Category: Welcome to The Real World

How to Use a Starter Job to Your Advantage

There you are all bright and shiny and ready to make your mark on the working world! But then you land your first job and it’s nothing like you imagined. Or maybe you had to settle for the first opportunity that came you way (I’ve been there). No matter how awful your first job may seem to you. Here are a few tips on making the most of it:

1. Be Open to Learning Everything

You might not be interested in your first role but you’d be surprised by what you can learn from a starter job. I started off as a data capturer which helped me build speed on the PC for my first corporate role.

2. What are the Benefits?

Company culture? Office snacks? Learning opportunities? Figure out what the positives are and use them to your advantage. A starter job might not be what you want or in the field you want but this is a great opportunity to start to build your network.

3. Try Out a Side Project in Your Field

For me this was running a blog. Try to get experience in your field by either doing volunteer work (if and when you can) or ask if your job has something extra that you can assist with. My first steps into Marketing was assisting with Customer queries on Social Media. It was an interesting way to use my fast typing skills but it was such an advantage when I moved over to Marketing.

4. Take Advantage of any Training Opportunities

If there are any opportunities for further training, go for it! Developing your skills is a great way to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. In my starter job, Business Admin courses were offered to a few employees who later moved from Data Capturing to Client Services. If your company offers to pay for training- even if it’s a small portion- consider giving it a go.

5. Note what your transferrable skills are

Hard-worker. Fast learner. Able to work well under pressure. These are skills you pick up in almost any job. What specific skill in your starter job are you able to use in another role? Identity these and add them to your CV.

A starter job might not be the job you initially wanted but making the most of it will serve your career well in the long-run.

7 Red Flags to Watch For in a Manager

Just as there are many different types of managers and management styles, there are also so many different signs of a toxic manager. It can be tough because while micromanagement is talked about most often, bad management exists beyond that. Here are 7 red flags that might have you reconsidering your manager.

1. Talks about Others Behind Their Back:

No decent manager should be discussing their staff with other staff members. EVER! It’s unprofessional. Whenever a manager has an issue with an employee, it should be discussed with that specific employee only and not a third party.

2. Refuses to listen to feedback

Not matter how minor the feedback is, if your manager refuses to listen to anything besides their own opinion, that’s a sign to be cautious. I worked for someone who wanted to have a say in every little thing. I didn’t think of it as an issue until I reminded them once of something they said once and changed their mind on last-minute and they refused to accept responsibility for it.

3. Favouritism

If you notice that your manager is the type to play favourites, watch out. This can work out badly for employees whether or not they’re the favourite. The favourite is a difficult position to be in and so is the extreme opposite- the one who the manager absolutely cannot stand.

4. Poor Communication Skills

Does your manager speak exclusively in buzzwords? Is your manager able to explain things in a clear and concise manner? Smart people speak simply. Incompetent people tend to prefer to use buzzwords or big words to make themselves sound smarter than they really are.

5. Allergic to Growth of Any Kind

One of the ways I like to assess a manager is their reaction when I say that I am learning something new. Some managers are perplexed when I study something that isn’t related to my work. Some are excited and some are just against it (even if this studying doesn’t happen during working hours). It’s those who are against any kind of learning that worry me. (And so far this little test hasn’t steered me wrong).

6. Micromanagement

This is one that we all know about. If your manager has trouble giving up control and needs to know every little detail of every task you’re working on, this is a red flag. Some micromanagers can be managed by you keeping them in the loop and eventually earning their trust. Some micromanagers just get worse with time.

7. Not Managing at All

This is a type of red flag that I don’t see discussed often enough. While macromanagement (hands off management) is a management technique, when taken too far, this has negative consequences such as deadlines not being met, lack of clarity on goals and just general disorganisation and chaos.

What other red flags have you encountered? How do you track if a manager might be a problem? Let me know below.

