5 Lessons My First Job Taught Me

At the beginning of February 2020, I started my first real job ever at Oxfam Novib (the Dutch affiliate of the international Oxfam organization). I have always wanted to work for an NGO (non-governmental organization) so this job was perfect to kickstart my career. I was offered a Marketing & Communication internship there from February to June.

After this brief but valuable internship, I have learned some lessons that surely will help me in the future.

1. A can-do mentality is vital

Having a can-do mentality means you are confident and willing to tackle every challenge, rather than complaining or not doing it at all. You see this requirement in lots of job descriptions and you probably write it in your CV and cover letter. I did so too.

At the time of writing my resumé, I was sure that I would be able to deal with difficult tasks. The truth is, though, while I was working, there were administrative tasks that were too meticulous and frustrating. But not once, did I tell my manager that I disliked them. I persisted and committed to completing the given task accurately and perfectly.

This matter eventually came up during our last talk. My manager asked me if I had encountered any hardships while doing the internship and I gave her my honest answer. Afterward, when she had to fill out the evaluation form for me to submit to my university, she wrote:

“Overall Chau is a very pleasant team member and is dedicated and attentive to her given tasks. She works well on her own initiative and is organized and responsive. She possesses a can-do attitude that has helped the team tremendously.”

2. When you have nothing to do, ask for new tasks, even if not from your team

This was what interns were told during the introduction week. Whenever we feel like we have too much free time at work, we’d take the initiative and ask what more we can help our colleagues with. If everybody in our team is doing fine, we can reach out to other departments and offer our help.

This never happened during my time at the organization though, everyone seemed to have so much on their plate.

But with my current job, this advice is quite helpful. There were weeks when all the writing needed was done and I found nothing to do. I then left a message in the group chat asking if anyone needed extra help on their task and texts kept flooding in. Apparently, my teammates were too busy to even ask for help, so when I offered mine, they were extremely glad.

3. Ask for help when you are in trouble

Chances are your colleagues are willing and happy to help. I did not have any problems dealing with the given tasks. However, when we had to work from home, I struggled for the first couple of weeks.

It was a challenge, having to turn my home into my office. I was living in a studio where my living and dining space was my bedroom. My bed was right next to my desk and the refrigerator was five steps away. I wanted to lie down for a quick nap or open my fridge every 10 minutes. I could not concentrate on my work at all.

After a week, I had to send my manager a message and ask for her advice. She was absolutely understanding and offered a personal check-in at the end of every week so I could have social interaction.

I also shared my problems with other interns, who replied sympathetically. We agreed to arrange a weekly Zoom call where we could tell each other how we had spent the week. Their help certainly allowed me to get through the rough patch much faster.

4. On that note, only ask for help when you can’t find an answer after doing your own research

Nobody has time to teach you everything like you are still a student, and this is coming from me who actually had a mentor at work.

If your colleagues are willing to help you with your work problems, it’s better to come to them hoping to find an answer to the last question, not expecting them to walk you through every step of the way from the very beginning.

5. Don’t eat lunch alone at your desk

There were days when I was so busy, I wished I could have worked all 24 hours. My solution then was to buy my lunch at the cafeteria and bring it to my desk so I could work while eating.

That was a terrible idea for three reasons:

I worked three days a week for four weeks at the office. So I only had 12 meals to share with my colleagues before the office closed entirely due to COVID-19. And I spent one-third of them at my desk, staring at the computer screen. Now I wish I had not done that, because, for the following months, I always had to eat at my desk.

Those lunch breaks could have been used to connect with other people from different departments. The office culture of Oxfam Novib is non-hierarchical so I could sit with literally anyone, even the CEO, at any table with an empty seat. So many opportunities to learn about other people’s jobs and their experiences were missed out on.

The lunch break was called a break for a reason. Instead, I used it to continue working. It could have been my breather, where I could interact with my colleagues and let my mind free for a bit. Short mental breaks have been proven to help us with better focus. I should have done so to work more effectively.

Takeaways

• Have a can-do mentality exactly like how you state in your CV
• Offer other people your help
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help, but don’t bother your colleagues with problems you can solve yourself
• When you are allowed to go into the office, never eat lunch alone again