Here’s How To Rock Your First Job Out Of College
It’s so important to build a strong career foundation from day one
This afternoon at Office Hours, our host Windsor Western was joined by special guest Kate Green, Head of Brand and Integrated Marketing at Fitbit at Google! They chatted about how to crush your first job out of college. If you’re looking to jumpstart your career from day one, here are three lessons from office hours to follow.
Watch the replay HERE
Be a sponge.
When you start your first job out of college, there is a huge opportunity to learn new things. Kate shared, “ Be a sponge. In your first job, just absorb everything you can possibly absorb. When you’re given new opportunities to do things, take them.” There will be many tasks you haven’t done before, so you may feel afraid to say yes to the challenge. She recommended always taking the opportunity to learn because it will either help you learn something you’re good at or something you don’t enjoy. Taking on these opportunities will help inform your future career goals.
Gain your manager’s trust.
Building a strong relationship with your manager is especially important in your first entry-level job, as it truly is the foundation for your career. Kate recommends, “The way that you should approach problem-solving is to do your research and try to be super resourceful. Then go to your manager and make a recommendation, saying, ‘This is what I think I should be doing right now. Do you agree with this approach?’ Then you aren’t doing anything without your manager’s approval, but you’ve done a lot of the work that helps your manager make the decision.”
Don’t stop hustling.
Just because you’re in the job, it doesn’t mean the hustle stops there. Kate shared, “Hustling and following up is going to be so critical for working cross-functionally within a company. Gain connections on other teams, so you can reach out when you have questions.” Having a strong network in your job is powerful because teamwork truly makes the dream work!
We loved Windsor and Kate’s tips and tricks for how to stand out and do an amazing job in your entry-level role, and we hope you did, too! In case you missed Office Hours this week, catch up on the replay here and be sure to join us next week on Generation Hired for another session of Office Hours.
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