Welcome to the Real World: Tag You’re It

I want to stop and take a little detour here. I mentioned that Janet’s promotion was a result of her being a favourite of the HOD, John. I mentioned a coworker who had an easier time because he also “networked” with the HOD. But let’s take a look at what happens when you don’t get along with the person who is in charge of your career.

Caitlyn was a smart girl who handled a chunk of irate customers. I can’t remember what her actual title was but she was always busy. She was also always ready to help others if necessary. Somehow word got out that Caitlyn wasn’t doing her job. So she was dismissed.

It was the kind of environment where news spread fast. So by the end of the week, everyone knew Caitlyn was being let go because she was wasting away time at work. She was regarded as an example to others to remind them what could happen to them.

Caitlyn was replaced by another worker from another team. A highly effective worker. Who struggled with the workload. When this worker had to go on maternity leave, she was replaced by 3 other employees…one of which was Caitlyn.

Yep, Caitlyn was invited back. It was never stated but at this point it was made clear that the reason why Caitlyn wasn’t “doing her work” was because there was too much work for just one person. Once there was a team of 3 people handling her responsibilities, things got easier.

When John moved to a different department, a few years later, he took Caitlyn with him as one of his senior staff.

Caitlyn’s story lives in a small corner of my mind as proof of what happens when management decides they want you out. Except she isn’t the only one.

A few years later, the business needed to cut costs and decided to remove one of their older staff, a skilled project manager. I was horrified. She had been with the company longer than I had. What was she going to do? (She started her own business and she is doing AMAZING!)

Again, I thought it was a one-time thing. But when the cycle repeated itself two years later resulting in retrenchments throughout the Customer Care space, I had to face facts. This was just business. I needed to remember that. But it is also something that you should remember as an employee the next time you want to make your job your everything.

Moral of the story: 1) Get on friendly terms with your manager but 2) NEVER depend on your day job. NEVER EVER EVER!

Welcome to the Real World: The Wrong Promotion

This next part of the story is something I have told a million times. But never so publicly and never to anyone who mattered. But it needs to be said. Welcome to the cracks in my perfect corporate world.

They said that the company was growing and because of that there would be “opportunities for growth.” Basically they would be hiring new managers. I was thrilled. I didn’t want to be a manager- I knew I was too early in my career for that but I loved the idea of people moving forward in their career (something that still excites me to this day). My friends warned me about my excitement. They were more experienced and explained that the new managers could be awful. I refused to believe that. Everyone was so nice.

In any case I knew who was going to manage us. It was going to be my friend, Aarti. Aarti had been with the company for over 5 years and she had worked on a variety of campaigns. It was a no-brainer. The other option would have been Samantha, someone who worked in the role of 2IC but had recently gotten pregnant. Samantha was 2IC for our team but she was eventually moved out to replace a less efficient coworker in another team. But that’s a story for another day.

Anyway it was time to announce managers and Aarti was meeting with our current manager. I waited impatiently for her to return with the good news. She returned. She had not been picked. No one from our team had been picked. This meant that whoever was going to manage us was going to be from another team.

They picked a lady named Janet. I was very confused. Janet was just sort of there. She wasn’t even a 2IC. How was she picked? But the decision was made and Janet’s trial run was in September. I felt bad for her. She was removed from the team that she had worked in for years and she was expected to run a team of strangers. And of this team of strangers, five of them had already applied for her job. In September they laid out the plans. Janet would run the smaller of the team. Namely me, my best friend and another girl who worked on the smaller campaigns. Two campaigns, three staff, one manager. No biggie right?

I spent the first month being helpful and friendly. Or so I thought. It quickly became clear that Janet did not expect to do work. She delegated everything to us- even the reports that she sent to the HOD. Previously I had managed the campaign pretty much by myself with minimal assistance. Janet wanted to oversee everything. Without doing any actual work. It didn’t take me long to figure out what was happening. Janet was another favourite of our HOD. It didn’t matter that she had zero experience. Corporate was a chess game and she played it correctly. As a coworker put it to me, Janet was now our problem whether we liked it or not.

