Thursday, 23 May 2013

What to look for in your first job.

It’s that time of the year when many final year college and campus students are clearing campus. Many will be looking for jobs earnestly within this coming few months, and settling into their first job (hopefully). As you put pen to paper on your first job, here are four crucial things you need to pay attention to.


1. Starting Salary.
As a student, there is a way in which money always seems to flow to you. However, those taps run dry immediately one is through school. Will the starting salary enable you to rent a comfortable place (as per standards of someone who has just come out of college?). Will you have enough money to save, pay for transport, and generally live well with a few luxuries if need be?

2. Career Progression.
What is the company’s policy on promotions? Are promotions based on talent, or on the number of years one has served in a job, or a combination of both? If you are going to stay on one job for years on end
before you can be promoted, then it’s probably time to start looking for a more rewarding job.

3. Your Direct Boss/Manager/Supervisor.
It’s often said that people don’t leave jobs, but that they leave bad bosses. Conversely, a good boss could have a tremendous effect on your job, even if the pay may not be great. A good boss listens to you, listens to your point of view, and apart from just being your boss; they also mentor you on the job. They teach you all the ropes there is to learning that particular job. Seems hard to find such kind of a boss? Really, I think they are still there.

4. Office Culture.
Every company has an unspoken way of doing things. Some companies have a formal culture, others a more laid back culture, others a toxic and gossipy kind of culture, while others have a creative culture. A great first job is one that aligns your personality to the company culture, so that you don’t struggle too much to fit in.

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