First Job?

Coping with startingwork,

your first monthsurvival guide

Mark Blayney

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Congratulations on starting your firstjob.

You’ll probably experience ahoneymoon period for your first fewdays where everybody will be nice andfriendly as they show you around,introduce you to people and welcomeyou on board.

Even so it’s going to feel a bit odd.After all you’ve just left a place,whether it’s school, college oruniversity where not only did youknow your way around since you’dbeen there for a number of years, butwhere (leaving aside the teachingstaff) you’d been in a relatively seniorposition, and surrounded by people

that you’ve grown to know over aprolonged period. Whereas nowyou’re starting somewhere completelynew, with its own rules and networksthat you’re going to need to get usedto, as probably the most juniormember of staff, knowing precisely noone.

Do you remember your first day at bigschool? Well in many ways you’reback there again.

By the end of week two, with piles ofwork landing on you apparently atrandom, from people who seemdemanding and to expect you to justknow what to do with it all, and thephone going all the time, you might

feel yourself drowning as you wonderhow you are ever going to handle allthis.

Well the first thing to say is thatyou’re not alone in going through this.

Schools or colleges are often great atgetting you the qualifications youneed to land a job and guiding you inhow to apply and land it. But giventhe many different career paths forstudents, it can be difficult for themto fully prepare you for the range ofpractical issues you will run into atwork and how to make a success of itonce you’ve started.

And that’s a pity, because it’s an

important formative experience. Yourfirst ‘proper’ job is potentially thefoundation for what you are going tobe doing for the next 40 or 50 years,and how far you are going to get, so ifyou want to have a great career it’simportant to make a great start, andit’s never too early to begin either.

They say you never get a secondchance to make a first impression(actually if you think about it that’scomplete rubbish, you just have tomake it on someone else, somewhereelse), so this short guide is focused onmaking those crucial first impressionsin those critical first few weeks atwork.

Think of it as a crash course on a fewessentials intended to ensure you getoff on the right foot in your firstmonth or so.

It’s therefore a bit of a catch-all ofsome basic information and survivaltips, a mix of Dos and Don’ts to getyou started.

Key behaviours – the Dos

There are a limited number of thingsyou probably need to concentrate onin your first month or so assummarised below.

Be there and be there on time– one of the simplest stepsyou can take, but one which is

entirely within your controland which is very visible andgets noticed, is to bepunctual. Downstream in yourcareer you may need to dealwith the cultural problems ofpresenteeism but don’t worryabout this now.

At this stage of your career youwant to be building social capitaland this is one of the quickest firststeps to doing so.

So, you should always arrive early(on time is late, some say) andcrucially stay on for as long asthere seems to be work to do(never be the first to leave).

You will probably come acrosspeople at some point in yourcareer who always spend the lastquarter of an hour before the endof the official working day packingup so they can get away on thedot every time. Clock-watcher isthe term and it’s not a descriptionyou want to pick up.

One tip I’ve seen is if asked whyyou are there you can say; I justwant to be available to help outwith anything that needs doing andlearn as much as I can.

Get your game face on, give agood impression from themoment you walk in – if

you’ve seen the film PulpFiction, think about howVincent and Jules go aboutgetting into character outsidethe door of the flat they areabout to hit. They areheading into their ownparticular work environmentso they deliberately adopttheir work personas beforestarting.

One of my colleagues on aturnaround had a checklist he keptin his car and went through everymorning before he walked into theoffice; reminding himself he wasthere as a director, staff would be

looking to him for leadership, andhe had to conduct himselfconfidently, smile and be upbeat.

So, develop something similar foryourself. Don’t just walk in to yourwork in the morning. Before youget there deliberately make a littletime every morning to think abouthow to give the best impressionfrom the moment you arrive, andif nothing else, before you walk inthe door, smile!

Dress appropriately – thiscould reasonably fit as part ofgiving a good impression butit’s important that you andyour appearance fit in with

the organisation’s culture andvalues. A professional firmwill have certain standards ofprofessional dress code whichcan either be quiteprescriptive (one financialorganisation I’m told issued aformal dress code noticestating in effect ‘no cleavage’)or simply enforced throughthe cultural norms. So, lookaround at what everyone elseis wearing and check thatyour dress is appropriate.

