[New Grad Survival series]: The Pitfalls in My 1st Year of Work
To all eager new grads stepping into their first adult jobs. You got this.
Hi friends, how have you been?
If you are one of my early readers, you must have noticed my horrible consistency. A few updates from me: I moved to a new city and moved in with my partner! It was a significant change in my life, and after 3 months, I felt more settled, now that I see my apartments fully furnished, remember my grocery route, and ✨finally✨ set up my routines again for writing.
That being said, I am excited to write more regularly and connect with you all more deeply. As always, thank you for being here. You are all my biggest motivation.
Now, onto the piece!
Note: For context, I am a Product Manager working in tech. These are my personal experiences only. Please take my advice and apply as you see fit :D
This past week marked one year at my first real-world adult job. A real adult job is weird… It felt like I was in a pond, leisurely taking in the world’s knowledge. Then I got pushed into the ocean, figuring out how to ride the big waves: Working on tasks impacting a company’s revenue, and working on a product impacting millions of users. That’s just wild.
The waves drove me up and down, and I fell face-down multiple times. Yet, looking back on my first year, I would be proud to say it was a good one, where I fell and stood up, becoming better at navigating the waves over time.
As another group of new grads is going into their first jobs, I want to share those times and experiences when I fell face-down, and I hope they will help you stay balanced on your surf.
Fall #1: Staying in a student’s mindset
As a student, we were assessed based on how many mistakes we made. Getting scores deducted because of silly mistakes always drove me crazy, so I was as careful as possible as a student. When I started my first job, I carried this “no mistakes allowed” mindset with me.
I did make very few mistakes in my first few months, but my project progress was unbelievably slow as I tiptoed around.
In addition to “no mistakes,” I also had the habit of “self-teaching.” I enjoyed the achievement thrill of solving a math problem after hours of contemplating, so I also looked through nearly 50 documents, trying to find the answer to a challenge in my project.
My manager intervened, directed me to the right source, and we solved it in 20 minutes.
What I should have done instead:
Embrace the fact that I WILL make mistakes. Making mistakes now as a rookie is 100x times better than in 3 or 4 years.
“Don’t hit your head in the wall, Linh” - my manager said. When bumping into something, reach out! It’s likely that you face difficulties because you don’t have the right background knowledge, not because you are incapable.
Stay in the learner’s mindset, not the student’s. Asking a lot of questions. Be curious.
Fall #2: Shying away from my weaknesses
The success of a Product Manager = User empathy + Technical Knowledge (in the very simplest terms, of course)
In other words, I need to understand users’ pain points when using a product, and technical knowledge to work with Engineers to turn those pain points into solutions.
I was a Psychology student, so naturally, conversations with User Researchers and Designers felt like a breeze. Conversations with Engineers felt more like thunderstorms, hectic and scary. Whenever I was assigned a more technical project, I caught myself brushing through it, or giving it away in the hands of Engineers. Over time, ignoring things I found “difficult” became a source of confidence loss.
What I should have done instead:
Be honest with myself about my weaknesses. One of my Seniors told me it is easier to be honest earlier in your career and fix your weakness. Weakness becomes an oversight in the long run, and eventually becomes who you are (I am just not technically savvy!)
Have a plan to tackle it head-on. Very proud that I just started learning about Git :D
Don’t be afraid to ask the experts questions. All the Engineers I reached out to were super nice in explaining things to me. In general, people are very willing to help newbies. We have all been there!
Fall #3: Not questioning the purpose/impact of my tasks
Anyone who worked with me during my first few months will find that working with me is sooo easy: I didn’t ask any questions :) My manager gave me work, and I would go ahead at full speed like a good employee.
Big mistake.
During that whole time, I was a machine. I worked and worked and worked, but I didn’t understand why I was working on this task.
It is embarrassing looking back on it now, but I worked and worked and worked, while having no clue what impacts this project brings. It felt as if I knew how to run through a tunnel very well, but I had no idea which direction I was going, or when I would reach the end.
What I should have done instead:
It can be hard to ask good questions when you are new. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know, and asking questions to your manager can sometimes feel intimidating. But I promise you, asking many questions is the foundation of meaningful work.
Have a template/a set of questions to ask whenever you are assigned a new project.
—> This will be one of the posts in the series! I will cover questions I ask my manager to constantly zooming in for details, and zooming out for long-term goals. Make sure to subscribe so it will be in your inbox when it is available!
In summary, here are the 3 things that you can learn from my mistakes, so your first year of work feels smoother and more manageable:
Stay in the learner’s mindset: Be curious and lean into questions
Tackle your weaknesses: Your first year of work might be the best time to figure out your shortcomings and improve upon them
Always question the things that you do: Knowing the “What, Why, How, Who” for your work is powerful
Navigating work life is never easy, but through sharing the falls I made, I hope it will make the progress for you a little easier and breathable.
I am looking forward to seeing you in my next post in the series, and let me know what mistakes you made in your first year!
So glad to see you back, looking forward to reading this series Linh ơi!
Welcome back my favorite Internet writer who's born in 99 :)