Welcome to the Real World: Shake It Off

There’s a saying I see posted pretty often on LinkedIn. It’s “In your job you should either learn or earn”.

That next year was going to teach me ALOT!

I was picked to run a new campaign. I say picked but basically the girl who was originally supposed to do it was moved to another team while the back-up girl that the HOD chose couldn’t do it because of some sort of red tape. The next choice was me. Honestly for someone who had been with the company for less than a year, it was a pretty big deal. All this just because I was the second fastest capturer.

If I was a little more cynical (the way I am now), I would have wondered if the role would have gone to the other capturer who was smart enough to befriend management (looking back, that is probably exactly how things would have went). Nonetheless, I was sent for training to be Sales Support for a loan campaign.

But I was young and naive and I didn’t expect my co-workers to turn on me. They were really discreet about the way they did it.

From the girl who was supposed to be the second choice for this campaign to the lady who working in the department for the longest time, everyone made snarky comments to me about how I couldn’t do the job because I was not used to speaking on the phone.

Eventually the pressure got to be too much for me and then I admitted to my manager that I thought that I wouldn’t be able to do the job. I felt like she didn’t hear me. She didn’t acknowledge what I said.

And then she spoke to someone from another team and asked them to make me do “Call-outs”.

“Call-outs” were simply calling customers to confirm their delivery address and availability. Key word being “call”.

I still remember the girl who sat with me and explained what I needed to do. She looked at me like I was stupid. Nothing against her. But the second she explained that I would need to dial out, my brain stopped working. I could only stare at her in horror.

For the next hour, I called strangers, willing them not to pick up the phone. Only 4 people answered the call. The rest went to voicemail. But it was terrifying for me to listen to the ringing and wait, hoping it would go to voicemail.

Fast forward a little while later, I was still in awe of Customer Care. So my manager moved me to them to learn how to answer emails, social media queries, Live Chat queries and eventually she had me assist with answering calls.

All this in the span of a single month (May).

The new campaign started at the end of July. But when I made my first call (with my manager and her manager standing behind me), I was perfectly comfortable.

It’s interesting that one of my greatest moments of growth stemmed from a bunch of people telling me that I couldn’t do something.

Lesson Learnt- DO NOT listen to others. Do what YOU feel is right. You know yourself best.

7 Secrets to a Better Sleep

Getting a good night sleep is so so important. It affects your overall health and well-being both mentally and physically. Sleep is SO important to me that I even conducted my own little study to see how sleeping 8 hours a night affected me. Many people struggle to get enough sleep or even decent sleep. If you fall into this group, here are 7 things you can do to improve your sleep.

1. Stick to a Regular Sleep Schedule

This is no fun but this is one of the most important tips. Establish a consistent sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This will help regulate your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle and promote better sleep. Eventually your body will know when it’s time to sleep and you’ll be able to fall asleep (and stay asleep) easily.

2. Create a Bedtime Routine

Take a warm bath, read a book, or do some gentle stretches before bed to help your body relax and prepare for sleep. Avoid electronics, which emit blue light that can disrupt your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep. One of my favourite ways to wind down for bed is reading for 30 minutes. That way I get to tackle my TBR AND get a good night’s rest.

3. Make Your Bedroom Sleep-Friendly

By this I mean, you should make sure that your bedroom is quiet, cool, and dark. Keep noise levels down, use blackout curtains or a sleep mask to block out light, and set the temperature to a cool, comfortable level.

4. Invest in a Comfortable Mattress and Pillows

Okay I am still in the process of locating a comfortable mattress but I had a coworker admit that once he invested a significant chunk of money in his mattress, it paid off for him immensely in the long run.

Your mattress and pillows can have a significant impact on the quality of your sleep. Invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows that support your body and help you maintain good posture while you sleep.

5. Limit Your Caffeine and Alcohol Intake

Caffeine and alcohol can interfere with your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Try to limit your intake of these substances, especially in the hours leading up to bedtime.

