Advice for the Entry Level

a letter to all new grads starting new jobs; the advice I wish someone had told me

images from pinkest; collage by me

You may have read my piece “Between Plath and Didion: The Most Important Lesson I Learned in My Twenties.” This was one of my first essays, and it completely blew up. Consequently, I got a lot of messages about it, and one of the most common questions I got was whether I would be posting more essays offering career advice. The Plath/Didion essay is largely about me following my passions and quitting a bunch of jobs until I found one I didn’t hate, so, for a long time, I hesitated to write another career-related essay.

But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that because I’ve quit—and started—so many jobs, I’ve basically become an expert at being an entry-level employee. I’ve been an associate at a consulting firm, a publication assistant at an independent publisher, a student-teacher at a high school, and a graduate teaching assistant at a university. Being an expert at entry-level isn’t exactly a flex, but it does mean that I’ve learned a lot about how to do a good job at your first job, how to impress your manager, how to be invaluable, and what you definitely shouldn’t do. So, I’ve distilled ten of those learnings below. If you do these ten things, you will be leagues ahead of most other new hires. I know, because I learned a lot of these lessons the hard way in my first job out of college.

1. Don’t get drunk at the holiday party

   Give yourself a limit of three drinks and absolutely do not exceed it for any reason. I got so drunk at my first work holiday party that I left my phone at the bar and took a senior partner’s bag home by mistake. So unprofessional. So humiliating. Don’t be that girl. Luckily, another girl caught her hair on fire at the same holiday party, so I wasn’t the biggest topic of gossip the next day in the office. But you can’t count on that. ¹

2. Be 5-10 minutes early for everything

   As an entry-level employee, there is so much you can’t do and so many things that are out of control. But being on time isn’t one of them. Never be late. Not even two minutes late. In fact, you should always plan to be ten minutes early so that if anything unforeseen arises, you’re still on time. If there’s a meeting, be the first one in the conference room so you can make sure all the equipment works. If there’s a presentation, be there early to help set up materials. If there’s a zoom meeting, log on first so you can check there’s no empty wine bottles or a bong in your backdrop. If you’re teaching a class, be at the door greeting students as they arrive, not careening in as the bell rings.

3. Try to figure it out yourself first

   One of my first managers taught me this one, and I’ve lived by it ever since. Before you bother your manager/boss/superior with a question, see if you can solve it yourself first. By the time you ask your manager a question, you should have tried at least three ways to answer or solve it yourself first. That way, you can tell your manager “I have already tried X, X, and X to resolve this issue, but unfortunately none of them worked. Do you have any other ideas for how we might tackle this problem?” This shows competency and initiative and makes it clear you’re not just asking because you’re too lazy to figure it out yourself.

4. Communicate Regularly

   Provide your manager/team/superior with frequent updates on your progress. In some jobs, this has looked like a quick check-in at the start of the week to align on high-priority tasks and to-dos. At other jobs, it’s been a daily update of tasks completed over Slack. Either way, don’t work solitarily without checking in for days on end. It gives your manager peace of mind to know what you’re up to, and providing updates has often saved me from wasting hours barreling in the wrong direction. Communication is especially important if you’re about to start a long task you’re unfamiliar with. If you’re tasked with creating an in-depth spreadsheet, for example, chat your manager a screenshot of the format you plan to use to make sure it’s what they’re expecting before you sink ten hours into the project only to find out you’re doing it all wrong.

5. Advocate for yourself, repeatedly

   People are busy at work, and sometimes, if you only ask for what you want professionally once, it falls off people’s radar. At my first job, I was determined to work on the verbal team, and so I asked in each performance review and at the end of each project debrief until, eventually, they let me. Then, when you get what you want—the class, the project, the opportunity, the training—I would recommend going overboard with your work/commitment. This way, you show that you’re at your best when you’re doing what you like and you’re more likely to receive similar opportunities in the future.

6. Make friends with your coworkers

   To be frank, most entry level jobs are pretty rough. You’re working long hours doing a lot of uninspiring work. Your coworkers will be your saving grace when you’re in the trenches. You don’t have to be best friends, but having friendly relationships with coworkers so you can send them a chat to bitch, grab a coffee when you’re stressed, or cool off with a drink after work will sometimes be the very thing that gets you out of bed and into work on the worst mornings. So, be the coworker that arranges group happy hours or fun activities after work. Making these soft contributions to the culture goes a long way.

7. The little things go a long way

   When you’re just getting started, there’s so many things you can’t help with because you’re still learning. So when little opportunities arise that are easy, but maybe mundane or annoying, be the one that volunteers to handle them. Be the one that prints the materials, creates the zoom invite, books the conference room, etc. etc. Doing these little tasks make you look proactive, diligent, and like a team player.

8. If you get negative feedback, forgive yourself—and ask for specifics

   By the time I came to work, I had been a student for seventeen years, and I was really good at it. I got good grades and never messed up because I knew what I was doing. Entering the professional world, where I suddenly made mistakes all the time and didn’t know what I was doing was extremely jarring. I used to beat myself over every critique I received at work. But being stressed about mistakes, only made me make more mistakes. The fact is, when you’re new at a job, you’re going to mess up. If you tear yourself apart over every mistake, you’re going to be miserable and upset all the time. Instead, forgive yourself, and then ask for specifics. If you don’t understand negative feedback, ask for clarification. If you score low on a certain metric in a performance review, ask why, and discuss suggestions for how to improve. Asking for clarification, rather than spiraling and despairing, is how you will learn and improve.

9. Recognize your successes

   Like I said, there will be many mistakes and failures. At times, your performance will fall short of your vision for yourself. This is why it’s so important to recognize and celebrate your successes when they do happen. When I worked in teaching, if I had a really bad lesson, my professional mentor would always ask me, “What went well?” More often than not, I would exclaim, “Nothing! It was a disaster!” She would then point out a few things that were a success. She told me that if I wanted to last in this career, I had to get better at seeing the gains and recognizing the successes, as that is what would keep me going. And I think that holds true in any career.

10. If you’re job isn’t life or death, don’t treat it like it is

    If you’re a firefighter, a nurse, or in some other life-saving career, this doesn’t apply to you. But for most people, one of the most freeing and stress-reducing realizations you can have about your job is that nothing you’re doing is life or death. I remember working in an office and seeing someone RUNNING to a meeting. There were actually a lot of people who stomped and speed-walked and ran around in that place. And that’s just crazy. Like what’s going to happen if you just walked?? Someone doesn’t get to see a Powerpoint deck?? You should care about your job, but beware of caring too much, lest you go insane. As much as you can, try to keep some perspective.

And finally, all of this advice will help you show up well at your job. But, remember, that is only half the battle. Once you’ve established yourself as competent and good at your job, you have to ask yourself if your job is good for you. For more on this, read The Most Important Lesson I Learned in my Twenties.

If you want to read more check out a few of my latest essays:

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