Myths About First Job

Myths About First Job; 5 Things Not To Expect From Your First Job

Welcome aboard fresher! I am your boss, please tell me something about yourself; your schooling, your college and your career objective.
The fresher says: Sir, I did my schooling from Doon School and then B. Tech in Computer Science from IIT Delhi and then went on to complete my MBA from IIM-Ahemadabad. I love listening to music and pencil sketching.
Boss: Great! And what are your career objectives? where do you see yourself say 5 years from now?
Fresher: Sir, I want to be at least in the middle-managerial level and I am sure that this will give me ample opportunities for that.
Boss: Great, great! so let us begin. Your seat is fixed next to peon’s chair and you can begin by getting these documents photocopied!
Welcome to the reality Neo! Welcome to the corporate world! Here are 5 myths, the things not to expect from your job for first 6 months, at least!
Myth 1. You will apply everything you have learnt
Actually, you will not be applying more than 1-5% of what you have learnt. This is not your college, this is job. Forget CAPM models, ARIMA Analysis, Vector Algebra or Algorithm Design. You can forget each of them for a while, you may need them later in your career but for now you need to learn many other things and unlearn many others.
Myth 2. Management hired you because they needed you desparately
No sir, had they been in desparate need they would have gone in for internal recruitment, or otherwise hired someone experienced. Face it, they hired you because they wanted cheap labour who would stick to company for at least 2-3 years. It is because people develop a special affinity towards their first job, howsoever bad the company or the environment may be.
Myth 3. You will single-handedly improve the bottom line of the company within 3 months of joining
Ha ha ha! Face it, there are more qualified and experienced set of people working day in and day out for the same objective. If they can’t do it then chances are you too won’t be able to. This is simply because even if you are able to come up with breakthrough idea then also people will be initially reluctant to belive you and frankly speaking, it takes at least 6 months to master the systems of the company and unless you understand how company works how can you suggest “breakthroughs”
Myth 4. You can immediately jump in and start with the *real* work
Again no! Unless your boss starts having confidence in your work you won’t be given any *real* work. You will be given peripheral tasks initially and very slowly be allowed to take up the juicier and meatier portion of the work. When your boss is satisfied with your current work and feels you are ready to take in more responsibilities then only will you get *real work*
Myth 5. You are stuck in this for your life
For first six months, apart from doing the job you should also introspect, whether you are heading in right direction; whether you you will be able to excel in the industry you have chosen and the profile you have. After the introspection you decide whether to stay or switch, if you decide to stay that’s excellent.
Steve jobs once said
…the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.

Vivek Mani
11/09/07