5 Mistakes I Made At My First 8-5 Job

By Susan Gitonga

Do you remember your first full time job? Looking back, what can you identify as some of the mistakes you made? Here are 5 of the things I wish I had done differently.

Mistakes I Made At My First 8-5 Job

1. Didn’t negotiate

Because I had not done much research on how much the industry pays for the role I was applying for, I just went with a figure my parent had told me to quote. Plus, I was very excited to be getting my first full time job, that I did not carefully consider the salary. 

Looking back, I figure I should have negotiated for slightly more than I asked.

How I know this is because once the employer asked me what salary I expected to be paid and I gave them the figure, they did not counter or try to negotiate with me.

In his mind, he was more than happy to pay me the amount I had mentioned, because it was most probably less than what he was willing to offer!

That said, ensure that you conduct very thorough research on how much you should be earning. No employer will withdraw the offer because you would like to negotiate a salary. In fact, it is considered more unprofessional when you fail to discuss your expected salary with the potential employer.

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2. I thought I “deserved” A RAISE all the time

Once I got the grip of things and was doing my work exemplary well, I had this notion that I deserved a raise. In real sense, however, I just deserved to be keeping the job. It took me a long time to realize that just doing my job adequately over a long time did not mean I deserved a raise.

It just meant that I was earning the salary I was being paid.

In order to gain a promotion or a raise , I realized that I had to go above and beyond to do more for the company, apart from my normal responsibilities

3. I didn’t speak up

In the beginning, I was very timid and afraid of speaking up. I was kind of naive. Because this was my first full time job where I was getting paid, I didn’t feel as though it was in my place to ask questions or to speak up and offer suggestions to my employer.

As time went by I realized this and stopped being a yes-man kind of employee where I would always agree with the ideas of my colleagues and my boss. Instead, I gained confidence in airing my own opinions and suggestions as well.

4. I idealized the “perfect job”

Because this was my first full time job, I wasn’t used to the routine of working. Coming straight from the university, I had created the idea of my perfect job.

And with that, I spent a lot of time day-dreaming about my dream job without taking the concrete steps to actually get there.

To be honest, I came to realize that the perfect job doesn’t really exist. 

Looking back, I should have set goals for the 8-5 job and spent time away from the office doing things I was passionate about and work towards my dream job.

5. I didn’t set boundaries

I used to be the person who would always check my emails, answer Watsapp texts, go on social media, do a bit of work, watch a YouTube video etc.

I failed to set boundaries and to allocate good proportions of time to important tasks.

Even though it was my choice to do all these things at the same time, it left me feeling very exhausted, irritable, unproductive and resentful to my co-workers and colleagues because I was always overwhelmed.

With that, I later learnt to differentiate time at the office and outside the office, and to set boundaries.

At the end of it all, your mistakes and mine might not be exactly the same in your first full time job, but I’m sure you can relate to a point or two.

Got a question or a comment? Leave it below. Susan is a Communications Officer at Career Point Kenya. Email: susan@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke