How to Make it in the Real World (Part 2)

This article brought to you by gradberry, authored by Aida Al Barwani. Part 1 may be found here. Enjoy!

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All my hard work finally paid off! Those early mornings and late nights applying to jobs all those networking events finally landed me a job that would kick-start my career!

I resigned a month and a half after I started.

Many fresh graduates are in this position today. They started at a new job, but then they want to resign. Before you decided to do this, examine what you like and dislike about your job.

Answer the following questions to determine your next move:

• Do you see yourself working somewhere else a year from now?
• Are you cranky or tired after a day’s work?
• Does your work consume your personal life?
• Do you mind, that your work consumes your personal life?
• Do you dread going to work every morning?

If you answered yes, to at least three of these, you need to re-examine your work life. My answer was ‘yes’ to all these questions.

Can you fix the situation so that you are able to stay and build a career? If you have tried and failed to remedy the situation, or if you simply cannot see yourself building your career in your new job, It is time to move on.

It takes a lot of courage to resign from a job especially when only a couple of months in. I did this, and feel so much lighter and happier because of it. If you are not in a financial situation where you can do this, I strongly suggest finding another solid job before taking the big decision to resign.

Reality is, you might not love your first job, and if you are willing to put up with whatever you have to do, to gain experience and you are determined to do this, then great for you! However, if reality hits you and you are like, “Wait, I didn’t sign up for this. I don’t want to start my career this way!” Do something about it; don’t regret upholding your integrity above a job.

It’s back to the job hunt for yours truly!

Welcome to the real world young’ uns. Until next time!

Aida out.