For First-Time Employees —Avoid These Common Mistakes In Your First Job

It might cost you more than you think

When you take your first step into the office, it’s like you’re stepping into a different world altogether.

You are bound to encounter new challenges, face people in a different capacity than you do normally, and occasionally, navigate in hot waters.

In this article, I will talk about the common mistakes which you could commit if you don’t know how to conduct yourself in a professional environment. (Obviously, this is the case with almost all new employees.)

Be careful of these usual errors or else you could end up being me, the trainee from my office, or Bob.

Sharing your personal information

I remember this guy who was a trainee and was in his last year of training.

One evening, he was asked to leave only after completing the file they tasked him with, even though it wasn’t urgent.

Sadly, he ended up staying an hour longer, before the watchman came to check why the lights were on that late in the day.

While I felt bad for him, the only person to be blamed for his misery was no one else but him.

A few days back, when we were shooting the breeze, he revealed he was always free in the evening and would sit idly at his house.

To his hard luck, our boss noted this and used it to overload him with work. He told everyone that he wouldn’t mind staying a bit late, “after all he is free”.

At your workplace, be very careful with what you share with other people, especially with your boss.

This also includes your coworkers whom you sit, chat and have lunch with. You never knew how that information would float around and reach the wrong individual, who would be keen to take advantage of it.

For instance, as a girl, you would be the instant target of molesters and harassers if they come to know you’re from a conservative background and your parents are hardly convinced to let you work somewhere else.

Or if you badly need this job and can’t leave. They would see you as a soft target as the odds in favour of you raising your voice are pretty low.

Three magical words — “I don’t know!”

It was my fifth day at the office.

One of the CAs asked me to check for the tax details of our client. I had no clue of what he meant, the terms he uttered in a jiffy. Still, I walked back with the file.

At my desk for the next half an hour, I kept on googling stuff. If someone were to look up my search history, he/she couldn’t help but chuckle.

For a larger part, I was only hoping from one term to another, opening multiple links, and not staying on a page for over 10 seconds.

What happened next? — You all could imagine.

For those who couldn’t — snatched from my hands, the file was given to some other “sensible person.” (That’s how he described it.)

The thing is, no one has got Xavier’s powers to scan your mind. At least as of now.

Unless you voice out your abilities and shortcomings, no one can take a wild guess. And if they do, they will always hold you to a higher standard.

Not out of appreciation, but because employers desire to milk maximum profits with minimum wages from their workers. They don’t need to spend their costly time training you into stuff which, according to them, you should’ve known.

No need to beat yourself up if you fall short of their expectations.

But don’t let your embarrassment of being perceived as less capable stop you from admitting you don’t know certain work. It could save you from a bigger embarrassment in the future.

When you accept a work, people presume you have the skills to finish it. Revealing otherwise is your responsibility.

And to be fair with the other person, he isn’t wrong to think that way.

Failing to finish the task because of a lack of knowledge on your part not only leads to a loss of time but also keeps the work hanging unnecessarily, which could have been prevented, had you admitted your limitations.

Let your work speak for yourself — Not a great idea!

Meet Bob.

Bob was the doorman in a three-star restaurant. He was the first to come and the last to leave. He worked really hard and thinks he engages in his work with complete devotion.

In one important meeting, the management came up with the idea of replacing manual doors with automatic ones. Hence, Bob wasn’t needed anymore and was fired.

A few days into their decision, the restaurant saw a sharp decline in their daily customers. It was hard for anyone to comprehend what led to this sudden shortage of regular visitors.

What happened to the management was they fell victim to the doorman fallacy.

While evaluating Bob’s work, the management failed to look beyond the opening and closing of doors. Apart from this basic task, he would keep the area around the entry clean, making the space more presentable.

He would greet everyone in a friendly manner, provide security, hail taxis for guests, and discourage vagrants or homeless people from loitering or settling in front of the restaurant.

This helps to signal the status of the establishment and increase the value of the hotel, contributing to the overall experience of a customer.

Without a doorman, none of these would get done. So it’s fair to say, that by firing Bob, a part of customer service was sacrificed.

Don’t let anyone treat you like Bob.

Always be vocal about your work. If someone ever mistakes you for a person who does nothing, voice out the work you have accomplished.

Unfortunately, many people suffer from the doorman fallacy and are prone to undermine the role of others, especially people at lower levels.

It’s your job to remind anyone who casts doubt on you that you aren’t only “passing time in the office” (A phrase often used by my previous boss). Mention the files you’ve completed, tasks you’ve done, or calls you’ve attended.

As I said before, no one has got Xavier’s powers to scan your mind.

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