Tips for Starting Your First Job

Dear all,

Hope you are having a nice Saturday:) For me, today I fasted. I still have 2 days left from last Ramadan to replace. It was just a quiet, laid-back Saturday for me. Caught up with some chores and cleaning. I was online and did some work as well. Read a book, phoned and got dinner outside for buka puasa. Nothing much really. I'm trying to relax because I have a flight soon for work purposes. My housemate made colourful cornflakes so I had that for dessert.

Yesterday, 15th March 2019 is my 1-year work anniversary in Shell. My first job and my first year of working alhamdulillah completed. Cheers to many more years of working insyaAllah. It was a very special day for me. One of my favourite days this year so far. I felt that the day was special to me but I did not expect anyone to know this special date. I told some people about it, those close to me that I was excited because 15th March would be 1 year from the day I first started. I arrived in the morning and a close friend of mine was outside the office unexpectedly. He told me to go put my bag upstairs and come with them for breakfast. Random but OK sure. It was a gathering for a colleague of ours leaving soon. So, I had Sarawak Laksa (like curry laksa) for breakfast and hot lemongrass and lemon drink. The people there that morning who were sitting near me were those I was particularly close to in the office so we had lots of fun chats:) Came in the office again a bit later from my regular time. Work felt more laid back than normal, in other words, less stressed. Lunch with 2 friends, just chilled and took our time. Western Geco was visiting our office so we had a meeting 2-5pm. Before the meeting, my mum texted and asked about my day. I felt that it was slightly random and she was extra curious about my meeting but I did not think anything. Around 2.52pm, I received a call from an unknown number. I canceled the call because I was in the meeting but after the second call, I went outside the room to answer and the person said that he was a GrabCar driver and he had a delivery for me. I was about to say sorry the wrong number until he said 'Am I speaking to Yasameen?' and then I knew the call was actually for me. He asked me to come to the main lobby because he had something for me. I was so curious so I rushed to the lobby, I did not expect at all that I would be receiving a bouquet of flowers. So sweet of my mum. When I saw the guy, I actually said 'sorry you said there was a delivery, what kind of delivery and why is it via grabcar?' Then he said they're actually flowers. I told him 'Wait, are you sure it's for me? It's not my birthday and not Valentine's'. Maybe he was like ' OMG this lady has so many questions ' hahaha. He said yes and said my full name. Then I was like 'Really, omg who is it from?' and he was like 'Not sure, I was just asked to deliver this. Here go ahead and check, the flowers are in the front seat of my car.' So funny when I think of it. Maybe he did not want to hand the flowers to me because it might seem awkward so he actually asked me to get it in the front seat hahaha. I opened the door and first thing I did was check the card and there was a note from mum. Awww, the flowers were so pretty and pink. I did not want to bring it back to the meeting room so I went upstairs and left it on my desk. On my way to my desk, I bumped into someone I'm close to and she was like wow, flowers they are soo pretty and we chatted about it for a while. She even noted down the name of the florist and their phone number on the sticker of the bouquet. I quickly placed the beautiful bouquet on my desk and rushed back to the meeting room. It was more like a talk/sharing than a proper meeting, thank goodness.

 At 5pm, when it ended I went back to my desk and to my pleasant surprise, someone else placed a cupcake and a note on my desk. The cupcake was like chocolate + salted caramel or something but it smelled super nice and strong. I was so touched. It is from someone I'm close to in the office and someone I really look up to, my role model :) I was so happy and felt so loved. Also, some travel plans were finalised and were as what I hoped for. I stayed in the office till 730pm to finish a few things and arrived home 8pm. It was such a sweet day, full of Friday blessings. Thank you everyone who has directly or indirectly been a part of my first year into the working world, I appreciate all the support and teachings. There are certainly so much more to learn but this has been a productive-super steep learning curve and enjoyable (minus the stress) first year and I look forward to more years to come insyaAllah.

Now that I completed 1 year of working life, I would like to share a few tips for those who are starting their 1st job. Working life can be different in different companies and different countries/cities. Here I am sharing how it's like working in a corporate oil and gas company. I'll try to generalise it as much possible so it can be relatable to most of you.

• I remember 1 year + ago, thinking of working sort of just made me feel so much unknown and anxious about not knowing what to expect. My first tip would be to let yourself be free of any expectations but take the first few months as an adapting experience to gauge your surrounding, the people and the culture. Having any expectation at the start may lead to disappointment or a biased view of the situation.

• Prepare the best you can. It is better to overdress if you are unsure rather than to underdress. And this applied to all, not only the attire. You need to be prepared to do more than what is expected before you actually know the situation, then you can meet the expectation. Do anything to make you feel confident. Believe in your self-worth. You have been selected for that job for a reason.

