How I survived my first job

One of the crucial things you start to worry about when stepping into adulthood is money. The first big-girl job I had was in February of last year. After lounging around and doing aimless things after my A/Ls for almost a year, I felt the need to be a responsible adult and try to take care of my things at least until university started. So, I went to an interview for a bookshop near me and luckily, they hired me right away because they were short on staff. Under the supervision of an old worker, I started my training right away.

The work was pretty easy & I worked from 9 am to 7 pm. In the first week, I worked as a sales assistant, and I had to learn about all the types of stationaries & books that were available in the store. Then I became a trainee cashier in a short time. It was a big responsibility because I had to handle the money & settle all the cash reports at the end of the day. There were small mishaps here & there, but since I'm a quick learner I got the hang of it without a problem.

No matter how big or small your job is, doing it for the first time comes with a whole bunch of different challenges. And here are some different experiences & things that I got to learn during my period of work.

Maintaining work-life balance:
              The major thing I struggled with was adapting to a new daily routine. In the first few weeks I found myself stuck in a circle of waking up, eating, going to work, coming home, eating and straight up going to bed. It was frustrating to repeat it for 6 days a week & not having time to do anything other than that. I also found my screen time increasing because I was nonstop scrolling on my phone when I was bored at the shop. So to gain some healthy balance, I started reading books that were up for purchase and exploring new genres of reading material. I also tried to invest in a skincare routine, something I didn't do before. I practiced my guitar on Sundays, which helped me to recharge, and I tried to journal as much as I could to motivate myself to stay grounded in a busy life & also to find different small hobbies that I could try to stick to. 

Maintaining finance:

           Earning money from your own hard work & labor is a different kind of happiness, and it gives you a sense of responsibility. However, one should be mindful about spending that money. I wasn't the most responsible person when I got my first salary, as I ended up spending it on some unnecessary things. It is natural to want to buy everything you've been wanting for so long, but it's really important to save up even a small amount of money, no matter how big or small the pay is. Starting from my second month, I managed my expenses properly and invested money in a small thing for future purposes. If you're a student who's working part-time or full-time for a small period, maintaining a separate bank account for saving purposes, or investing in a small piece of gold can be affordable options. But also, it's okay to treat yourself to a little something once in a while as well!

Relationship with co-workers:

           I think this is one of the most important things that some people tend to overlook while doing a job. It's important to know how to deal with people from different backgrounds & personalities because unlike in other places, you'll have to put up with your co-workers every day whether you like it or not. My co-workers were okay, even though we had to face some unpleasant moments as well. Most of them were caused because some workers didn't know how to maintain a clear boundary with others. Putting work colleagues into the place of personal friends is not the smartest move. There were some situations where some workers took their personal problems into work, and it created a very tense environment for other workers as well. In my opinion, we should keep our work & personal affairs separate and be professional no matter what your job is.

Dealing with customers:

        By far, this is the most patience-consuming thing I've ever done in my life. Having worked as a salesperson & a cashier, I gained a whole new level of respect for all the other employees in other companies, because handling customers is the hardest of all. I dealt with a fair share of hot-headed, rude, inconsiderate people as well as very kind customers who respected & made our job easier. It helped me to understand the point of view of a sales employee & recognize the mistakes I made as a customer in my life. 

Well, that's how I navigated life through my first work experience. It was memorable & I gained lots of experience as well as some perspective about different areas in life. And after six months of working, I resigned from my position to pursue my degree. The most important thing I realized was, that I never want to be a 9-to-5 cooperate worker. Even though I earned money, and my work was easy, I wasn't satisfied with how my life went in that period. But as a silver lining, it made me appreciate the simple things in life, such as sleeping in late, spending time with family, and going out for a walk whenever I liked. I think a part of stepping into adulthood is having to do stuff that doesn't align with your passion at all. There are so many people in their 20s who are pursuing to be future doctors, engineers, movie directors, and musicians, doing the most unexpected side hustles at the moment. But it's okay because it's all a part of life and they help you grow up as a person. Embracing all those experiences and making them into learning opportunities  

is the best thing we should do.