I graduated from college and moved home in May, made the rather small move to Miami July 1st, and started my job a few weeks later. Needless to say, it was a lot of change in a short period of time, and a big shift in gears when going from college to career. The first month was packed full of learning and new experiences so here is a short list of lessons with tips I wish I had for my first month as a recent grad with an entry-level salaried employee.
- Moving is expensive and a hassle.
- If you can live at home, live at home. Not only will you save money on moving but you will also save on rent and utilities each month.
- If living at home is not an option, do your research on how you are going to move all of your stuff and have a detailed list of what expenses you will prior to moving in. When signing your lease do you have to pay first rent, last rent, and then a deposit equal to rent? Do you really want to move all of your stuff? What about a roommate? Will you mind coming home to that person after working all day? Depending on the area, it may also helps to have a realtor, so look into that.
- (Additional tip: save money from your checks for future moves in case your job causes you to relocate)
- Learning how to maintain a work/life balance takes time. There are not enough hours in a workday and not enough days off.
- You have to look at your goals and what you are passionate about and prioritize your time accordingly. If you want to absolutely kill it at your job then plan on working a minimum of 40 hours and do additional learning and research when you get home. If you want to somewhat maintain a work/life balance, look at your schedule beforehand and decide what time will be for you and what time will be for your career. Maybe one night with your friends, one “you day” with no work, and the rest all work will help maintain your sanity and still help you reach that goal.
- Be prepared for a different kind of to-do list. First, it will be a longer and more complicated list. Second, things will be added to that list quicker than you can cross them off. Third, the things that were originally on that list will have complications causing those things to take longer for you do to them.
- Write a to-do list the night before and throughout the day add to it as people throw new things at you. Also continually prioritize them throughout your workday because even the small things can end up being very important. Most importantly you don’t have to finish the list every day! It is okay if they roll over, just make sure you get them done before their due date.
- Leave time in your daily plan for unexpected projects or tasks.
- You will never be on the same chapter or even on the same page as anyone else in your profession or life. At this point every has a large differing background and many different goals to achieve as well as different ways they will go about accomplishing them.
- Do NOT compare yourselves to them.
- DO ask questions about their skills, past accomplishments, and future goals. Learn as much as you can from what they have done and apply what you can to your path.
- In college most of your friends had the same classes as you, lived close to you, or were involved in the same extra curricular activities. Having those “convenient” friends will no longer be convenient.
- If you want to maintain those friendships you made in college you will have to go out of your way to make plans and sometimes to even catch up with them. The key is to know how your friends are, if they need to know a week in advance so you can coordinate schedules to hang out then do that. If you know their lives are currently really busy and they forget to answer texts then text them again.
- Your health and well-being is entirely up to you.
- Eat healthy, get enough sleep, work out multiple times a week, don’t sleep with make up on, don’t do drugs, and don’t drink too much. We all know this, but do we actively do it? And if you are struggling with eating healthy or working out there are endless resources to help you. For example, look up healthy recipes and different exercises on Pinterest!
- No matter how good you think you are at budgeting and can afford that $2,000 rent, you probably can’t (and in my opinion, you shouldn’t)
- Make a budget, a budget with wiggle room. First of all the budget so include savings for traveling, a new car, 401k, a home, and whatever else your future plans may involve. But also leave lots of wiggle room in your budget for the unexpected costs. You never know when your car will stop running and you need a new $160 car battery or that when you move into your apartment there will also be a $400 deposit to start your electricity. It’s nice to have a little cushion that isn’t your savings so that you can save your savings for more fun events in life. (Note: these are surprise expenses that actually happened to me)
For any other recent grads who have started their careers: what are some of the lessons you learned in your first month on the job??
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