National Careers Week 2015 - The Digital Guide | Page 8
Five big fears when
starting your first job,
and how to overcome them
of everything you have
The first time you will be able to see the value
you’ll begin to understand
developed during your time in education, and
late (a boss may not let
why your school was so fussy about you being
get to work on time).
you get away with just a detention if you can’t
1. “Help, I’m shy!”
Entering an environment where everyone
else already knows each other may
Remember, everyone has been a new
person at some point, and will make the
How do you know if you’ve never had a
job before? The school and education
effort to ensure you feel welcome.
You may be worried about voicing issues
system is designed to give you all the
skills necessary to succeed in whatever
with your manager, or asking for holiday
days and time off. Whatever your query, it
is your managers job to ensure his staff are
happy, as happy staff work better, so don’t
be scared to approach them and ask for
help when you need it.
Always be on your best behaviour when you
start a job, it may be that others in the office
are slacking off a bit, but don’t fall into
getting too comfortable too quickly!
2. “I don’t have any
skills that are useful
in the work place”
seem like a nightmare for shy people, but
it’s important to keep yourself relaxed.
industry and role suits you. As well as
this, it’s in an employer’s interest to give
their new employers all the necessary
training required to ensure their staff
are prepared and comfortable within
their role, so anything you don’t know
before you start will be explained to
4. “I don’t know
what’s expected
of me”
This fear is not unique to your
first job. In any role you start
you will have an initial period of
getting to grips with what you
are expected to do, and how
you will positively contribute to
the company, which is why it
is important to meet with your
line manager when you start to
properly go through your role
and set some objectives for you
you in training.
Top tip!
3. “I don’t have any
experience”
This is another classic catch, but
it is not something you should
worry about. Everyone has to start
somewhere, and if this is your first
role, the employer has hired you
because they are confident in your
abilities and feel you can sit well
within their team. You may not know
how to do everything at first but that
will come over time, and you can
use academic experiences to help
along the way.
5. “I don’t know how to dress/behave/speak in a
work environment”
ssed than
The best way to tackle is by sticking to the motto “It’s better to be overdre
wearing when you went
underdressed”. If you can’t remember what people in the office were
and they will let you
in for an interview, definitely go for a smart as you can on your first day,
all suited and booted,
know if you can be more casual on the second day. You may feel silly
crisp work wear. Similarly,
but you’ll feel sillier if you turned up in jeans and everyone else is in
others in the office are
always be on your best behaviour when you start a job, it may be that
you want to seem