Not being too slack (you have flipflops on while everyone elsearound you in your law office is in

a suit and tie) is the obviousfailing, but sometimes beingoverdressed (everyone else in yoursoftware firm is in beachwearwhile you have a three-piece suitand gleamingly polished shoes)can be a problem in achieving acultural fit with your colleagues.

Of course, dress can also varydepending on the role peoplehave to fulfil, so while the codersat that software firm might work invery casual clothes, the sales staffwho are out selling services intobig corporates will have to dressformally to give the rightprofessional image to the clients,

ie fit in with that culture.

Listen and take notes – quitesimply write everything down.

Your work is going to beoverwhelming to start with andpeople will be telling you lots ofdifferent things, which you’ll beexpected to remember.

If you don’t write it down, youwon’t remember. There’ll just betoo much to absorb too quickly.

So, write it down!

Get yourself a notebook and carryit with you everywhere you go atwork. Use it to note downeverything: work to do, names

(and contact details), deadlines,ideas, everything. It’s important torealise how much you are inlearning mode in these early daysand how much you are thereforegoing to need to take notes to beable to refer back.

Immediately this will help youkeep yourself organised and avoidforgetting things that need doing,people you need to deal with andso on (at one UK business I’veheard about, being seen without anotebook is regarded as adisciplinary offence!).

Longer term it will help you aswell. People are usually very

willing to help someone new andshow them the ropes, but thereare few things more irritating thanfinding they have to be told againand again. No one wants to haveto go through telling you the samestuff twice or three times and thiswill quickly infuriate them, notleast because it shows a lack ofrespect for their time and theeffort they’ve already made foryou.

Whereas if you can acquire thereputation that you only have tobe told once (because you write itdown and learn it) then you willbe earning credibility and a good

reputation.

Plan – a properly organisedand prioritised To Do list isyour best friend. It’s the wayyou order and organise yourworld and turn the stream ofwork heading your way intosomething manageable (asubject covered in more detailin Chapter 4).

The truth is, if you don’t plan,others will plan for you and youwill simply end up reacting to andrunning around after theirpriorities, not yours.

To begin with you simply need to

start daily planning for yourself.For the moment, at the end ofeach day sit back for a momentand take the time to put togetheran outline plan of what’s expectedof you tomorrow. In yournotebook, you’ll be keeping aschedule of all the dates whenprojects are due or expected soyou can keep track of them andpull them into your To Do list forthe next day. If having a structuredformat for writing down notes,planning your day and prioritisingyour projects would help then usea copy of My Time And ProjectManager (see the section on

further reading and resources).

As part of this process go throughtoday’s list to make sure you’vedone what you were supposed todo and to carry over anything thatdidn’t get finished today intotomorrow’s list.

Work to make everyone elsearound you look good –forget about yourself for themoment and instead work onthe basis that your job issimply to make your boss(and your team of co-workers)look good (much more on thisin Chapter 5).

So, try to think about what theirgoals are and how you can supportthem. Ask yourself:

What does your boss wantand why?

And so, what you can doto help them so youbecome their, and yourteam’s, go to person forgetting things done.

Be proactive and always look forchances to help and be useful. Thiswill make you stand out and indue course you’ll start to be seenas indispensable.

If you focus on serving others what

you are actually doing is investingin your social capital, while at thesame time helping yourself tolearn and develop. Do thisthroughout your career and it willpay back handsomely, believe me.

Always be ready to learn –start off by being honest andembracing the fact you arenew. No one expects you tohave all the answers so don’tpretend you do because it’snot going to fool anyone.

Instead treat your job as a chanceto learn, but don’t simply expectto sit back and be taught.

You need to be proactive and self-starting. So, if you find a problem,don’t just go running for helpimmediately or ask someone toshow you what to do. Insteadthink about the issue to see if youcan come up with answers oroptions yourself, and then if youneed to, go and check you havegot the right answer.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.Yes, as we’ve covered above youdon’t want to be bothering peoplefor the same instruction time aftertime, but if you have a problemyou can’t solve or aren’t sure youhave the right answer for, then

ask.

I’ll let you into a secret, peoplegenerally like to be asked for help.It makes them feel good aboutthemselves (I’m seen and respectedas an expert) and what they’redoing (I’m being nice and helpful,how great am I?) and if they’repassionate about what they dothey will positively want to sharetheir knowledge with you. Some ofthem will even write a book aboutit…

And while we’re on the subject oflearning, learn through errors.Cock-ups and errors happen to usall, it’s part of life. So, when you

make a mistake admit it, don’thide it. Take it to your boss (yes,you read that right) and showthem what you’ve done and why.Work out together what needs tobe done to fix it and how you canavoid it in future.

Trust me, it’s a better way thanthem finding out for themselvesdown the line.

Think about what you aredoing and why. Your firm isemploying your brain as wellas your hands. Early on in mycareer I had to prepare whatwere known as Section 48reports on companies, which I

did the way everyone else didin my department. I found anold one to use as a template,and in those days actually cutand pasted the details of thecurrent company onto it to betyped up.

Or I did until I got a new boss whocalled me into his office, threw myreport at me and chewed me outasking me why my Section 48report didn’t meet therequirements of Section 48 of therelevant law? To which the answerwas, although I didn’t say so at thetime, because:

I’d never read Section 48

of the relevant act, eventhough I knew it existed;because

It had never even occurredto me that I ought to so asto check I knew what I wasdoing!

Instead I’d simply had my brainparked in a bucket by the side ofmy desk while I got on withpushing my papers.

And as your career develops makesure you continue to learn. Takeresponsibility for your owndevelopment. After the bollockingI got from my boss for that report I

realised I needed technical trainingin the area I was working in, so Isigned up for a professionaltraining course which eventuallygave me my next businessqualification.

Seek feedback – check in withyour manager on a regularbasis to get their view on howyou are doing. Your job is tomake them look good, sodon’t you want to know ifthey feel you have?

Share your To Do list with them atthe start of each day, is it coveringeverything they need or is thereanything else they want? This

helps you ensure you get off onthe right track and shows themyou are being proactive inplanning your work.

Check in with them before you gohome to ensure everything’s beencovered off that’s needed today.

Show them your notes on aregular basis (that in itself is likelyto impress them). Ask themwhether they feel things havegone right and whether there’sanything you could have donebetter?

If there is, then look to make sureyou do it next day.

Depending on how formal yourworkplace is, you might seek aregular feedback session, say on amonthly basis (particularly whileyou are working towards the endof your probation period). If youcan get this agreed pull together ashort summary from your notesabout what you’ve been doing,what you’ve learnt, and what yousee the key tasks and areas fordevelopment are for the nextmonth.

In essence this is some of thematerial a decent appraisal anddevelopment system should berequiring on a six-monthly or

annual basis for all staff, you arejust engaging in the same sort ofprocess on an accelerated basisduring your first few months whenyour need for development islikely to be most acute.

Participate – your work is asocial environment and to besuccessful you need tounderstand the culture andbuild relationships. There issomething to learn from eachof the people around you, sodive on in and become part ofthe team.

What’s the coffee making rota?(Probably you as the newbie, but

you never know.)

Where do people go for lunch? Gowith them and talk to people.

Same again after work if peoplesocialise.

Work out the social rules,quickly – every workplace willhave its own little customsand practises which are thesocial norms everybodyknows, works by andunconsciously expectseverybody else to follow. So,if you don’t, because nobodytold you or showed you, thenpeople will see you (probably

unfairly but there you go) asacting anti-socially.

Just getting a cup of coffee can bea minefield. What’s the fridge andmilk etiquette? Do people make around of hot drinks, or get theirown? Do people have their ownmugs or is it a free for all? If you’veused the last of the water in thekettle are you expected to fill it upagain? What happens to dirtycups? Are you expected to washup after yourself, put them in adishwasher or leave them for acleaner?

