One year
into my college career, where I have been majoring in Business Administration
and minoring in napping, I am also one year into my first real “big girl”
job. Starting off at Toppel afraid to
make a slight misstep, my daunting position soon turned into a promotion for
taking initiative in my job and showing I can handle responsibility. With Toppel becoming like a second home, I
can now say with confidence that I am ready for my next job this summer with a
real estate firm. And I’m pretty ridiculously
excited.
While
juggling school, extra-curriculars, a social life, and a job, I had a lot of
people telling me to just chill out this summer. However, I cannot stay still for long and not
only decided to branch out to this job but also take summer classes in the
upcoming months. Even though I may be
putting a lot on my plate for the summer, I am pretty pleased with my decision
and I am eager to begin exploring new career paths.
I am also
insanely scared, because once again, I will be the new girl in a new
industry.
I’m
starting over. Again.
So, how
does a college student handle so much in a year without going crazy? Bubble
wrap. Both for packing purposes for your
oh-so-delicate thank you cards you will be writing up the ying-yang to
potential future employers thanking them for interviews as well as an
inexpensive stress reliever. Secondly,
this list of reminders for the sanity and confidence of the young professional:
1.
Age does not define you.
Just
because you do not have as much experience (or as many wrinkles) as the person
next to you, your youth is not your defining trait or a detriment. Never allow anyone respect you or your work
less simply because you are from a different generation.
2.
You are valuable.
You should
constantly be on the look out for learning opportunities. Whether it is a promotion in the company for
which you are working, or the knowledge that you are worth more somewhere else,
always be on the lookout to grow. Though
loyalty is important, it is also important in the early stages of a job to use
the period as a learning experience.
Gather information and absorb the knowledge of the people around you,
but never forget how significant you are. Remember that they are learning from you too.
3.
Be yourself.
The best
way to succeed is to be unapologetically you.
Attempting to be someone else will only hurt you in the long run. Do not lie in an interview and do not act
like someone you are not when communicating with your coworkers. You want people to like you for you.
4.
Network. Network. Network.
You should
be connecting with professionals everywhere you go. Take all your interactions with people and
absorb as much information as possible.
There is something to learn from every person you meet, and the people
you meet in your career have the potential to be valuable assets in the
future.
5.
Do not be afraid to press the reset button.
Starting
over after a failure means you are growing.
You will develop your professional brand and who you are as a person
through trials and tribulations and hitting the reset button multiple times in
your life. When you look back on your
career, you will remember how exciting and terrifying it was to get knocked
down and get back up again to move on.
Keep moving forward and never stay down.
And if you
are just starting, do not forgot to remind yourself how far you are about to
go.
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