The first job and the fear of the unknown
- Formal Sector
- Friday, 15 June 2012 19:57
- Published Date
By RACHEL DUMBA
After university you want to:
- Get a job
- Leave home
- Pay off student loans
- Enroll for further studies
It is better to gain some work experience before pursuing further studies
- Some are at crossroads – do I look for a job or do I start a small business
- Do you make a huge graduation party or do you use that money to start a small business or to join an investment club
Reality check
- Increased number of graduates
- Employers need experience
- Global economic crisis had led to slowdown on recruitment
- Bureaucratic organizations and slow decision making – you can apply for a job in January and be called for an interview in December
- Nepotism drives recruitment
Day one – what you should expect
- Remember that the first six months at the job are very critical
- Make the first and lasting impression
- Identify a buddy – someone with whom you have much in common
- Ask questions and learn
- Listen
- Let action speak louder than words
- Remember you are on probation
- Know your vision in three years
- Praise your current employer
- In case you decide to leave, keep the doors and options of return open
Don’ts
- Over ambition and unrealism
- Acting more knowledgeable than your trainer
- Taking your employer for granted
- Getting into a comfort zone
- Joining cliques, movements
- Taking part in office gossip, politics
Making the first impression
- Performance and delivery
- Dress code – know your company’s dress code
- Cautious of body language
- Observe basic hygiene – neatness
- Avoiding social habits – drug habits, alcoholism
- Be careful with friends and groups you keep
- Remember employers lookout for 20 percent technical skills, 80 percent interpersonal and soft skills
- Keeping time – be punctual
- Be an active team player – always go an extra mile
- Be unique and different
- Gratitude for today
- Love the company; feel like you belong to the company
- Learn, learn and learn everyday
- Be professional – separate personal life from work life
- Stick to company values
Bad habits
- You dread going to work
- You work at 70 percent – you dodge 30 percent
- You are so negative at work – nothing makes you happy
- You begin referring the company’s customers to its competitors
Rachel Dumba is the Head of Human Resources, DFCU Group
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