10 Lessons That I Learned at My First Job

I applied for my first job right before the end of my sophomore year of high school. 

Well, let me clarify. My mom went to the business, picked up an application, gave it to me and told me to apply. I didn’t get much say, but that’s OK because it ended up working out anyway. 

Before this goes further, out of workplace confidentiality and the fact that I’m not entirely sure what I can and can’t say because I still work for the company, I will not be mentioning the name of the place that I work. Sorry if you really wanted to know (but honestly, if you ask me, I’ll probably tell you).

I started this job in the middle of the summer of 2018 and had to say goodbye to it this past August due to the fact that I left for college. And in those two years, I learned a lot of lessons–some valuable, some not so much–but I was able to narrow it down to the Top 10 Lessons I’ve Learned and that I believe have been the most influential in helping me navigate my first job.

1. When you’re applying, think about questions they may ask during the interview and how you would respond.

Alright so, I didn’t actually do this one (oops) but I do think it would help relieve some nerves before going into your first job interview. While you won’t be able to practice for more specific questions related to the job itself, at least you can have an idea of the basic questions they’ll ask. That way you can prepare yourself for what’s to come and have some answers lined up. Just make sure you don’t sound robotic and rehearsed; you want it to sound natural and effortless and like you totally didn’t stress over this interview for hours beforehand.

2. Research how to fill out your W-4 beforehand.

Trust me, you’re going to want to understand the terminology on the forms that you’re filling out when you first get hired. Luckily for me, my boss was very understanding when I told them I was confused and they were able to walk me through the process, but it’s very important that you have at least a basic understanding of what you’re doing. There are many websites online that can help you research what you need to know and how to fill out your W-4 form beforehand, and I’d highly recommend talking to your parents about it as well. 

3. Get to know your coworkers.

A job is way more enjoyable when you’re working with your friends. I was very shy before I started working and didn’t really talk to my coworkers for the first few months. And the way my job is set up, it’s typically only you and one or two other people working, so unless you can handle awkward silence for five hours, you should break out of your shell and talk to them. Be prepared. Once you start talking, it may be hard to stop. And if your coworkers are anything like mine, they will not hold back, and soon enough you guys will know everything about each other’s lives. Sounds scary, but these people may just turn out to be some of your best friends. I’m so grateful for all of the people I had the chance to work with. 

4. Form a good relationship with your boss.

This can also fall under the “get to know your coworkers” category, but it requires slightly different skill sets and reasoning behind it. It’s important to form a close relationship with your boss because it will benefit you later in life. Your first job will most likely be some low-grade, minimum wage job, but as you get older, you’ll need to apply for higher up jobs and careers. You will be placed in a larger applicant pool and it will be much more competitive, so having great references on your application can really help you. If you form a good relationship with your boss, they are more likely to agree to be a reference for you in the future and provide a great recommendation on your behalf. I’m not saying you guys have to become best friends that meet up for coffee every week but build a dynamic where you know each other and are comfortable together. Let them see your personality as well as your work ethic. 

5. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself against customers.

Customers. They’re the worst. Even the most polite, understanding and patient of customers can cause any trainee to be terrified. Don’t fret, just take a deep breath and trust that you can do it. If you present yourself in a confident way, even if you’re absolutely petrified, customers will respect your word, even the ones that sneer and look down on you. Remember, you’re the one providing them a service; if they aren’t happy about something and there’s nothing you can do to make it better, then let them be mad and leave. It may seem difficult, and it’ll definitely take some time, but you can’t let their negative words affect you. If it gets really bad, excuse yourself from the scene, go to the back, take a couple of deep breaths, calm yourself down, and then go back. Don’t let them walk over you because only you know your job and what it entails, not them. 

