St.Louis Business Journal
THE TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO WORK IS LIKE BOOT CAMP

By Anna Navarro

June 2005  

Author's note: Client stories in this column are based on actual situations fictionalized to protect privacy and told with permission.

First jobs are often like boot camp. We are asked to do boring, unpleasant assignments without complaining. It's all part of the toughening up experience we go through learning to work. Ultimately, getting to do work we enjoy is an important part of the game. But first, most of us have to prove we can be valuable in the workplace.

Many young people who are entering the workplace today are unaware of the boot camp nature of most first jobs. That adds to their difficulties as they launch their careers.

Kelly was having a lot of trouble with her first job out of school. She'd graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communications and had been recruited based on her excellent grades and likeable personality. She'd been very excited about the job. The firm had many big name clients. She'd been looking forward to assignments that would challenge her and develop her skills.

When she arrived she was disappointed to be shown to a dim cubicle that would be her workspace. Her assignments had all been decidedly unchallenging. She'd helped get out media releases, passed out flyers at events and helped schlep materials to a media conference. The closest thing to a professional assignment was helping write a media release announcing the reorganization of top management for a mom and pop chain of dry cleaning outlets.

After about six weeks, Kelly was on the verge of a meltdown. She was capable of so much more. Why was her boss treating her so poorly?

Kelly's concern was understandable. She'd been lucky enough to grow up in a family where the kids came first. At home and in school, the focus was on learning, growing, stretching and taking on new challenges. The world revolved around her. What she didn't yet get is that the workplace revolves around the needs of the organization and those who run it, and that she was relatively insignificant in that world. Probably most senior managers in the company had started their careers doing the same kind of tasks she was doing.

Because she didn't understand her role in the bigger picture of her organization, she started complaining about her assignments and asking for more challenge. She didn't realize that this would only get her labeled as a whiner and make things worse.

To her dismay, she noticed after a few months that other young people who had been hired at the same time were getting more interesting assignments. It was then that she came to see me at the suggestion of her parents, who were concerned about how unhappy she was.

First I let her vent her anger. Then gently I got her to articulate the assumptions on which her anger was based. We talked at length about the practical realities of the workplace, the needs of bosses and organizations to get grunt work done and why her expectations were unlikely to be met in the short run. Once that groundwork had been set, I urged her to undertake a series of experiments, and to report back on the results so we could discuss them.

First, I asked her to refrain from complaining for at least three months.

Second, I asked her to put on a cheerful face when doing work she disliked and to do it with enthusiasm, even if she had to pretend.

Third, I worked with her to identify managers and projects that looked interesting, and taught her how to volunteer for extra work in those areas without ruffling her boss' feathers.

It was a bumpy process. Kelly struggled mightily to keep her mouth shut and her nose to the grindstone, but by the end of the three months, she was making progress. Her relationship with her boss had improved markedly and she'd been assigned to one account that really interested her.

As our work continued, I encouraged Kelly to regard this phase of her work life as boot camp. I didn't want her to think that her entire career would be about paying dues. But I did want her to understand that, at least in the beginning, most of us must start by doing grunt work and finding ways to make ourselves useful to others. Eventually, if we are savvy, we can position ourselves to do work we enjoy. But first we have to demonstrate we are capable of working.

Anna Navarro is the founder of Work Transitions, a nationwide career consulting firm that trains independent career strategists and consults with individual clients.

This column was originally published by the St. Louis Business Journal. The actual title of the column and date in which it appeared in the Business Journal may be slightly different from what appears on WorkTransitions.com.