Your first job doesn’t have to be the right job

Toss me a kiwi, will you?

There’s a strange amount of pressure attached to getting your first job.

You’re supposed to look through job postings and somehow know which jobs you’d be good at, which ones you’d enjoy, what kind of workplace would suit you, and possibly what you want to do with the rest of your life.

That’s a lot to ask when you haven’t actually had a job yet.

You might have some clues. Maybe you know you like working with people, fixing things, organizing information, being creative, or working independently. But there are plenty of things about yourself as a worker that you simply haven’t had the chance to discover yet.

You don’t know whether constant interruptions will energize you or make you want to hide in a supply closet. You don’t know whether you’ll love having clear instructions or wish people would just give you the goal and let you figure out how to get there. You might think you’d hate customer service and discover you’re remarkably good at calming frustrated people down.

You learn those things by working.

That’s why your first job doesn’t need to be the right job. It needs to be a reasonable place to start.

And a reasonable place to start doesn’t have to point toward a future career. It might simply be a job you can get to reliably, that works with the rest of your life, provides enough training for you to learn what you’re doing, and gives you a chance to try something you’re curious about. At this stage, “This seems doable and I’d be willing to try it.” can be enough of a reason to apply.

Your first job can teach you what no career quiz can

When one of my clients, Jamie, finished school and started looking for work, they became overwhelmed pretty quickly.

Every job posting seemed to want experience they didn’t have. Jamie started thinking they needed to find a job they were already qualified for and that somehow pointed toward the right career. Applications started to feel much bigger than they really were, so they saved job postings and told themselves they would apply when they felt more ready.

As we talked, it became clear that Jamie was treating their first job like it needed to prove they were already capable, so we changed the question. Instead of asking, “What job should I choose?” Jamie started asking, “What kind of job could I learn to do?”

That led them to a customer service position. It wasn’t a dream job. Jamie wasn’t particularly excited about it. But there was training, the work felt learnable, and it gave them somewhere to begin.

And then something useful happened. Jamie started learning about Jamie.

They discovered they were good at explaining things clearly and they could handle an upset customer surprisingly well when there was a process to follow. At the same time, constant interruptions were exhausting, and chaotic situations made it harder for them to work well. None of that had been obvious before they started working.

For the first time, Jamie had actual evidence about the kind of work that might suit them instead of trying to imagine it. Within a year, they moved into an entry-level administrative position. They hadn't suddenly discovered their one true career; they simply knew more about themselves than they had a year earlier, and they used that information to make a better next choice.

Pay attention to more than whether you like the job

When you start working, it’s tempting to judge the whole experience with one question: Do I like my job?

Making store displays look pretty seems kinda fun to me.

That’s useful information, but dig a little deeper.

You might dislike working in a busy coffee shop but discover that you love training new employees. Maybe stocking shelves bores you, but you're fascinated by how inventory is ordered and managed. You might enjoy working at a summer camp and realize that what you really love is planning activities rather than working with children.

Even the things you dislike can tell you something. If you dread every shift because you spend eight hours making small talk with customers, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re bad at working. It might mean you'd be happier in a job with longer stretches of independent work.

Start noticing the conditions around the work, not just the job title.

What gives you energy? What drains it? When does the work come easily to you? What do you struggle to remember or keep putting off? Do you like knowing exactly what you're supposed to do, or do you enjoy figuring things out for yourself? Do you prefer a busy environment where the day flies by or somewhere quieter where you can concentrate?

Pay attention to what you become good at, too. Your coworkers may notice strengths before you do. Maybe people start asking you to explain complicated things because you make them easier to understand. Perhaps you're the person who notices when something hasn't been done, remembers little details, solves technology problems, or keeps everyone calm when things get hectic.

Those are clues. And no, you don't have to turn every clue into a career decision. You're just gathering information.

Growth doesn’t always mean moving up

“Your next move doesn’t have to look more impressive than your last one. It should simply be more informed.”

We often talk about growing from a first job as though there's a little staircase waiting for you: get hired, become good at the job, get promoted, become a manager, keep climbing.

That may be exactly what you want, but it also might not be.

Growth could mean discovering you want more responsibility. It could mean realizing you don't want to manage people at all. You might decide to go back to school, pursue a trade, look for a similar job in a different environment, move into another type of work, or stay where you are because the job fits nicely around the rest of the life you want.

Your next move doesn't have to look more impressive than your last one. It should simply be more informed.

Let your next choice be more intentional than your last one

You don’t need to wait until you have your entire career figured out before you start working.

Choose somewhere reasonable to begin. Learn the job. Learn the basic skills that come with being part of a workplace. But while you're doing that, pay attention to yourself.

After you've been working for a while, ask yourself:

• What parts of this job do I genuinely enjoy?

• What parts consistently drain or frustrate me?

• What have I discovered I'm good at?

• What kind of environment helps me do my best work?

• What would I like more of in my next job?

• What would I like less of?

• What am I curious enough to explore next?

You may not come away with a job title, and that's okay. Maybe all you know is that you want quieter work, more creativity, more predictable hours, less customer interaction, more problem-solving, or a chance to work outdoors.

That's more information than you had before.

You don't have to figure out your career in one big decision. You can build it through a series of smaller ones, each made with a little more knowledge about yourself than you had before.

Your first job doesn't need to tell you what you're going to do with your life. It just needs to give you somewhere to start learning. Then you take what you learned and make your next choice.

And then you learn some more.