Get this wrong and you’ll be seenas the one who took my mug (and

my milk), didn’t make a round ofdrinks for everyone, left the kettleempty for the next person and leftyour dirty cups in the sink as amess for someone else to have towash up and put away.

Don’t burnout in month one– the first point on this listwas about being in early andstaying on while there’s workto do. But this needs to betempered with looking afteryourself, since taken toextremes there’s always morework to do and you couldthen get sucked into workinglonger and longer hours.

Unfortunately, in the workenvironment there’s always morework, and there’ll always be somepeople who will be happy to letyou put in all the hours (eventhough in the long run this willlead to stress and lowerproductivity), the only person youcan really trust to look out for you,is you.

So, you need to take responsibilityfor your own work-life balanceright from the start.

You need to decide what yourboundaries are. You need toensure that you keep a life outsideof work and you need to make

sure you work hours you arecomfortable with and take theholidays and breaks you need.

The Don’ts

If those are the Dos, then there arealso clearly some Don’ts that youwant to avoid.

Some of these are obviously the flipside of the Dos. If looking business-like and presentable is a Do, thenturning up looking like a slacker or atramp (in either UK or US meanings)are obviously a no-no.

The other key Don’ts are probablyalso pretty obvious if you stop tothink, the only problem being that

sometimes people don’t:

Getting drunk whensocialising – if there are socialactivities organised at oraround work then you oughtto be taking advantage ofthese to meet your colleaguesoutside the workenvironment. It can be a greatshortcut towards getting toknow them and building goodrelationships. But remember,this is now work and you’rean employee and not astudent anymore so don’t leta free bar go to your head.

Enjoy yourself. Yes, you want to

get on with people and make agood impression. Fun, goodcompany and sensible is good,beneficial even, given that as youget on in your career socialising islikely to become an ever moreimportant part of it at seniorlevels (see Chapter 8) and theseskills are seen as an asset.

But whether there’s actually amanager there or not, be careful inwhat you do and how you behaveso don’t overdo it, as stories aboutyou will get around and get backto the office quicker than you canever imagine. An outrageousdrunken clown is not an asset,

they’re a business liability.

Gossip/over confide – neitheryour manager, nor your co-worker are your best friend(certainly not yet anyway).

So, don’t gossip about what youthink about other people in theworkplace, who you like and whoyou don’t, or over confide aboutissues at home. All that’s going todo is lead to trouble as it getsaround the grapevine and youdon’t want to be seen to be asource of trouble, do you?Thought not.

Grandstanding your personal

views – following on fromabove, you will probablyshare a range of viewsamongst your friends wherethere’s a degree of consensusor acceptance of differingpoints of view on anythingfrom politics to footballteams. But that’s amongst aself-selecting group of people(as anyone with, say, politicalviews that were completelyunacceptable to the rest ofthe group is, in practise,unlikely to stay a member ofthat group for long).

But the people you work with

aren’t brought together becausethey like each other’s companyand share each other’s outlooksand opinions. They are all theresimply because they were hired todo jobs which needed doing, soyou need to appreciate:

there is likely to be a widerange of deeply held viewsin your workplace, some ofwhich you mayfundamentally disagreewith; and

the last thing youremployer wants issomeone startingarguments with other

employees, particularlyover non- work relatedissues.

All of which is a long-winded wayof saying remember you are thereto work, not debate or campaign,so park your politics or whateverat the door and don’t bring upcontentious subjects at work,certainly not until you have athorough understanding of theculture, and have establishedstrong and respected relationshipsthat can take the weight of youropinions.

Starting conflict in the workplace isnot the way to give your boss what

they want.

Never forget you are nowrepresenting yourorganisation – your employeris hiring you and certain ofyour attributes to do a job.Your private life is yourprivate life and while it’s upto you how you live it, it’s notunreasonable for youremployer to expect that whatyou make publicly availableshouldn’t bring theorganisation into disrepute.