6. Exercise

Regular exercise can improve sleep quality and duration. However, it’s best to exercise earlier in the day rather than right before bed, as exercise can be energizing and make it harder to fall asleep. Experiment and see what works for you.

7. Manage Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Manage your stress levels through relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga. It is also helpful to write down your worries and feelings before bed so that you are able to clear your mind.

A good night sleep is essential for you to function at your best. By following these tips, you can improve the quality of your sleep.

Things to Know Before Making a Transition to Start-Up

So you got an amazing job offer. At a start-up. No biggie. After all, a start-up is just a company that is just beginning to grow, right? Here are a few things to consider before transitioning to that start-up.

Job Security

Firstly, what is the job security like? Start-ups are noted for randomly closing. However this isn’t always the case. Of course if you’re leaving a stable job or if you’re a new graduate you want that assurance that your job is safe. Do your research on the company and the industry beforehand to get an idea of how secure your job is.

Are Your Values Aligned?

As someone who had grown distant from my former company because of misaligned values, this one was a biggie for me. Start-ups are full of chaos. This is made up for when you and the company have the same or similiar values. This also helps get you through the 3AM work (see below).

Little to No Structure

Start-ups lack the formal processes that an established company has. You might hate or love this depending on the type of person you are. Of course you can be the person to bring in the structure and processes but that depends on how willing everyone else around you is to change.

Weird Work Hours

Start-ups can sometimes be go-go-go ALL THE TIME. This is my favourite part because I tend to be widely awake in the middle of the night so I’m fine to work then but this does take its toll on you if you have a family.

Anything Under the Sun is Possible

Whereas a corporate role would have red tape or you’re limited in your specific department, in a start-up you could do anything and most likely will be doing more than a few things. In my role as a Content Writer in a start-up, I wrote content, edited content, wrote copy and even weighed in on a few internal branding and Customer Care scenarios because of my corporate background.

Would you ever consider working for a start-up? Have you ever worked for a start-up? What are your thoughts? Let me know below.

Why I Love The Idea of Quiet Quitting

First of all to whoever gave it a title, you suck! We do not need toxic managers learning about this technique.

The term “Quiet quitting” grew in popularity as I was battling burnout and Covid. However for me, quiet quitting was something that I was familiar with. It was something I had done repeatedly but I called it “Escaping Bad Management”.

The first time I quiet quit was due to a toxic manager. She was difficult to work with and delighted in making staff cry. She was new to the role, new to being manager and had me do all of her work. This was something that I found out after a very public meltdown at work (she told me at 5PM that I couldn’t go home until I completed all of my work- work that I hadn’t done because I was busy doing reports for her). When I raised the issue with her manager, her manager asked that I either support the toxic manager or find another role. Instead of focusing on the horrible environment that I was in, I threw myself into finding a way out. That was when I started my first two Marketing courses. A job opened up in another department (Customer Care) and I eagerly took it.

The second time I quiet quit was after the pandemic. We had returned to work after lockdown with less staff but a bigger workload. I didn’t know it at the time but I was severely burned out. Desperate for a distraction, I focused on completing the remainder of my studies. I didn’t plan on looking for another job. I had no energy for that. I just wanted to finish my studies and have one less thing to worry about. In any case, while my manager at the time had picked staff to work from home, she didn’t pick me because I said I would prefer to work from home (the team did a really nice toxic thing where those who said that they were fine to work from the office were chosen to work from home while those who wanted to work from home weren’t given the option to work at all- and therefore these people didn’t get paid during lockdown).

I need to point out that in both these scenarios, these managers and that fun little toxic game were all picked by one person- the head of the department. This person almost seemed to delight in torturing staff. So while it was obvious to me that I needed to escape, I did not have the energy to do so.

But I didn’t have to. A mere two weeks after I completed my studies, an email went out to announce that the Marketing team needed an intern.

Naturally I applied and the rest is very toxic, very traumatic history.

I will always be for Quiet Quitting because that is usually something that bad management drives staff to. You get paid to work certain hours and do certain tasks. Quiet Quitting to me means not putting in anything extra because you know you aren’t getting a return.

