The first couple of weeks at a new job

The first couple weeks of a job are pretty boring.  That’s not a bad thing!  If you’re nervous about a new job or internship, it’s okay, it probably won’t be too much too soon.  Your managers and coworkers know that you aren’t going to jump on board and know everything.  They don’t expect you to be an expert on your first day.  These first couple of weeks give you the time to complete all of the learning and adjustments that you need before you get busy with project work.  Don’t take this time for granted, no matter how much you want to get started.

 Chances are, you’ll have an orientation and a ton of trainings.  The trainings may be in person or online, independent learning.  You might be eager to get going with real work, but this training is actually pretty important.  Take as much as you can, because it will help you understand the company and product before you get really involved with it.  Besides, the day will go by faster if you have things to do!

During your first week, meet other people.  If you’re invited to join the group for lunch, do it!  These first impressions can establish good relationships…and you might even get friendships out of it.  If your company has an org chart, get to know this.  If you get an email from someone or hear others talking about someone who you have not met or do not remember meeting, check the org chart. 

You should also get to know your company’s website and intranet.  The more you learn on your own, the smoother the process of locating information when you’re working on actual projects.   While you have the time, decorate your cube or office and adjust your monitors, keyboard, mouse, and chair to best fit you. 

At-work exercises?

Okay, so if you are like a ton of office workers, you spend about 8 hours a day in your chair. I don't care how ergonomic your set-up is, you're immobile and settling into a groove. Weight gain happens just from the lack of daily non-strenuous exercise (walking at UMass). I've looked at a bunch of different at-work exercise tips (this meaning at my desk and not in the at-work gyms).

I disagree with some of these and I truly believe that the people who write these have never worked in an office. Unless you have an office with no windows and a closed door, you can't run in place or jump rope or do constant sit-stand-sit-stand while on a phone call without looking like a total nut case.

• Exercise ball (yoga ball) - this would be great! I brought one to work which I thought would help with back pain from sitting in a chair and help tighten up some muscles. Unfortunately, this was a hand-me-down so I didn't have the air pump. It had let out a little air over the years and caused more pain than the chair. It disappeared into an empty cube, only to appear at the new building when a coworker "saved" it for me. Now it sits in my home office taking up space.
• As cool as it would be, it's highly impractical to have a treadmill at work. You've probably seen pictures of it on stumbleupon, and some sites will tell you it's the best! but let's be real. How do you get the treadmill to your desk? I don't know about you, but my cube isn't big enough for one. I would also be standing higher than the cubes. It would be so loud that no one could work. Uhm, eventually you'll get sweaty or tired. I'd feel gross or like I was being judged based on how long I was on it. Also, why wouldn't I just do that when I got home instead?
• Stretching - YES. This I totally agree with. It won't cause weight loss, but it will keep you from walking like an old man at age 22. I frequently crack my back (sometimes without trying) and stretch regularly (and subtly).

Stretch your neck by rolling it in a circle and then moving side to side.

When you yawn, stretch your arms out in front of you (and above your head if you're feeling risky).

Lift your feet off the floor and rotate your ankles.

Move your torso so it's facing the back of your chair as if you're cracking your back.

Push one shoulder forward and then switch.

Upon standing, arch your back and put your arms out at your sides.

You can even do some stretching in the bathroom stall.

• Walk at lunch. A lot of offices have walking trails or at least nice sidewalks around the property. Admittedly, I don't do this often at all. I usually do what nearly everyone else does, walk to the very close kitchen, heat up my lunch, and sit back at my cube surfing the web.
• Drink tons of water. Bring a nalgene or similar water bottle and fill it often. It'll help flush your system and will force you to get up more often to walk to the bathroom. If possible, take a roundabout way to and from the bathroom.
• Bring healthy snacks. Sitting in the same spot will make you tired so your body will tell you you're hungry so you can gain more energy from food even though you're sitting idly. Bring fruits and veggies or graham crackers, trail mix, etc to much on instead of pop tarts, cookies, etc.

That's it for now!

Frozen Friday

It's Friday again. Yay! There's an off phenomenon that occurs every Friday at work...it's what I like to call "Frozen Friday." Time seems to freeze, as do the conversations in the office. Everyone is chugging away in their own private worlds to get home as soon as possible. Fridays also have a skeleton crew. Many people either work at home or they simply don't work on Fridays. The commute, however, suggests the opposite. Yet another frozen aspect of Friday...the roads. Everyone is jetting out early (my normal leaving time) to start the weekend and we all meet on the road. For long stretches of going 5mph.

Here are my tips for making it through a Frozen Friday.

