5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My First Job

In doing research for my new role in career coaching, I came across an article in the Harvard Business Review by Yasmina Khelifi 3 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My First Job (hbr.org). She shares some great insights (and I recommend checking out her article), but it also made me think: What if I could turn back time 20 years and share wisdom with my younger self? Better yet, how can I pass on invaluable lessons to those embarking on their career journey today? Here are my 5 things that I wish I knew before starting my first job:

1. Its okay not to love your job.

It is just as important to figure out what you DON'T like to do, as it is to determine what you DO like to do. My first job out of undergrad was for the United State House of Representatives, Office of the Speaker. (I don't often talk about it, because my boss spent time in jail following his term as Speaker of the House. I'm from Illinois. We are used to our political figures ending up in jail...but not going down that rabbit hole of political discussions!)

Anyway, I was a Staff Assistant, which means my main function was to answer the telephones, order office supplies, and fill the refrigerators with beverages. Not what I pictured my "big time job" in the US House of Representatives to be. We used to laugh that we were all so highly educated and could be teaching America's Youth, but instead, answering the phones.

It was incredibly boring. I spent most of my day surfing the internet and playing online games (I remember falling in love with Zuma and Snood...just to date myself). I didn't even have internet at home because by the time I was done with work, I had zero interest to be online anymore!

The majority of my colleagues were also in their early 20s, so it was a great way to ease into the working world. I had long dreamed of working for the US government in DC and here I was - doing it. But I hated it. I remember having what I called my "Quarter Life Crisis" because I knew I couldn't keep doing that job, but did not know what I wanted to do.

I hired a career coach and spent a lot of time looking at job boards, only to find that the jobs I found most exciting were marketing, advertising, or communications. I had a Political Science degree and in no way felt qualified to go for a marketing job. So, after 5 years of living what I thought was going to be my dream, I returned to business school.

2. Communication is key.

Every communication - email, text, phone call - with colleagues is an opportunity to make a positive or a negative impression. Clear, concise communication is vital, especially in today's remote world.

I once lost an entire day's productivity to miscommunication around different definitions of the word "playbook." Who would have thought that such a simple word would have caused so much angst. But not being able to pop down the hall to say, "Hey, what did you mean by 'playbook?" meant that we had to take extra time to ensure alignment.

Another major communication lesson came from my first Marketing Director. I was responsible for launching a huge national campaign that included an events team, specialized website, and all of the bells and whistles. I did so well with promoting the event, that on the first day, the website received more traffic than it could handle and it crashed. Instead of taking this news to my boss immediately, I tried to find a solution first. In the end, it looked like I had tried to hide what had happened. I will never forget him saying, "bad news does not get better with age."

The more communication, the better. Now, with one caveat: no verbal diarrhea. No one cares if you were late on the deadline because your cat deleted the presentation. No one wants to wade through 4 pages of nonsense to determine what they actually need to know.

There are a million articles on how to write a good email, but the way that I do it is to write stream of conscious (apparently just like how I blog...) and then delete most of it. The other day, I wrote an email that had a lot of info in it and it was getting very long. In the end, I delete it all and said, "let's chat about the details to make sure we're on the same page."

3. Executive leaders are just people too.

When someone holds the title of "Vice President" or "President" there is an assumption that they have it all figured out; that they are good at making timely and informed decisions; and that they have it made. And that is not necessarily true.

As I mentioned, my first job out of college was for the Speaker of the House. I had grown up in a family where we were often around Governors and high ranking officials. I had never been nervous around them, until my livelihood depended on what they thought (or didn't think) about me.

On Capitol Hill, there is a cache around the leaders. Lowly staffers, like me, were expected to move out of their way in the hallways and not even speak to them, unless spoken to first. This changed my perception of executive leadership and was a lesson that I had to unlearn.

According to a 2022 survey by Moneypenny, 41% of VPs have felt like they were imposters. They are NOT all-knowing beings, who should be treated like royalty. They are just regular people who are trying to do the best that they can do for their company and their bosses.

Most of the time, they WANT your insight and input. They want to collaborate and learn from your experience. Not just a yes person.

4. Understand your company culture.

In my first true corporate role, I was hot off of graduating from business school with my MBA. I was making serious money for the first time and I was super excited about what I did every day. (I was finally a marketer!) I remember one of my colleagues saying to me, "You make us all look bad by working so hard." Ouch!

Now, I'm not saying, "don't work hard." Or that maybe that colleague was wrong, but it was very eye opening, especially about starting a new job. Rather than coming in like a bull in a China shop, try to observe and learn more first.

In that same role, titles did not really mean anything, which left me unprepared for the next role. I was a Senior Manager and at that company, Senior Manager was a very high title, but I did not realize it. I ran the marketing department. I was the youngest person and one of just a handful of females to ever be a Senior Manager. Right off the bat, it rubbed some people the wrong way that I had been given such a senior role. If I had take more time to understand the culture and the importance given to titles, there are a lot of things that I would have done differently.

5. Give yourself grace.

Being an adult is way harder than you expect for it to be. (And I think it wasn't until recently, in my 40s, that I finally started to feel like an adult.) It is OKAY if you do not have your 5/10/20 year plan figured out. It is OKAY if you hate your job. It is OKAY if you aren't where you thought you'd be by age 30/40/65.

Life keeps rolling and everyone is just doing the best that they can to survive and thrive. Let yourself off the hook and enjoy the ride!

What advice would you give?