• Be nice and polite to everyone in the office and around the office. You are still yet to know who is who and who is the popular/influential person and who is the person you do not want to mess with. You are new so be neutral and polite to all. You will figure this out later over time so just give yourself time to adjust. Once you know about each person later, you can act accordingly but at the start, treat everyone the same. You do not know them and they do not know you. A good first impression goes a long way.

•  You need to balance being by yourself and mixing with the crowd at the start. When you are new, you really need to step back and look at the bigger picture. There are some unspoken rules, there are things about people that are not directly said out loud but you will figure out over time. Just spending time with 1 group of people will not allow yourself to step back and look at the bigger picture and assess your surroundings. Being too clicky with a gang is not too good at the start. There are some times when you need to be alone. There are some things you learn and realise only by having some alone time.

• Be professional is easier said than done. There can be someone or something that pisses you off in the office but being professional is communicating that frustration in a manner that is diplomatic and sincere. To my surprise, there are still adults and professionals who do not act professionally although they have had so many years of work experience. Be prepared for this. Not everyone will be a role model for you. You will soon figure this out over time.

• Minimise discussing personal matters in the office especially if you have an open office layout. People may overhear certain private conversations and you do not want everyone to know everything. Some matters are only suitable to be discussed with certain people. Go to a meeting room or discuss outside working hours/lunch.

• Corporate life can be slightly hostile. I experience a more friendly environment compared to if I were to work in the same company but in the capital city because I am based in a small city in a sort of like an island. People here are generally calmer and less stressed due to the nature of the city having no traffic jam and laid back.However, in any situation always be prepared for hostile behaviour or not-so-friendly environment in the corporate world. People just want the job done fast fast fast and correctly. There is not much human touch to the nature of the job especially since I am in a technical role. It is all about the science, the physics, the geology, the wells, the deadline, the paperwork, the models, the seismic, the stakeholders or the data. During social events, that is when we warm up and talk about other things. Even at work, we have quick social gatherings/lunch/dinners together to bond. I do not blame the company for this, we are going to work for a purpose. I am OK with this but I know some people who would be too stressed out if office hours were just about work and no fun. Again, it depends on the company and the people you work for. I am serious when it comes to work and I like being productive so I like the fact that everything is quite efficient and fast in the company I work for. 

• Do some research outside working hours about what you do. Spend a little extra time to allow yourself to understand the company/the work better. It may be tricky doing this during office hours but try to manage this at a convenient time.

• Do not ask for holidays or benefits or anything of that sort too early in the company. My opinion would be that you need to prove yourself and show them what you can offer to the company before they offer something back to you. I do not feel entitled at the start. I would only feel entitled after I feel that I have made a significant contribution and that can be in many different ways. Even then, feeling entitled is not something good to practice on a regular basis. The company offered you a job and you must have that sense of responsibility to give back and do your best for the company.

• Be prepared for changes and yes, many unexpected changes. Working in a dynamic company, there can be so so many changes. Maybe a change in your seat, change in the team you work for, change in your manager, change in location, change in job title, change in project, change in project delivery aims, change in people going in and out and the list goes on. Whatever it is, try not to take work too personally. Otherwise, you will be affected emotionally by this change. And change is bound to happen. After a while I understand, once you bond with someone, it is hard not to take change personally especially if it involves separation with close colleagues. If that person is someone close, I am sure you will find a solution to ensure the bond continues.

• Identify who you can trust and who you cannot/unsure of. Be careful what you say or reveal. In the corporate world, news travels fast and you may not want to spread unnecessary information. There will be people who like to get involved in office politics and also talk bad about everyone and everything. You may not want to isolate yourself completely from these people, otherwise, you will appear like an outsider but be cautious. Work can be like a dog-eat-dog world and there can be people who are jealous or without good intentions so be polite to all and cautious of whom you associate yourself with. 

• Be willing to learn humbly and teach others kindly. I am impressed by seniors who are able to explain things well to me and spend time to teach/mentor me. No matter how much you know about something, your ability to make someone else understand truly reflects on your credibility and shows potential leadership in the person. 

Those were 12 tips for 12 months of my working experience so far. Essentially, you know yourself and everyone will be in a unique work environment so these are some general tips from me. Always believe in yourself. It is easy to feel demotivated or not important at an early stage of your career especially if you do the simpler things compared to others. When you get assigned a bigger project, it then can feel more overwhelming compared to others who have probably have 5 to 10 times more work experience than you. For me, if you give me easier tasks, I will feel sure let's do the easy bit for now, no complains. If you want to give me harder tasks, go ahead I'll take the challenge. So, the key message is: stay positive and believe in yourself. Learn from others and continuously improve yourself. The hard work will pay off. Hope these tips helped :)

Wishing you a wonderful and relaxing Sunday tomorrow.

Take care everyone, good night.

XOXO