National Careers Week 2016 2016 Digital Magazine | Page 17

FIVE BIG FEARS WHEN
STARTING YOUR FIRST JOB,
AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM
thing you
The first time you will be able to see the value of every begin to
you’ll
and
have developed during your time in education,
being late (a
understand why your school was so fussy about you
you can’t get
if
tion
deten
a
just
with
away
get
you
let
boss may not
to work on time).

1. “Help, I’m shy!”

Entering an environment where
everyone else already knows each
other may seem like a nightmare for
shy people, but it’s important to keep
yourself relaxed. Remember, everyone
has been a new person at some point,
and will make the effort to ensure you
feel welcome.
You may be worried about voicing
issues with your manager, or asking for
holiday days and time off. Whatever
your query, it is your managers job to
ensure his staff are happy, as happy
staff work better, so don’t be scared to
approach them and ask for help when
you need it.

4. “I don’t know
what’s expected of
me”

This fear is not unique to
your first job. In any role you
start you will have an initial
period of getting to grips
with what you are expected to do, and how you will
positively contribute to the
company, which is why it is
important to meet with your
line manager when you start
to properly go through your
role and set some objectives
for you to achieve.

TOP TIP!

Always be on your best behaviour
when you start a job, it may be
that others in the office are
slacking off a bit, but don’t fall
into getting too comfortable too
quickly!

2. “I don’t have any skills k
that are useful in the wor
place”

How do you know if you’ve never
had a job before? The school and
education system is designed to
give you all the skills necessary
to succeed in whatever industry
and role suits you. As well as this,
it’s in an employer’s interest to
give their new employers all the
necessary training required to
ensure their staff are prepared and
comfortable within their role, so
anything you don’t know before
you start will be explained to you
in training.

3. “I don’t have any
experience”

This is another classic catch, but
it is not something you should
worry about. Everyone has to
start somewhere, and if this is
your first role, the employer
has hired you because they are
confident in your abilities and
feel you can sit well within their
team. You may not know how to
do everything at first but that
will come over time, and you
can use academic experiences
to help along the way.

5. “I don’t know how to dress/behave/speak in a work
environment”

ssed
The best way to tackle is by sticking to the motto “It’s better to be overdre
wearing
were
office
than underdressed”. If you can’t remember what people in the
first
when you went in for an interview, definitely go for a smart as you can on your
You
day.
second
day, and they will let you know if you can be more casual on the
jeans
may feel silly all suited and booted, but you’ll feel sillier if you turned up in
ur
behavio
best
your
and everyone else is in crisp work wear. Similarly, always be on
but
bit,
a
off
when you start a job, it may be that others in the office are slacking
well
don’t fall into getting too comfortable too quickly, you want to seem keen and
y.
compan
the
behaved until you know what levels formality are accepted within