Hi, Micchi here,
So this is obviously a couple (okay, more than a couple) years after the first post. A lot have changed, I just graduated with a degree in Accounting and Finance (big shocker, not.) and got a job in Audit (another meh, typical path). So half year in, I want to give some advice to people just entering the workforce.
Firstly, there is a difference between working and studying ( yes, I finally admitted it, oh great mother and sister of mine.). How wide that gap will be depends on which company you will work for and their culture, whether they are competitive or clannish, the type of development they advocate, ie. sharing sessions, classroom learning, self- directional or company driven. Which company culture works for you depends on your personality, characteristics and, of course, expectations. However, no matter which type of company you end up with, the key difference between studying and working is responsibility.
The responsibility I am talking about here is not the amount but to whom you are taking responsibility too. If you, like me, are able to get an education paid by your parents and/or scholarship and generally don't take the lion share of having to provide for the family, then like me, in getting an education, you are mostly just fending for yourself, despite who you are getting your 'A's for (yourself, parents or otherwise) because your failure or success ultimately impacts just yourself. However, in work, your work ultimately impacts others, whether in terms of time and manpower to rectify a problem that cropped up due to a loose end, financial when shit happens and money is needed to rectify it or reputation (yours and that of whom you represent).
Now that I have successfully scared you, it is also important to know that there will always be help , whether from your seniors, supervisor, mentor or peers. You are never helpless or without help nor will work only be serious, stoic or stressful, because it needn't be, the key takeaway here is the paradigm shift of accountability from yourself (me the king! or Queen as the case maybe) to a bunch of other people (I'm not ready for this kind of responsibility!?!).
Okay, on that cheery note, we move on to my second point, to find the right company or job for you. Because life is too short to be spent living someone else's life, and we spend approximately two third of our lives at our jobs so make it count!
To be ourselves, we need to, like Steve Job said, strip away the dogma, the false beliefs that we must be a certain way to prove our worth and, believe me, we have many imposed on us, interestingly, even by pop media that tells us, we must believe we are unique above all others, that "If you are book smart, I must be smarter in street smart or talented in ways mainstream cannot comprehend and I'll prove that I stand above all.". While I am an advocate of self confidence and belief, I do not agree that it should be to the extent of exclusion or rejection of all others, which seems to be the extent expounded by media and pop media, that talent trumps the need for respect, humility and integrity.
However, I will digress here to return to my point of saying, that we should embrace ourselves, wholeheartedly and removing the perceived negative connotation of our traits, if we are homely, we're homely, if we are a lazy bone, then we are lazy (plain and simple, no other characteristics added implied or otherwise), if we are a homebody, then a homebody we be (at this point, you would probably realized I am describing my own characteristics. Haha!), but truly we must be able to look at ourselves as we are and know we are worth it. Then only can we start to find our passion, goals and expectation in life.
Have clear, unwavering and focused vision but be kind.
A coward dies a thousand times over, while the valiant only taste death once ~ William Shakespeare. We only lose if we let ourselves be paralyzed by fear, forgetting that we alone can determine whether we succeed or fail, whether we drop the ball here or try valiantly to keep up. NO success or failure is written in stone (but if it is, I want to see that stone. I think I'll go at midnight, so I can write something too. Vandalism!).
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any ~ Alice walker.
Finally, in the workforce, you will find the old adage true that the people around you are your mirror and if you are fortunate, you will find some some who are willing to be your mirror and dispense (usually, for me, unwanted and unwelcome) advice and criticism. The advice they give will not be as you, but based on their perception of you and your direction tinged heavily with the way they have adapted to the world and that is fine, because there is sincerity in the way the advice was given and there are grain of truths among it. So always be thankful (yes, I'm learning too!!) and take what is needed and leave what you can't carry.
I hope this helps you move forward!!
Love,
Micchi
Now that I have successfully scared you, it is also important to know that there will always be help , whether from your seniors, supervisor, mentor or peers. You are never helpless or without help nor will work only be serious, stoic or stressful, because it needn't be, the key takeaway here is the paradigm shift of accountability from yourself (me the king! or Queen as the case maybe) to a bunch of other people (I'm not ready for this kind of responsibility!?!).
Okay, on that cheery note, we move on to my second point, to find the right company or job for you. Because life is too short to be spent living someone else's life, and we spend approximately two third of our lives at our jobs so make it count!
To be ourselves, we need to, like Steve Job said, strip away the dogma, the false beliefs that we must be a certain way to prove our worth and, believe me, we have many imposed on us, interestingly, even by pop media that tells us, we must believe we are unique above all others, that "If you are book smart, I must be smarter in street smart or talented in ways mainstream cannot comprehend and I'll prove that I stand above all.". While I am an advocate of self confidence and belief, I do not agree that it should be to the extent of exclusion or rejection of all others, which seems to be the extent expounded by media and pop media, that talent trumps the need for respect, humility and integrity.
However, I will digress here to return to my point of saying, that we should embrace ourselves, wholeheartedly and removing the perceived negative connotation of our traits, if we are homely, we're homely, if we are a lazy bone, then we are lazy (plain and simple, no other characteristics added implied or otherwise), if we are a homebody, then a homebody we be (at this point, you would probably realized I am describing my own characteristics. Haha!), but truly we must be able to look at ourselves as we are and know we are worth it. Then only can we start to find our passion, goals and expectation in life.
Have clear, unwavering and focused vision but be kind.
A coward dies a thousand times over, while the valiant only taste death once ~ William Shakespeare. We only lose if we let ourselves be paralyzed by fear, forgetting that we alone can determine whether we succeed or fail, whether we drop the ball here or try valiantly to keep up. NO success or failure is written in stone (but if it is, I want to see that stone. I think I'll go at midnight, so I can write something too. Vandalism!).
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any ~ Alice walker.
Finally, in the workforce, you will find the old adage true that the people around you are your mirror and if you are fortunate, you will find some some who are willing to be your mirror and dispense (usually, for me, unwanted and unwelcome) advice and criticism. The advice they give will not be as you, but based on their perception of you and your direction tinged heavily with the way they have adapted to the world and that is fine, because there is sincerity in the way the advice was given and there are grain of truths among it. So always be thankful (yes, I'm learning too!!) and take what is needed and leave what you can't carry.
I hope this helps you move forward!!
Love,
Micchi
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