5 job experiences 2016 has taught me

Not really out of regrets but for reflection on my past actions and the lessons I learnt from the outcome. So here are five lessons I learnt from the year 2016.

1. If its too good to be true, run.

Yes, my first lesson. After completing my university studies and insulating myself from the outside world, it was time to come out and face the real world. The real world involved job hunting and trying to get on my feet, financially. The first job I got assured me of a 30k salary.

It was less than my expectation but I was elated because it afforded me a valid excuse to leave home everyday. However, only one month into the job, I was surfing through Nairaland’s job vacancies section looking for another job because I felt dissatisfied with my position.

A few weeks before the month ended, another job came up and the salary was double the current job. Needless to say, I left without a backward glance but till today, I have not received a salary from the second job.

In essence, I learnt from the episode that when something is too good to be true, maybe it really is too good to be true, run!

2. Keep trying, don’t stay down.

After my first bad experience with the second job, I was burnt badly both financially and emotionally. I had not even stayed up to one month on the job before stories of Sterling Bank owing my former boss cropped up and caused my salary to enter voicemail.

I left the job without being compensated for anything including my transport fare. But I didn’t allow this experience to keep me down. I kept applying and going for other job interviews and then had a series of bad job experiences with my former bosses paying me less salary than agreed or paying me nothing at all.

The point is, I kept trying and didn’t allow bad experiences make me give up. So in essence, what I learnt is to always have my priorities in order, press on and not allow the obstacles, keep me down.

3. Let the hardships you experience and observe inspire you to get creative.

While I continued pressing on with my job hunting and experiencing hardship, I looked around for opportunities to better myself. I applied for internships, entrepreneurial schemes, story writing competitions and just about everything else. I didn’t win or get most of them but they opened my eyes to possibilities. Even one of my stories, Hearts in Ashes was birthed from a story writing competition that I lost.

4. Don’t stay on in a bad job:

For me, a bad job is a job that doesn’t afford me the opportunity to grow, exploits me and is not worth the stress, salary wise. This was my job experience in a hotel that paid me 15k as a receptionist. Yes, it was a grace-less fall for a 2:1 graduate of a federal university but then I felt any job is better than no job. It is true, any job is better than no job especially in this recession but you don’t have to put up with a bad job.

In this hotel I was overworked i.e. I worked some days on a 24-hour shift, was made to take up other duties that were not remotely concerned with manning the reception and all this was topped with an ungrateful and disrespectful boss. I called it quits two months into the job and I’m so glad I did.

5. If you lose, don’t lose the lesson:

That’s the succinct summary of this write-up, isn’t it? I fought, persevered, quit and some may say I lost. I certainly lost close to one year of running in circles but I obviously didn’t lose the lesson.

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