This is an area where I’d expectquite a lot of potential conflict toarise in employer/employee

relationships, particularly as socialnorms change. (How many yearsback would it have been whenthere could have been concernsabout employees coming out asgay, for example?)

However, without getting into adebate about the rights andwrongs of it, the advice simplyneeds to be, in these days ofubiquitous social media, think verycarefully about what image youare conveying. These days whathappens in Vegas stays onFacebook, Twitter, Tumblr,Pinterest, Instagram…

Use social media/gaming at

work – your employer is likelyto have the old-fashionedidea that they’ve actuallyhired you to work. So, unlessthat work is to create a viralsocial media buzz, then youare not there to chat to yourmates, work on your highscore, scroll your Facebookfeed, download piratedmovies, or curate your blog.That’s all personal stuff sokeep it for personal time(apart from pirating stuff akathe theft of copyright materialthat someone has slaved overcreating – just don’t do that

at all).

Some practicalities

It’s also worth covering somepracticalities that should be sortedout in your first few days on the job,and if not you might want to speak toyour Human Resources (HR) orPersonnel Department to ensurethese are organised:

Employment contract andterms and conditions – youwill need to be issued withand sign a written contract ofemployment specifying thekey terms of youremployment such as your job

title, who you report to, yourrate of pay, hours, place ofwork, and holidayentitlement.

It should also specify the details ofany initial probation period so youare clear on the length and reviewdate. You should also make sureyou understand as far as possiblewhat your probationary period willbe judged on (and if there anyformal targets, for example) so youcan focus on what you need inorder to ensure success at thatstage.

Employee handbook – theemployment contract is

usually quite a shortagreement and it will ofteninclude a reference to anemployee handbook which isa much larger set ofdocuments, which may beannotated and updated overtime. The handbook is wheredetails of the organisation’spolicies, rules, codes ofconduct, and key employmentprocesses such as appraisalsystems, grievance proceduresand disciplinary processes areset out.

While almost all organisationshave one of these, they vary

widely in how it is used andviewed. Broadly the larger andmore formally organised theorganisation, the more this will beused and referred to as a day today management tool and so youneed to be aware of it and its keyprovisions.

At the other end of the scalesmaller and less formally managedorganisations may have compiledone once (or had their solicitorswrite one when they last updatedtheir employment contracts) butit’s sitting gathering dust in acupboard somewhere as no oneever looks at it, much less updates

it. In which case the advice isprobably leave well alone.

Job specification – as you’vebeen hired to do a job, it’suseful if it’s spelled out whatthat job is as a first step ingiving you a fighting chance ofunderstanding it and doing it.

However, please never, ever, thinkthat your job description is the beall and end all of what you arethere to do. Think of it as theminimum core of what you mustdo, and then start looking at whatelse you can do on top of it.

Never even think, let alone say,

That’s not in my job description.No one likes a jobsworth.

Induction – mostorganisations of any sizeshould have some form ofinduction process as a way ofbringing new staff on board.The degree of formality willvary enormously and canrange from a simple tour andintroductory checklists,through to formal trainingand issuing of copies ofmission statements andcharters of How we work witheach other.

At the very least you should

expect briefings on some basicssuch as Health and Safety policiesand procedures and usually IT andsecurity; as well as a process forissuing you with things like asecurity pass, any IT or PPE(personal protection equipment)you need and so on.

Some organisations have eitherformal or informal guides wheresomeone is your key point ofcontact for an initial period withresponsibility for showing youround and how things work.

Occupational health – insome workplaces, particularlythose where there are any

identified health risks youmay need to have healthtests. One of my businessesoperates metal presses so eardefenders are compulsory onthe shop floor and all staffhave to have their hearingtested when they join andthen again on a regular cycle.

Skills training – there may bespecific skills you need inorder to be able to work(when I joined anaccountancy firm afteruniversity the first two weekswere straight onto aresidential course on double

entry bookkeeping before Ieven saw the office), or theremay be work specificprocesses and proceduresthat you need to learn (Here’sour Standard OperatingProcedure for quality checkingour widgets).