6. If you think you remembered everything, check again.

This mostly applies to a closing shift, but you should be doing this before you leave any of your shifts at work. I can’t tell you how many times I left the store at night, confident that I had completed everything, only to turn around while driving home because I forgot to turn something off. Make a checklist (an actual, physical one. Don’t trust yourself to remember, OK? I don’t use a planner for school but I had to use a checklist while working) and go through everything on the list throughout the shift, marking off all of the tasks you complete as you go. Most likely your boss will give you a list of tasks to complete, and it looks better on your part if you can complete them without asking. While your boss will most likely not be mad if you ask them again what they would like completed, they will be infinitely more impressed if you remembered to complete all of your tasks and accomplished it without running back to them to ask what comes next. 

7. Take the extra shift for someone.

This one isn’t really necessary or all that important, but it’s greatly appreciated whenever it happens. I know, I know, it’s your day off and you don’t want to work and why can’t they ask someone else to cover their shift? Most likely they are only asking because they have no other options, and they probably had something come up at the last minute, so you should do them a solid and take their shift. In the long run, this will work out better for you; you’ll have more hours on your next paycheck and now you have someone that is more likely to cover one of your shifts for you. That’s the key part of this lesson; if you never offer to help one of your coworkers, they’ll be less inclined to help you when you need it. So, be a good person and take the extra shift. 

8. Learn how to answer questions without asking the manager.

Again, this one isn’t quite necessary, but it’s a good skill to have. If you have a customer, or even another coworker asking a question about something and you’re able to confidently give them the correct answer or find a solution, it’s very impressive in the eyes of a manager. It shows that you know what you’re doing and that you’re capable of handling any task. Obviously, if you aren’t 100% certain of your answer and you don’t know where to go to find the correct information, ask the manager for clarification. While it’s important to not second-guess yourself, you do want to ensure that you are giving out accurate information to others. However, if you are able to do this without asking for help, your managers will take notice. This will come in handy down the line when they start looking at people to promote, which leads into my next lesson…  

9. If they offer you a promotion, say yes.

This statement may seem obvious or it could be absolutely terrifying. Perhaps it’s a mixture of both. Either way, yes, if you are offered a promotion, you should accept it. It will depend on the job and the environment you’re in, but where I worked, there were frequent talks of promotions. This is due to the fact that it was mostly high school and college-aged people working there, so we often found ourselves with manager positions to fill. At first, I was adamant that I did not want to receive a promotion; the idea of being a manager at my first ever job was completely unappealing and I just didn’t want it.

Cut to me, six months later, being promoted to manager after working there for a year and a half. Yeah, I guess I actually did want it… 

So, there I was, 18 years old, the only girl working at the store at the time and the newest manager. This meant that when I was working, I was in charge of the store and all of the people inside. People that consisted of my Team Members, aka a group of nineteen to twenty-something-year-old boys. I thought I was in way over my head. 

But, it turns out that being a manager was easier than I expected. Yes, it will depend on your job and the people you work with (I’m very lucky that that group of boys were some of the nicest, funniest and most chill people I’ve ever met), but don’t be afraid to take the promotion. No matter what age you are or how long you’ve worked there or for whatever other reasons you have that make you feel like you shouldn’t accept, you were chosen for a reason. Just remember that. 

And finally, arguably the most important lesson on this list… 

10. Always watch the mop bucket while it’s being filled up.

Although it only happened to me once, I’ve witnessed this catastrophe many times and every single one occurred because someone wasn’t paying attention. You start filling up the mop bucket, you walk away to do something else, you think you’ll remember to stop it once the bucket has been filled enough, you forget and then you have soap and water everywhere. So, no matter what position you’re in at your job, always pay attention to the mop bucket because if not, it’ll overflow and you’ll spend the next 20 minutes trying to clean it up. And trust me, it’s not as easy to clean as it may seem. 

This job has helped me in ways that I never expected when I first applied and I’ve met some amazing people because of it. There are plenty of more lessons I could’ve listed here, but hopefully at least one of these will help someone out there that’s starting a new job (and I’m completely serious, if you only take one thing away from this, please let it be the mop thing).

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