Five Rules I Take Away From a 9–5 Job

Four years working in an international law firm taught me valuable lessons.

It has been one year since I stop my 4-year journey at the previous company to go for higher education in the Netherlands. Looking back when I worked in my last workplace, I realized that it taught me a lot. I turned myself from a freshly graduated student to be a qualified lawyer with knowledge in different expertise, such as banking and finance, corporate law, investment and renewable energy.

I let my supervisors down several times, which you should expect when you are a newbie. But, every time I failed, I tried to learn where I made a mistake and how to fix it. I take with me five rules that I believe they are essential not only for people who have just started their career but also a freelancer. I still apply these rules in my study, my writing and my life today.

Here are the five rules I set out based on my experience during my 9–5 job. Let’s go.

Rule #1: Say ‘Yes’ attitude

I learned this from one of my work providers. One day, you can receive a difficult task from the work provider. This task is not what you have done before. It is a new area that may need you to take times to research and give a response. Will you refuse?

Nah, please don’t. That’s your chance. Do not hesitate to take any tasks, even if it is a new challenge for you. Showing your willingness to receive a new mission to your boss will bring you more opportunities to develop in the future. You show your gratitude to help your boss, meaning that you will help the company, and help you later.

I remember my supervisor asked me to write a piece of advice to a client about securities law. Before that, I just worked on several corporate law matters and investment law matters. Securities sector is different because a load of legal documents regulates this area. I knew I needed a few days to research on that. But when my supervisor asked if I could take that assignment, I said ‘Yes’. It took me a few days to complete the draft for my supervisor’s review and sign-off, but it was good advice.

It may help for your future career. Take writing as an example. You can try to test your ability with other genres, other topics that you may not know much.

Rule #2: You should know how to say ‘No’

It seems to conflict with Rule №1. But no, it doesn’t. This rule is the most important one to me. I also learned it from the person taught me the Rule №1.

When I first started my job, I said ‘Yes’ so many times. Some days I could handle five or six matters in only eight working hours. Impressive, right?

But I did not realize that I could do it quickly because those tasks were not complicated. When I worked longer, the tasks would be more complex and challenging, which required much concentration. But when I had two or three deadlines on the same day, I lost my focus.

I started to let my supervisor down when I was involved in four big projects in the same period, from different work providers. I almost missed one deadline, and I made a few errors in one advice that was sent to the client. I also overlooked a critical point in our clients’ documents; then my boss had to fix it for me.

I realized that I should not handle multiple tasks.

My supervisor mocked me: “I thought you have three heads and six hands to handle everything.” That was true, I was only a human, and I should know when I need to say ‘No’.

When you know your limit, and you can find out how to deal with it. Like me, I started to say ‘No’ to a few tasks when I was in charge of several assignments at that time. Of course, I had to find a polite way to refuse. But when I did that, no one reproached me.

You should not let yourself be overload. Sometimes you need to know how to refuse. Saying ‘No’ with a legitimate reason that you have sufficient deadline for a week is not terrible. You should not take the task then miss the deadline, that’s the worst thing you can do at the workplace.

Rule #3: Believe in yourself

You are the person who understands you the most. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will. Believe that you can do this matter or that matter.

You tell yourself that you can complete the task before the deadline. When a work provider gives you an assignment, that means they believe in you. You need to prove that. If you don’t think that you can do the task, there may not be the next chance for you. Other colleagues are right there to wait for their turn, to prove themselves.

Sometimes I got stuck in some parts of the task. When it happened, I took a deep breath to keep me calm and try to think that I could do it. If I could not do the task, I would miss the chance to prove myself.

Rule #4: But do not be an arrogant

I saw one or two juniors in my law firm think that they are special when they join the firm. They try to show off every time they have chances.

Okay, confidence is reasonable. But not arrogant. We should know who we are.

We should not act like an a**hole in a community. We can be good, graduate with an excellent GPA. We believe that we are amazing. But keep in mind that many people out there are better than us. We are only drops in the ocean.

You can achieve success in several projects with a significant contribution. But always remember that it is a team success, not yours only. You can be proud of it, but don’t let it make you arrogant.

Keep your feet on the ground at any time.

Rule #5: Show your support

This rule does not relate to the first one. The support may not come from the product you deliver to your supervisor. It can be mental support.

I remember when our team need to complete an IPO project. We had to have a late call with a client at midnight (due to the time difference). The team had four members, and my supervisor is the leader of the group. She gave team members a choice to stay to join the call or go home. I decided to stay, and the other two went home.

After the call, my supervisor said this to me: “You may not have sufficient experience to help me in the call, but your presence is your attitude to show your support, and I appreciated that.”

I chose to stay to join the call; even I was not able to say anything. But my supervisor still thanked for that.

I take that as a rule for my job. You may not be the best member of the team, but always show your support to the others. It can be small support (like joining a call and…saying nothing), but little things mean a lot for others.

I want to find a nine-to-five job to develop my career in the legal sector, my favorite area, besides blogging. I always take these rules with me, in my life, my future job, and my writing.