In either case, you will need toestablish what training you areexpected to have and how this isbeing organised.

Any choices you need tomake – your organisation mayoffer employees a range ofbenefits as part of theirremuneration packages. The

range of benefits on offerusually increases as you getmore senior, but you may stillneed to make choices aboutwhether to join a pensionscheme, for example, so youneed to be clear about this assuch benefits will normally betrade-offs against salary.

Organisation chart – it’s veryuseful to get a copy of anorganisation chart (ororganigram) if you can. This isa diagram showing how theorganisation is structured andwho reports to whom. It willhelp you see how the part

you are working in fits intothe whole.

Expenses policy and process –if you are going into a jobwhich involves travel (such assales) inevitably you are goingto incur expenses for whichyou will want to bereimbursed. Organisations’policies will vary, and this isan area which can be verystrictly policed, so make sureyou understand what is and isnot claimable, keep receiptsto back up any claims, andknow how to fill in and getyour claims properly

authorised.

Employers have to rely heavily onthe honesty and discretion of theiremployees in respect of expenses,since by definition this type ofexpenditure often cannot be pre-approved. Employers are thereforevery sensitive to any suspicionsthat their expenses system is beingabused. So, filing any claim fordodgy or padded expenses is avery quick way to severely damageyour reputation for honesty andget yourself into real trouble. Justdon’t do it.

IT equipment, access, trainingand support – if you are

taking a job which involvesuse of IT equipment thenmake sure you know who’sresponsible for sourcing thisand setting you up, that youhave all the passwords youneed, training is arranged inany new or specialist softwareyou are going to need to use,and crucially, who do you callfor support when it stopsworking. Write that numberdown now somewhere youcan find it easily.

IT policies – on a related noteensure you are familiar withyour organisation’s policies

on use of IT at work, both theorganisation’s and yourpersonal devices. This isn’tjust about whether you canuse your computer to surf theweb at lunchtime but it willbe about IT security. Beingresponsible for introducing avirus into your organisation’sIT system because you’ve notcomplied with rules governingsecurity, and plugged in thatold memory stick of yours, orclicked on a dodgy website,could be a severely limitingcareer move.

These threats are real. Whilst

finishing this book one of mybusinesses suffered a ransom wareattack, which encrypted all ourfiles, meaning we lost a wholeweek’s transactions and had to doa full restore from our back-up.

Time recording – manyorganisations will want you torecord your time as this formspart of their process ofassessing costs on projects orbilling services to clients. So, ifyou don’t want accountsbreathing down your, andworse at this stage, yourboss’s neck, about missingtimesheets, ensure you

understand what you need todo when about recording andreporting your time.

Why have they employed you?

But before we get into more detail inthe following chapters about how tomanage your working life, it’s notuncommon to develop some naggingdoubts during those early weeks andmonths about whether you can cope,so here’s a couple of things to thinkabout by way of a bit of reassurance.

Remember, they hired you – that’simportant

You have been hired. Theorganisation which has employed you

spent time, effort, and cold hard cash,often quite a lot of all three, inlooking to find, interview, select andengage someone; and out of all thepeople who went into the find part ofthe process (and believe me, there’slikely to have been a lot), they choseyou.

So always remember:

they’ve not hired you for thefun of it, they’ve done sobecause they have work thatneeds doing (probably lots ofit as you are possibly findingout)

they have picked you to do it;

and

they (particularly theindividuals involved in therecruiting process) areinvested in you and youmaking a go of it.

After all, having spent all that time,effort and money, don’t you think thepeople who were involved in hiringyou are going to want the process tobe seen to be successful? If it goeswell they’ve got bragging rights aboutwhat a good choice they made in youhaven’t they? But if you don’t do well,or even leave, then that’s a pain forthem; not only might they look bad infront of their colleagues for having got

it wrong, but the likelihood is they aregoing to have to go through theprocess all over again.

The bottom line? Once you have beenhired, whatever it feels like, peoplewill be wanting to make the job workfor you so they will be motivated tohelp and be supportive. All you haveto do is manage this the right way.

