5 Awkward Things That Happened When I Quit My First Real Job

What you need to brace for when making your first big career move.

After I completed undergrad, I went to work for a relatively small but rapidly-growing company that would become my professional home for the next 3 and 1/2 years.

In that time I learned a tremendous amount — just as most college grads do at their first job.

I experienced a shocking amount of change in those 3.5 years at my first company (we’ll call this company “job #1”).

We were acquired twice. I was promoted twice. We went through constant changes in leadership, systems, policies, ways of working, and more.

The rollercoaster ride taught me so much.

I thought I was an absolute pro at navigating the unknown, dealing with ambiguity, and being extremely flexible.

But nothing could have quite prepared me for the transition from my first to my second company (we’ll call this company “job #2”).

Although I was ready to embrace a whole new professional challenge, I was not ready for these 5 awkward things that happened:

Prior to my first day at job #2, it had been so long since I felt like I had something to prove.

Because by the time I left job #1, I was respected. I had friends. I had allies in leadership. I didn’t have to convince anyone that I was smart and valuable.

I wanted to make sure everything I said sounded intelligent. I wanted to be friendly enough. Inquisitive enough. Knowledgeable enough.

After all, this was much different than just starting out at job #1.

Back then, I was fresh out of college, so there really weren’t high expectations of me beyond the basics.

But job #2 hired me because of my skillset and experience. They were counting on me to hit the ground running.

Related posts:

Se pesquisarmos a definição do termo “Product Designer” no Google, encontraremos uma infinidade de respostas e artigos definindo quem são essas pessoas, quais são suas formações acadêmicas, onde…

Wake Up and Write is a regular advice column from Moms Don’t Have Time to Write. Today, we have Hadassah Lieberman — wife of former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman and author of Hadassah: An American…

Most businesses buy Google Business Reviews because they know the effects of word of mouth! In the case of your business reputation, what people are saying about you can make or break your business…