• Work at home, if possible. Avoid the commute woes and not have that time-slowing feeling that you want to be home...because you will be home.
• Similarly, if you can leave early and/or finish the day at home, do so.
• Take breaks at work. Work consistently for awhile to get things done, but if you're running low on work, take it slow. There's nothing worse than sitting at your cube with 5 hours left without work. You feel like you've seen all of the internet already and time has stopped. Break up your work so it fills the day at a steady pace.
• Talk with your coworkers. Get some face-time in and pass particularly slow parts of the day (for everyone--don't interrupt someone if he or she is busy) with conversation.
• Do NOT take your lunch early. Try to eat a little later than usual, too, so that the time you have left after lunch until leaving is shorter.
• Sort through your email. Delete messages that you don't need, organize your inbox, and tidy up your folders. This is the stuff you are too busy to do during the week.
• If you use a time-tracking system, update your hours, etc. It's a tedious task, but it can really pass the time.
• Clean your cube. Dust, reorganize, rearrange (quietly), and anything else to improve your work space.
• Email old professors or friends to catch up with them.
• Try not to check the time frequently. I know it's hard since the clock is on your toolbar, but use some self-restraint!

WAH (Working at home)

With gas prices always fluctuating and people having to drive farther to work, working at home is a lucky and awesome option.  The occasional work at home is great for avoiding traffic, not driving in bad conditions, and being able to go to appointments close to home (shorter commute = more work time).  However, there are some drawbacks.  There is a great comic about what happens when you work at home too much and in my chats with people, this isn't too far off, considering.

The awesome:

• More sleep
• Ability to listen to music without headphones
• Comfy chair or couch
• Hanging out with pet(s)
• Ability to do chores during little breaks (start laundry, empty dishwasher, etc)
• More food selection
• Saving on gas and tolls

The hidden dangers:

• Sleeping too late
• Spending too much time doing chores and less doing actual work
• Internet connection may fail
• Less face time with coworkers
• Feeling trapped in the house without anyone to interact with
• Making up for lost time by working longer hours

Tips:

• Don't wear your pajamas "to work."  If you're in jeans, you're more likely to be in the mindset of doing work and not lounging.
• Have an office.  If you don't have an extra room to devote to an office, designate part of one room to be your working area.  Ideally, you can have a door to shut and a desk with an extra monitor and mouse.  If you have an office, you're away from TV, bed, the door to the outside world!  You have less temptations and can trick yourself into thinking your at your cube...where you're productive.
• Be honest with yourself.  You know that you're going to do external things (chores, watch an episode, play with pets) so make a schedule and stick to it.  
• Don't work more than you have to.  You don't want to feel like you have to prove to people who are physically at your workplace that you do work by working longer and harder.  You don't want to burn out or mess up your work/relax/sleep schedule.
• Go into the office as much as you can.  You don't want to abuse your work at home privileges and you don't want to be associated with a voice on the phone or a name on IM.
• Don't do work on the couch unless you absolutely need to.  You're working, remember.

Otherwise, working at home is great.  It will take time to get used to how you handle your time and where you work best.

Student loans - bane of existence

Student loans are the plague. More of a parasite, really. You finally make good money and where does it all go? Well six months after graduation, it gets sucked away by a parasite weighing tens of thousands of dollars. Check out the amount of interest you're paying per payment. Sometimes the majority of what you're paying is interest...the stuff that didn't even pay for your degree! I started throwing down a bit of my check after my first payday....aka before the interest kicked in. It did help a bit, but what helps the most is staying on top of the loans. Even if you put an extra $50 bucks on each loan payment, you'll be tackling the beast much faster and pay less interest in the long run. Try not to set up auto-pay. That way, once a month, you have to evaluate how much you can really afford to put down...and hopefully that is more than the minimum payment. It'll suck for awhile, but then again, you're used to living like a poor college student. In the long run, you'll be incredibly glad you did it.

It's different for everyone. This is just what I found works for me.

Resumes

STOP (hammertime). But really, pause. When was the last time you updated your resume? When was the last time someone looked over your resume for editing purposes? When was the last time more than one person has?

I can't stress how important it is to have several people look over your resume before you send it out. Missing a period, shifty fonts, or a typo can cause you to lose a job opportunity. Some people won't even call you for an interview if you've submitted a less than perfect resume. You have one page to represent yourself and why you are the best candidate for a position. You are a writer and if they see that you've made a mistake on possibly the most important document you can write, they won't have much confidence in your ability to write or edit.

Do you have powerful and effective words? As a tutor, I frequently gave people the UMass Career Services pamphlet on resume writing and the list of great words to use. Seriously, review the list of words on the second page. It will definitely break up the monotony of "wrote, edited, organized."

Yet again....HAVE PEOPLE LOOK IT OVER! Send it to your professors, have your friends and family look it over. DO IT!!!!!!