EP6 First experience in full time work

TRANSCRIPT FOR EP 6
Welcome to Woman Leadership show. I'm Janet and in this episode, I will be sharing with you when what was my experience when first started working in full time job. 

After I completed my part time diploma, I decided to search for full time job and studied part time concurrently. I did not really know what I liked to do as my career then so I was searching for administration, HR or marketing related jobs. During short period of time during the search, I was offered a role . My first job was a Secretary / Admin role in a leading information and communication technology company. 

As it was my first job, I was anxious and did not know what to expect during my first few weeks into the job. There was orientation by my predecessor and HR colleagues around the office and introduction to key stakeholders in the company. I was eager to learn and that’s where I started to learn more on MS office applications, systems, how to create memorandum, letters and emails. As I was not a detailed person, I tend to make mistakes creating duplicate 

That first job was my first experience in managing secretarial work for few department heads and co-ordinating training related work. I enjoyed working with my colleagues in the department and there were a lot of collaboration and synergy among them. One of my ex colleague was great in designing cards and she would design beautiful cards for special occasions such as birthday and farewell. She loved to buy flowers and placed at her desk as well as giving bouquets as gifts. I love the colorful ambience she brought to workplace and that contributed to my pleasant first full time job experience. Ironically, I was the last to resign among the batch so there was no more thank you cards and flowers for my farewell party. 

One of the new experiences for me in the first job was to attend house warming parties at colleagues’ house as well as baby full month celebration. We visited my boss house for barbeque meals and visited colleagues during Chinese new year. All these were new to me and I enjoyed those new experiences. Those celebration parties helped to create opportunities for colleagues to interact more and got to know more about each other on a personal level. There were not many of company events other than Dinner and Dance so those informal gatherings do make the workplace an enjoyable place to work in. 

Office moving was one of the most difficult project as we have to plan, pack and unpack in the new office area but it was fulfilling when colleagues were happy with their new seating arrangement and office environment. That was my first project where I have to work in project groups and interacted with colleagues from other departments and being the youngest in the team I learned from my seniors based on their experience and to avoid mistakes they have done before in previous companies. 

Though the office location was not as convenient from my house after they has shifted to another location further from my house where I have to change train take a bus and walked further in to the office, I continued to stay on the in the job for about more than 1 year. 

Initially, I thought I would stay there for few years but the role was not something that I wanted to do in view of my long term aspiration but it was a good stepping stone to my next role in similar industry and eventually went into Human Resource. 

My key takeaway from this sharing is to be open to new experiences and enjoy the process. I did not know what to expect in new job, new boss and new colleagues but those experiences had created my first impression of the company and first job. Hence, companies these days have many programs to on-board the new employees to create the unique and great employee experience during first year of joining the company. 

Second takeaway is to create opportunities. There were many informal gatherings though there were not many formal events at work. Some colleagues and bosses have initiated gatherings and celebrations so we could bond and got to know each other and family members better. The level of trust increased with better communication. 
Third takeaway is we can create a lasting impact on someone for a long time just like how my colleagues had created the wonderful memories with their invitation to celebrate with them special occasions, thank you cards and flowers in the office. Though it had been more than 20 years but those images had been vivid in my mind. 

I hope that through my sharing, it draws inspiration and personal reflection for you. 
I look forward to seeing you in my next episode where I will share how I cope with my part time studies and work.