work until you no longer have to introduce yourself”

Are you ready to read actionable advice learned the hard way?

Let’s start!

Embrace the new challenges

Doing new things is difficult, but once you figure out the idea, everything becomes simpler.

If you aim to become a better version of yourself and a good professional in your line of work, treat challenges as opportunities to learn. The more things you can do, the better you become.

Entry-level jobs require a lot of execution and you should know that from the beginning.

Have a positive attitude and say YES to new responsibilities. They are both a means for you to get noticed by the upper management and an opportunity to evolve.

Work hard, as if you owned the company

To become a valuable asset for the company, you need to work hard. This may be easy if you’re a workaholic by nature, but if you’re not, you have to do this anyway.

By working hard, you will gain everybody’s respect, and this is very important. Also, if you become the person that is capable of managing different situations, you will be seen as a leader, not a regular employee.

You are already spending a certain amount of time at the office, why not give your best?

Focus on working better and faster

It’s very important to learn the tips and tricks you need to be capable of working better and faster. Do everything you can to become as good as you can. The best person the company has, if possible!

Think of it as if you wanted to start your own company and you get the chance to gain the required experience and get paid for that, as a bonus. If you become a good worker, the chances of having a successful company one day improve.

Also, if you become very good at your job, you may get the chance to earn more money or get a promotion.

Have a positive attitude

Attitude matters, trust me. Equip yourself with a lot of energy and a positive attitude.

Being positive will help you perform better and will make others see you as the rising star of the company. Smiling boosts your image and makes everybody think you are more capable than you are.

It’s well known that happy people perform better than unhappy ones. You don’t have to smile all the time, but don’t adopt a bad and destructive attitude.

Behave as if you had prepared for a great opportunity and you wait until you get your shot.

Listen more than you speak

It’s very important to learn when to listen and when to speak. Don’t be the type of person that provides unsolicited advice to people that know what they are doing.

Consider every interaction with experienced colleagues as an opportunity to learn new things. Use the time you have to maximize your learning, not to unintentionally annoy others.

Until you make a name for yourself, try not to have too many opinions regarding the job. If you want to be listened to and be respected, you need to prove you are worthy first.

Focus on your soft skills as well

The best worker isn’t always the most experienced one. To obtain good results, you must have a mix of both technical and social skills.

Besides the technical side of the job, you need to be able to manage difficult situations, be capable of respecting deadlines, work well in teams, communicate efficiently, et cetera.

If your job involves interacting with customers, you will get the chance to develop a lot of leadership aptitudes. Consider this a great opportunity that can help you become a better person while being paid for doing work.

You get the chance to apply what you had learned in college

Also, an entry-level job is a good occasion for you to apply the things you had learned in college. You will discover fast that you know a lot of theory, but you lack the work experience — that is normal, don’t worry.

If your scholarship is over, you must focus on gaining real-life experience. People usually hire individuals in entry-level positions for their attitude and potential, not for their skills.

All the big companies provide in-house training, so you can understand the job requirements better. Don’t worry about that. Think of the job as a good opportunity to apply your knowledge and to master things better.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help

The main goal should be to become a good employee as fast as possible. It is normal to feel like a noobie at first.

Write down the things you learn and study as much as you can, but don’t hesitate to ask for help also.

Remember this: The company is willing to do everything it can to help you earn money for it. In your first work weeks, you should absorb all the new things just like a sponge.

Stay away from troublemakers

Another golden piece of advice is to keep a distance from troublemakers. Avoid conflicts and do not BFF people that are lousy workers.

Never criticize or gossip about others and never complain about the job! Having a bad attitude will decrease your chances of becoming the leader you can be.

You need to make friends at the new job but avoid bad entourages. By spending time with nice and hard-working people, you will get noticed by valuable people easier.

Have a proactive approach — always offer to help

By helping others, you both make a good impression and get the chance to learn new things.

Have a proactive approach, offer to do things and to give a hand, when needed, but don’t transform into a people-pleaser.

This way, you will be seen as a leader and will get noticed easier. By helping others you will also boost your reputation.

Focus on results, not actions

By the end of the day, only one thing matters: YOUR RESULTS.

Your main focus should be having good results, not doing actions. Actions by themselves do not have any value, without good results.

If your job requires interacting with people, do everything you can to receive good feedback, from both customers and colleagues.

What is the difference between the two?

• Action: Contacted the customer and discussed the offer.
• Result: Signed the contract with the customer.

Don’t entrust people too easy

Be very careful when entrusting others. Unless you know someone, don’t think he or she is your friend. This advice applies in both life and career.

Be careful of what you talk about and to whom. Don’t be an oversharer, don’t tell things that might hurt you in the future.

Your boss is not your friend!

Avoid getting too close to your boss. Never forget that he is the person paying your salary, not your friend. In the end, everybody plays their own game.

His main interest is most likely to gain profit.

If you get too close to your boss, he will tend to ask you to work more than you should, just because you two have a personal human relationship — you don’t want that to happen, do you?

Don’t make too many compromises

It’s okay to say yes to new things, but compromising too much is toxic. Politely refuse to do things that would make you a bad person.

Don’t let a random job corrupt you and break your integrity, because it is something you regain hard. If needed, quit your job but keep your integrity intact.

As Jon Stewart once said:

I want to look back on my career and be proud of the work, and be proud that I tried everything.

Bottom line:

Entry-level jobs involve a lot of hard work, don’t forget that. Junior jobs are never dream jobs, but they can get you closer to better jobs.

Work hard, learn-learn-learn, and become the best person you can be. Change your job when you’re the best and continue the learning process elsewhere.

Article originally posted on Medium.

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