Lessons Learnt at my Worst Job

When I tell you that every situation you will encounter – professionally – has the opportunity to build you, please believe me because I’m speaking from experience. In the eight years that I have served different companies under different roles, I have been privileged to be groomed in healthy working environments – in most cases. But I have also had my fair share of hardships. At the end of the day, even those tough times came with lessons that have equipped me with knowledge about how to navigate my professional journey. These are the five things that I learnt at my ‘worst’ job:

LESSON 1: PRESSURE REVEALS CHARACTER. I did not qualify for my position at this job. I had little experience in the field, but my employers were impressed by my resumé and convinced that I could be trained on the job. I realised in my first week that I had been thrown into the deep end. My job was demanding and the work environment was vicious; being “thrown under the bus” was a norm and an over-uttered phrase. I drowned in heaps of work and was constantly mocked by my colleagues for struggling with tight deadlines; but through it all, my character was being built! Today, there are very few tasks that I cannot handle under pressure; this skill was sharpened as I tackled my various tasks.

LESSON 2: ALWAYS NEGOTIATE YOUR SALARY. We spoke about my salary during the interview, but an opportunity to negotiate for a higher pay was not availed to me. Before starting the job, I raised the discussion again and it was shut down… Let’s just say: my employers knew I would settle for any amount. So, I stuck to the amount that they suggested and that brewed a serious lesson within me… Always, always, always! Negotiate your salary and never settle, which brings us to the next lesson:

LESSON 3: AVOID BEING EXPLOITED. While I was earning the bare minimum, I was being overworked! I had three big clients whose contracts demanded that I managed a total of eight different platforms; each platform demanding my undivided attention. I worked extra hours – coming in before 06:30AM and working while I ate during lunch. With tight deadlines, I barely had time to myself and my social life suffered too. Yet, despite all of this, I was being paid what I now believe is less than a fifth of what I deserved. But a lesson was learnt and I finally gained the confidence to negotiate my salary!

LESSON 4: MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS. With a non-existent social life and a demanding work life, my mental health started to deteriorate; the pimples on my face made sure everyone knew that I was struggling to cope. It didn’t help that I had a few colleagues who were intentional about rubbing my ‘failure’ in my face. On several occasions, I almost broke into tears. I felt like I was worthless and began to believe that I was not fit for the job – after all, I wasn’t qualified for it in the first place! After resigning from the position, I realised that my struggle in the position was not a reflection of my inability to perform, but rather a reflection of how I was being bombarded with a load that was too heavy for a learner to carry. Today, the company has split the tasks that I had into three – each being managed by three different individuals.

LESSON 5: HAVE FAITH. I resigned from the position with no back-up plan. While I wouldn’t advise people to do this, I had to prioritise my mental health and have faith that another job would find me – even in a world with high levels of unemployment. I was lucky to be offered a position just about one month after resigning. And I took all the lessons that I had learnt with me. At the end of the day, I had been groomed into an all-rounded professional who is now able to navigate my professional journey – and I’m still learning!

The biggest lesson that my ‘worst’ job taught me is that I can grow wherever I am planted and that is an adage that has continued to carry me today. Always look for the good in all situations.