But what if I don’t know how to dothe job?

If this is troubling you as a questionit’s worth asking yourself what theyhired you for (and spoiler alert), it’snot usually your skills or experience.

There are broadly three things that

employers can be looking for in apotential employee and these are:

Skills – your technical abilityat the task.

Aptitude – your naturalability for the task.

Attitude – your behaviourtowards the task.

A well-used recruitment mantra isHire for attitude, train for skills.

This reflects a view that your attitudetowards the work will be driven byyour personality, which is somethingthat will be really hard to change (formore on this see Chapter 3); whereasparticular skills can be taught (and for

some entry level positions there maybe no assumptions about you havingany previously acquired technicalskills at all).

In some rare cases employers whowant to train people in their ownparticular approach can deliberatelylook for people with little or notechnical skills or prior experience inan area so that they can start with aclean sheet.

Whilst Hire for attitude, train for skillsseems a sensible approach, it ishowever a little simplistic as trainingsomeone with aptitude is easier thantraining someone without.

I personally have the hand-eyecoordination of a sack of cement withthe athletic physique to match.However much I might want to, bekeen to learn and be prepared to putthe effort in, my aptitude fordeveloping the skills required tobecome a world class ping pong playeris therefore abysmal. So, if anorganisation wanted to hire someoneto train for this role, whatever myattitude, I should quite rightly comelast on the list of possible candidates.

So, in taking you on your employerwill have taken a view on your skills,or even lack of them, and will havedecided to hire you taking these into

account, usually because they feltyour attitude and your aptitude wereactually what they were looking for.

And if they are happy about yourattitude and aptitude, given that theyknow what they were looking for inrespect of your job, then really, whoare you to argue?

Each year in the UK approximately halfa million young people enter the worldof work for the first time and begin tocompete in their careers.

And how well you cope with the

pressures and demands of your firstyear of work can help determine howsuccessful a career you will go on tohave, and how far you will reach.

But with Your First Job, you can get anunfair advantage over yourcontemporaries by quickly learning thereal life techniques of how to managepeople and work, things they may endup learning the hard way.

So ensure you are equipped forexample with the skills to say No, andmanage your time to be productive andefficient, and avoid the dangers ofbeing overwhelmed and stressed outby the levels of work that can headyour way if you don’t know how to

manage the demands of people aroundyou at work.

So get your copy of Your First Jobtoday and use the tools and techniquesit will teach you to make a success ofstarting work and help you launch yoursuccessful career.

This guide is an extract from Your FirstJob: How to make a success of startingwork and make your first year thelaunch of a successful career by MarkBlayney.

In Your First Job Mark shows you howto deal with the wide range of issuesyou will face in your first year at work,providing you with key skills and

techniques for:

Managing yourself Managing your time andworkManaging your co-workersand your boss, and workingin a teamManaging to say noManaging communicationManaging your careerManaging people andemotionsManaging stress

Your First Job (ISBN 978-0-9956170-1-8) will be published by The Work Presson 20 February 2017 and be availableat all good bookshops and online.

It is also available for pre-order onKindle before publication at Amazon –so order your copy today HERE.

About the author

Mark Blayney is apartner and co-founder of GPSCapital Limited aprivateequity business andis involved in aportfolio of trading

businesses as investor, director orboth.

He sought a career in business rescueand turnaround from the outset,obtaining an MBA, and then anaccountancy qualification andinsolvency license while working forPwC’s business recovery service in

both the UK and Tanzania, where heran a match making business and setup a corporate recovery practice.

Having been seconded into one of theUK clearing banks and been involvedin starting up a turnaround practicewithin PwC, he left to go into industry,before setting up in business as anindependent executive and financeprofessional in 2000.

He is the author of a number ofpractical guide books for businessowners on strategy, management,finance, and creating and realisingbusiness value, and has been activelyinvolved in business training andeducation having spoken at a number

of leading UK business schools.

Copyright Mark Blayney 2016

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