Entering the Corporate World as a Rookie
I just started my new job.
I have to admit, being an intern is entirely different than being a working student.
As a working student, you have 20 hours a week and 40 hours a week (if you want to), while not having any classes. My experiences so far have been, that your employer is very agreeable when it comes to your working hours since you have classes.
Of course, you will have your struggles, but you can choose the times that you work.
Let's be honest 20 hours are not much. You do some work and after a while, you can just go home and work from there if needed.
Obviously, your work experience depends on your team, the deadlines, your boss, and how your schedule aligns with the rest of the team members.
An internship, however, puts you directly into the corporate world.
What I mean by that, is that you will more or less be treated like other employees. You will have the same working hours as most others, meaning for the majority of you guys, you will work a 9 to 5.
As a student that is usually very flexible with time (especially when it comes to submitting your work on time), who can still take it slow on various days, while potentially (again, depending on the university and the classes you take) having a lot of spare time, this can be a shocker.
It is eye-opening how little time you have left in the day.
This is when life really hits you.
If your time management is like that of many people, including me at first, you will wake up before work, dress up and make your way to the office.
You sit at work and you start to realize that it was dark when you got there, and it will be dark when you leave.
Let's take a look at my current daily routine:
6:34 AM waking up
7:00 leave house
7:12 arrive at the gym
8:30 leave gym
8: 40/45 arrive at the office
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5:30/45 PM go home
6:00 PM arrive back home
For most people that are already working, this is completely self-evident and normal.
Even if you're not working, you know this is how it goes when you’re employed. However, sitting outside and watching the game from the stands is way different than playing it.
You have to feel it to thoroughly understand it.
Especially for students that have their first experience in a 9 to 5, (or longer) this is life-changing.
I knew that I had to appreciate my time while I wasn't employed, but this one hit hard.
You go from being able to sleep in, taking naps during the day, pursuing your hobbies, and meeting with friends, to suddenly working all day and having 3 - 4 hours of spare time in the evening.
What a transition.
It's part of growing up you could say, taking the next step and contributing to society, but there are many perspectives that I would like to elaborate on, and most of them are not bad at all:
- You need to learn time management
Take a look at my routine and notice how I have scheduled my day so far. Please keep in mind, I am nowhere near as close to saying that I master this skill as “take a look at me I know how to do it”. This is surely not the case.
I am learning, adjusting, and learning and I'm pretty sure for someone that's been in a job for a longer period, I'm coming off as overly dramatic.
I could wake up at 8:10 AM, get ready and try to go to work. I am not judging anyone that does it, since logistics and geographical factors are obviously huge denominators.
But if you don’t have it far to work, and have a hobby like I enjoy going to the gym, you have to look at your day and think to yourself: “Will I have the energy to do that later?”
Some do some don’t. I learned that sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.
Okay, and what about before that? Before work, for real??
Wait for a second, let's take a look at that option.
If I go after work, I will probably leave the gym around 7/7:30 PM. I go home and have to cook. Then, it will be around 9 PM.
I will have 1 -2 hours to myself before I need to go to bed and get some decent sleep.
But if I "eat the frog first", meaning I do that exact thing before I go to the office, I will not only feel better because I already accomplished something, but it will give me more energy and satisfaction throughout the day.
Work is done and I go home.
I'm back home by 6 PM. I can cook, read and devote myself to my other interests, with way more time and less pressure on my hands.
This is a part of growth, that you will have to go through, to actually make time for what you want to do, if it is important enough.
Additionally, this will ultimately reveal what's important to you.
2. Time becomes more valuable and you will find pleasure in things you haven't before
As I just mentioned, time becomes more valuable.
When being a student, sometimes you have so much time, you don't even know what to do with it and that's not good.
Don't get me wrong, you can use it wisely, learn new things, travel, or do whatever.
But when you wake up, day after day and you are not being productive with your time, it becomes too much, and too much of anything is never good.
When you have a limited amount of time, you have the opportunity to adjust your perspective on the activities you engage in.
What is important to you, what do you feel happy about doing in those few hours?
Even small things, that did not get that much attention beforehand, are more pleasurable.
For instance, walking home after a long day, I feel excited about watching the Bundesliga highlights when cooking my food. I did like it before, at least to a certain extent, when I had more time on my hands, but definitely not as much as I do now.
I am more conscious of it.
3. Life presents itself from a different angle
As previously indicated, this sudden change in life can be a shock. But depending on your mindset or ambitions, this opens up a new world of perspectives.
Personally, I am not keen on working for someone's dream and being told when to be at the office and when to leave.
For now, it is absolutely necessary for my personal development and experience, but I am talking about the long run.
That just doesn't sound or feel like freedom to me.
You are not really "free" when you're being told by someone else, what to do or when to be at a certain point in time (on a daily basis).
But let's put these sentences in perspective because I feel like this can be misunderstood very easily.
This is not an “I quit my 9-5 and start my own business” type of talk.
I do like where I am and I'm super excited to dive into the materials, be faced with new challenges, and acquire new learnings.
It most definitely is a great experience to have and I wouldn't change it for anything right now.
But regarding the sudden change of state, instead of being intimidated by this lifestyle, I can use it to my benefit.
Not only do I get the chance to expand my skill set and come in contact with a corporate culture that I've never experienced before, but I discover more about myself and my desires.
If this appeals to you in the long run, perfect, but if you would like to have a different life later on, it can be one of the biggest motivations to start investing your spare time into productive activities that can pay dividends in the long run.
Just so that you won't necessarily be completely dependent on your job in a couple of years.
It can force you to be creative, maybe even start a side hustle or it can make you want to find ways, to put your current skill set into use.
There are so many opportunities that you can look out for, which could work in your favor.
4. Depending on the job you're in, there is most definitely incredible value to find
Diving into a new field when you have little to no expertise, but still have a keen interest in the topic, is amazing and intimidating at the same time.
There is tremendous value to be found, not just in the profession, but in the people that you will spend time with.
I work in an international company and you have people with excellent work experience, people with extremely impressive academic backgrounds, and of course, individuals that are far ahead of you (and they can be found in every profession).
Even in the first couple of days, I've had conversations that are still stuck in my head, because I'm being confronted with perspectives from all sorts of interesting minds and I know that these inspirations will surely increase over the next months.
Casual conversations can shift your entire viewpoint and make you interested in all sorts of things, that didn't catch your attention at first.
This will lead me to my last point.
5. You will feel like a child again
Coming in as someone with little knowledge compared to the people around you will humble your ego quickly.
Since you step foot on a new playground, you start to realize how little you know and how long others have been in the business. You are overwhelmed with information, especially at the beginning.
You will feel like a child that just lost his mom in the supermarket.
Therefore, getting proper guidance is essential, which is why getting into the habit of just reaching out and asking questions (once you're stuck for good), is so important.
This is surely something I am still working on.
It may look like everyone knows what they're doing but as you come in closer contact with your coworkers, you notice how they're also just trying to survive.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, I'm only a few weeks in, but I've already learned so much and so many valuable lessons that I've been able to discover - or not discover.
At the end of the day, it's about putting the right attitude and mindset into the things you're working on and it will be much more enjoyable and valuable.
It will make you listen to yourself.
I sound like I've been working in the business world for ages now, which I'm obviously not, but a fresh mind often brings fresh perspectives.