Today my oldest kid started his first post-college "real" job. Important to note that Im super thankful he has a job! But I found myself more affected by it than I thought I would be. I keep wanting to give him all the advice I could channel from all the years Ive been working. But it also forced me to re-live those super early days of the first "real" job. I was working at a PR agency, pitching stories to reporters via phone (a land line no less!). Getting hung up on. Yelled at. Only the occasional victory to keep me going. Tracking my time, billing hours, no control over anything given I was entry level. And it was mostly miserable, but some of the people made it tolerable (hopefully you know who you are if you're reading this. Or you think its you and take credit anyway :). And yet, I did it for three years. And that led me to the next thing...and the next..and the next. But, as I found myself wandering down that path and wanting to shower him with insights and life perspectives that Im pretty sure just washed right over him, I also thought about all that I had learned. And wondered, being in his shoes now, what I would do differently, and what I would do better/earlier. Thus, like any good networker, I decided it was worth a Linked In post! Thinking back to day one...what are things you're glad you un-learned, and what are things you would do better/earlier? For me: -Im glad I un-learned feeling threatened by what I didnt know, or who knew more/could do it better. Or put more positively, learn as much as you can from everyone and surround yourself with people who are better. Drop the ego. -Relatedly...nothing is permanent--good or bad. -What I would do better/earlier: Take more risk. Looking back, I lived much of my work life in fear of being wrong, doing wrong, failing etc. Wasnt until much later that I realized the joy of not being gripped by fear daily, and understood the not-so-uncommon wisdom that you learn a lot by failing. What about you?
I would say “I don’t know” so much more, to my peers, to my direct reports, to my seniors. The power of just honestly saying, “um I have no clue” has been endlessly positive. This go round, I promised myself that I’d be courageously honest to the people I led, and it has taught me so much. Most of the time, the opportunity to be courageously honest sounds like this: “I don’t know- let’s talk about it.” Btw I know this kinda echoes some of your own thoughts but thought I’d share anyway
You sure helped make my early career not only tolerable, but rewarding. And for that, I thank you!
I had a pretty sweet gig directly out of college. Looking back, I put too much pressure on myself to perform. I regret not networking more. Be open to new opportunities because you never know where you'll be in 10 years from now.
Wait, you had a job?
I appreciate having my first “post-college, real job” under Joe Hodas. Nice post, written by a great first boss. Thank you!
My first job after college was as a grassroots organizer on a U.S. Senate campaign, where I organized phone banks (landlines, natch) and spent the hours between 5-9 every weeknight and 10-5 on weekends (except Vikings Sundays) cold calling voters and getting hung up on, a lot. If I could un-learn one thing from that job, I'd unlearn the fear of rejection. Like you said, you learn a lot by failing, and it's never as bad as you fear. Every success we've had at Kria is a direct result of multiple failures.
-- It's OK to be poor when you're young. You don't know any difference. My first job in news paid $190 a week (but my rent for a real dump was $150 a month, and I then split the place with a roommate. My next job paid $335 a week, I was rich, and my rent in that apartment was $250 a month) -- Don't stay in the same job too long. Either get promoted, or get moving. -- Don't stay in the same city too long. Go live somewhere else. Pack up and move on. U-Haul is your friend. -- Don't get into debt. Don't run up your credit card. I had to learn this the hard way. -- Pay yourself first. Save a set amount, doesn't matter how little. Save something each paycheck. -- Learn about your 401(k). Take an interest. Don't let old you die poor. Get the match, save more if you can. -- Learn how to file your income tax. Seriously. My first two years, I didn't even file a form (a 1040EZ on paper at the time). I didn't know I was supposed to. When my boss found out he was horrified and sat me down. Nobody had taught me to do that.
It started in the earliest days of my career, and if I'm being honest it continues to this day. The feeling of being right, or having the right answer at all times. I think it conditioned throughout schooling that you should know the answer, and be able to check a box when asked. The reality is so much around being collaborative as possible. Lean on other people. Ask for help. Let others have the right answer. It's best to be part of the team, not the smartest person in the room... even if you are. Everything is about others, the more you can lean on others for help, the more success you'll have.
Thinking I had to know everything was my biggest early error. It's easy for me to say "I don't know that" today, but I thought I'd be fired for not knowing things when I was just starting out. As far as doing something better earlier, I think having more self confidence sooner would have been a big benefit. I think both of these are tied together. It's tough to feel confident when you think you have to know everything (and know that you don't). Try to get over all that perfectionist shit sooner would be my advice. 😎
Not necessarily something that I un-learned, or would do better/earlier, but something I was told and learned very early on…be your word. Now, that is multi-dimensional in practice, given it is as much managing expectations as it is doing what you say you are going to do…but I can’t overstate how much that one simple action has done for my career. Way back when I founded MOJO, it was (and still is) the #1 thing we value across our orgs!