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.

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.