The Toxic Manager I Just Met

We all heard about the micromanager…But did you know there was someone just as toxic who has a completely different management style?

Ladies and gentleman, I give you the macromanager.

Honestly I didn’t even know this was a thing until I met my first macromanager. They said and I quote “I’m not like other managers. I’m a cool manager”.

This “cool” behaviour lasted until staff didn’t do things the way the manager wanted them done. Then manager would step in with more detailed instructions (which should have been included the first time) or redo the whole thing themselves. It wasn’t very pleasant but I understood it. This was someone who didn’t come from a Marketing background and it was clear that their Marketing knowledge- especially when it came to running a department- was limited.

But over time, the toxic behaviour started to morph into something more malicious. I watched as projects were taken away and handed to a specific individual and the manager started lashing out at the staff. And yet, no one stepped in. I watched the manager try to micromanage stuff or blame them for things not being done…when the obstacle in the way turned out to repeatedly be approval- aka the step the macromanager was responsible for.

Eventually shit hit the fan and two staff resigned while an additional two were made redundant. At this point people tried to raise the issue with the HOD. Who defended the manager. And defended the macromanager again. And again. And again.

I had seen this play out. The last time a HOD defended a toxic manager, it didn’t work out. The HOD ended up dismantling an entire team in order to keep the manager in their position. The good news- for the toxic manager in this specific scenario is that she ended up running a team. The bad news- for the team and the business- is that she now manages a bunch of people who are horrible at their job but very friendly with the toxic manager.

I had a feeling that things were going to play out the same way with the macromanager. But time will tell (and of course, I’ll come back here to share).

Welcome to the Real World: Plug and Play Employees

The months after I was made permanent were pretty uneventful. I was made permanent in September. Had really bad burnout and had intense pressure in October. The other employees believed that around October onwards, management tried to get staff fired so that there was less competition for bonuses in December. I would later learn that ALL industries felt the slump that time of the year.

Anyway sometime around November, my manager got the idea in her head that she wanted “Plug and Play employees”. I didn’t understand what that meant but basically she wanted her team to have full working knowledge of the entire Customer Care department.

At the time it wasn’t uncommon for the different teams to step in and help each other. So for example, the Fulfilment team could work on the Customer Care inbound line or Customer Care could audit calls. More often than not, it was Fulfilment helping Customer Care Inbound and Quality Assurance helping Sales Admin (aka the data capturing team). My manager wanted to equip her staff to work in any department. So she divided the team into smaller teams and had people learn different skills. I was in awe and fascinated by Customer Care but I knew I could never speak on the phone. So when I was assigned to do data capturing for the Fufilment team, I agreed. My job was to activate simcards and I was great at it. I was incredibly fast on the computer and that showed in my activation numbers.

By the time, December rolled around, our team was doing activations, data capturing and even assisting on the Customer Care line. It was amazing and I am still so proud of what we accomplished. Towards the middle part of December, the Quality Assurance manager requested that we assist her with auditing calls which we did. Our team was doing all the things. Which was great because what we didn’t know was that the team was about to be dissolved.

The business had decided that they didn’t need a data capturing team and Sales agents should capture their own sales. Our team was split. Some people went back to the sales floor as verifiers while the rest were absorbed into other Customer Care departments.

I stayed in Activations because of my speed on the computer. I found this interesting because this speed was something that I learnt from years of playing on the computer. I used to pretend to be working in an office. I used to try to write. In fact I did write a novel at 12. And now instead of getting my dream job in Journalism, I was working in an office. Odd how things work out.

I was happy that I wasn’t leaving my team but I felt a tiny twinge of regret. Why hadn’t I asked to learn Customer Care? I was always amazed that these people could talk on the phone but I was too scared to ask for the opportunity to learn.

Looking back on this, it’s funny that I was so scared. 2022 Me would be scared and do it anyway. But I guess that’s growth.

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