Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

You’ve Got Your First Job! Now What?

Every year about now, hundreds of thousands of young people get their first jobs.

It’s a great and exciting achievement. But it also comes with a dose of reality: What do you do once you’ve landed a job?

There is plenty of literature on how to find a job, but not a lot on how to act on the job. Here are 10 basic tips everyone new to the job market should know. Some will be obvious, but others might not be. It is, though, a good checklist for anyone about to embark on their first job.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Number one: Have a good attitude from the first moment you show up. Funny how this gets overlooked, but making a good impression on your supervisor and co-workers from the start is vital. This establishes a tone that will stay with you throughout your job tenure, whether it is three months or three years.

Number two: Get ready for some tedious tasks. Every job has its share of duties that no one really wants to do. Your mission is to do them willingly and as efficiently as you can. People will be watching.

Number three: Observe what is going on around you. Get an idea of how your work fits in with the company’s needs. And, listen to everyone. You’d be surprised how much you can learn by listening to others.

Number four: Take time to make friends. Don’t underestimate this task. You’re going to have to work with people as time goes on and the better you know them, the easier it will be to work together.

Number five: Take advantage of any training or learning opportunities that are available. This is so important because you will be doing this for your entire working life. The sooner you understand that your skill development accelerates your career development, the better.

Number six: Find a mentor. Everyone needs a coach, someone who will help them sort through options and evaluate opportunities, and has the knowledge to help you reach your goals. Many people assume they know the path on their own, but the smartest and most efficient route is to lean on the experience of someone who has been there before.

Number 7: Develop goals and a strategy to reach them. You can let your career manage you, or you can decide to manage your career. Having a game plan is always best. Understanding strategies on how to reach your goals makes them more attainable.

Number 8: Ask questions. When you don’t understand why your supervisor wants things done a certain way, ask questions. Pay attention to the answers because once you understand this, you’ll be more efficient at whatever task is assigned to you.

Number 9: Make your supervisor’s life easier. This doesn’t mean you suck up to the boss by running to get coffee. It means you listen to what your supervisor needs and do it as well as you can. If you do that, your supervisor will notice, and you’ll stand out from others.

Number 10: Always go above and beyond. Supervisors sometimes get lulled into thinking that workers can only do what they are told. Workers who disprove this by their actions and by looking for opportunities will be the first to see their careers move forward.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Next Article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024

Every year about now, hundreds of thousands of young people get their first jobs.

It’s a great and exciting achievement. But it also comes with a dose of reality: What do you do once you’ve landed a job?

There is plenty of literature on how to find a job, but not a lot on how to act on the job. Here are 10 basic tips everyone new to the job market should know. Some will be obvious, but others might not be. It is, though, a good checklist for anyone about to embark on their first job.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Number one: Have a good attitude from the first moment you show up. Funny how this gets overlooked, but making a good impression on your supervisor and co-workers from the start is vital. This establishes a tone that will stay with you throughout your job tenure, whether it is three months or three years.

Number two: Get ready for some tedious tasks. Every job has its share of duties that no one really wants to do. Your mission is to do them willingly and as efficiently as you can. People will be watching.

Number three: Observe what is going on around you. Get an idea of how your work fits in with the company’s needs. And, listen to everyone. You’d be surprised how much you can learn by listening to others.

Number four: Take time to make friends. Don’t underestimate this task. You’re going to have to work with people as time goes on and the better you know them, the easier it will be to work together.

Number five: Take advantage of any training or learning opportunities that are available. This is so important because you will be doing this for your entire working life. The sooner you understand that your skill development accelerates your career development, the better.

Number six: Find a mentor. Everyone needs a coach, someone who will help them sort through options and evaluate opportunities, and has the knowledge to help you reach your goals. Many people assume they know the path on their own, but the smartest and most efficient route is to lean on the experience of someone who has been there before.

Number 7: Develop goals and a strategy to reach them. You can let your career manage you, or you can decide to manage your career. Having a game plan is always best. Understanding strategies on how to reach your goals makes them more attainable.

Number 8: Ask questions. When you don’t understand why your supervisor wants things done a certain way, ask questions. Pay attention to the answers because once you understand this, you’ll be more efficient at whatever task is assigned to you.

Number 9: Make your supervisor’s life easier. This doesn’t mean you suck up to the boss by running to get coffee. It means you listen to what your supervisor needs and do it as well as you can. If you do that, your supervisor will notice, and you’ll stand out from others.

Number 10: Always go above and beyond. Supervisors sometimes get lulled into thinking that workers can only do what they are told. Workers who disprove this by their actions and by looking for opportunities will be the first to see their careers move forward.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.