One of the most difficult moments about working at a new job can be mastering the system. That first week might be a bit overwhelming: You’re in a completely new environment, you’re working with new people, and you’re being asked to perform tasks you’ve never completed before. Adapting to a new job comes with several challenges, and odds are, you’ll be a little bit slower than the rest of the team when you first start. And hen everything is entirely brand-new, it’s only natural you’ll need to take some time to adjust!
I experienced this shock when I started working at my first job at a clothing store. I was a senior in high school, and had fallen in love with the store’s light and welcoming environment, the beautiful clothes and home decor, and the friendly employees. I immediately knew I wanted to join the team, and started working a couple weeks later as a sales associate.
At the store, I worked alongside both college-bound students, and women who had worked at the store for years. They’d discovered the ins and outs of the position, and did not want to waste time babying a novice like me. But the manager assured new employees that we’d get the system down with just a little time and practice. She encouraged us to ask for help from any employees at any time, advocating that it’s to ask questions and perform a task correctly than to make assumptions and do it wrong.
During that first week, I was the overly bubbly and eager with both the customers and my co-workers, and pressured myself to accomplish every assignment perfectly. I met with fellow employees and sought their advice to learn the most effective methods to approach every task.
I knew my curiosity and constant blabbering particularly irked a couple of my co-workers. They had been at the company for years, and completed each assignment efficiently and effortlessly. They were fast-paced and had no time to dilly-dally. One time during that first week, I asked one of them for some help ringing up a customer at the cash register. I remember the scowl on her face, as she asked me, What have you done? Apparently, I’d messed up the order so badly that I had to start over completely from scratch. Irritated, she motioned me out of the way, and took over the transaction.
Following the encounter, I wanted to prove my competence and reliability to my co-workers. I wondered how I could make our interactions better: I conversed with them in passing, offered my assistance, and took on more responsibilities to make their work loads lighter. But even after making these adjustments, our exchanges were short and to-the-point.
As time progressed, I became more familiar with the structure of the job, and started taking the initiative in my assignments. Day by day, I became more independent in the store. I gained confidence in my own skills.
But after months of brief interactions, I noticed that my co-workers weren’t interested in socializing with any of the co-workers. They were not at the store to make friends; they were determined to get the job done as quickly and effectively as possible. I respected their diligent work ethics, and realized that my co-workers and I wouldn’t always be best friends. From these observations, I realized that as long as I did my part, we would get along great. Removing this fear was liberating: Ironically, the less I worried about receiving their approval and focused on my assignments, the better I performed each task.
Looking back, I laugh at how much time I spent dwelling over others’ perceptions of me. I know that that these doubts were mostly self-inflicted and that by overanalyzing these relations, I created unnecessary anxiety for myself. Be confident in your abilities, and don’t worry about how others perceive you! When you let that fear go, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish.