7 things I learned from my 7-months journey at Mastercard

If you are yet to hear from anyone, let me tell you that Mastercard is one of the most amazing places to work.

I may be too young to say this since it's my first corporate job. But when you hear it from almost every other employee who works here, you know you are in the right place.

But today, I'm not writing to you to brag about my company (lots of that to come in the future).

I'm here to capture and share my learnings from the first seven months of my corporate life/career, and I hope it helps you too.

1. Do a quality check yourself before on your deliverable before sharing it with others - This is by far the biggest lesson I've learned, and I'm still working on it. Even when you have someone to overview your work and correct you, it's up to you to give them as less as possible for correction. It makes people feel that they can rely on you. I am very grateful to my colleagues who have helped and guided me.
2. Whether it is an email or a simple Teams connect, give context before asking - This is common sense, but I was surprised how often I used to forget such a simple thing. Sometimes the entire story is in our mind, but we forget that the person we speak to might not know anything. Context is super important, and it has changed how I write emails or even chat with someone.
3. You are paid to do the job RIGHT, not fast - I still feel anxious when I take too much time to do something, but I often remind myself that even if I'm taking some extra time, I need to ensure that I'm doing it correctly. Speed is essential, but accuracy comes before speed.
4. People are EVERYTHING - We are usually afraid to reach out to people and talk to them, especially if we don't have any specific objective to interact with them or if we don't know them. I feel you. I'm still working on this. But like most life skills, you get better at networking and building connections through practice. Once you start talking and you get comfortable with them (which happens in most cases), you won't feel overwhelmed.
5. ASK - Ask for help. Ask for feedback regularly. Ask for some time off if you need it. If you don't ask, you will always be stuck in the same place.
6. Incorporate the feedback you receive - If you get feedback that you need to manage your time better, ask what specific instances were where you could not manage your time correctly and how you can do it better. Try to think and devise ways to incorporate the feedback. In the time management example, you can share that you re planning to prioritize your day's work at the beginning of the day so that more critical tasks get done first.
7. Engage yourself in different activities - All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. No one enjoys working at a place where you don't have some activities to have fun. Organize and participate in different events and volunteering activities. It helps you get your mind off work, connect with others, and improve your mental health.

There are many learnings that I can cover in this article. But let's save it for some other time. I look forward to more beautiful experiences working at this company in the future.

I hope you found this article helpful, and I'd love for you to share it with someone who might need it.