5 Tips for Preparing for Your First Job

The idea of full-time employment evokes a range of emotions for the young twenty-something. It’s both promising and frightening, exciting and monotonous, empowering and constraining. I’ve felt all of those emotions and more as I contemplate the start of my career, which is barreling toward me as October rolls around.

Fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to spend a few months at home before I start my job and move to a new city. This has given me plenty of time to reflect, relax, and revitalize. I’ve seen the majority of my friends start their jobs, from those working 80 hours a week on Wall Street to those working in the laid-back music business in Nashville. When I FaceTime my friends, they all promise that adulthood is just as good, if not better than college (except my friend at law school, but that’s another story). I’m a bit skeptical on their sentiments because I absolutely loved college, but I’ll withhold ultimate judgment until I too join the ranks of the working world.

With my time at home, I’ve been able to prepare for starting my job and moving cities. This has helped me ease the angst I have about beginning a new job and also allows me to ensure a smooth transition (going from having no responsibility to having a ton of responsibility won’t be easy!).

Here are a few things I’ve considered and researched to prepare for the start of my career:

1. Know your company.

Ask yourself questions about the vibe of the company.

Do you need to wear a suit everyday or is it casual?
What will your hours be?
Is there parking at your office?

It helps to talk to a recruiter, friend at the company, or even Google to find out the details of your job. Plus, talking to people at the company can help you figure out what to expect from your new job. I find that talking to a friend who works the company or emailing with the recruiter can answer a lot of simple questions and make you feel prepared beforehand. Definitely poke around the company website too if you haven’t to see if there is any more information!

2. Research location.

Will you live near your office and be able to walk or take the subway?
Or will you need to drive?
Are there lunch spots nearby or coffee shops?
How long will your commute take?

Along with these questions to ask yourself, research the area where you’re going to live to find out the nearest gyms, grocery stores, public transit, and anything else you might need on a regular basis. I usually do a practice run of the route from my place to work so I know how long it will take. Google maps is the perfect option to scroll around the area and see what options are available.

3. Keep track of paperwork.

I’ve gotten an overwhelming amount of emails from my office about security forms, payment, work history, and everything in between. It’s important to make sure you stay on top of this stuff so you can actually start your job. Beyond that, you might want to consider updating your resume and LinkedIn (if you have one) with your new position. If you’re feeling extra excited, maybe make some business cards to whip out when you see someone worthy of your cell phone number!

4. Get a handle on your personal finances.

One of the first things I did this summer was make a budget for myself. There are tons of templates online or even apps that can do this for you, but I went old school and used an excel spreadsheet. Beyond that, I took it upon myself to educate myself on important things: what is a 401k? Does my job match my retirement savings? How do I open a credit card account? I had a total fail moment when I got denied for a credit card because I didn’t have enough of a credit history. Luckily I had time to figure out an alternative solution before needing to use a card. Money podcasts are a great resources to learn how to manage your money and are incredibly inspiring - one of my favorites is So Money with Farnoosh Torabi.

5. Find a self-care routine.

It’s exciting to think about working 40+ hours at week at a new company and the prospect of making a big impact. But often times it’s easy to neglect self-care, as I’m sure many of us have seen during college finals (deodorant counts as a shower, right?). Figure out what is your self-care savior and schedule a standing date with yourself each day/week. For me, I need to go the gym otherwise I’ll rip someone’s head off, so I’ve started figuring out when will be best for me to workout.

Starting your first big-kid job is a milestone moment, don’t snooze on getting your life together before you start hustling!

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The End of An Era: Saying Goodbye to Windrose

Hi friends,

Announcement (sounds so formal, doesn’t it?):

It's the end of an era.

I’ve decided that, after nearly 8 years of telling stories of navigating life, this season of Windrose is drawing to a close.

Even Here: Words for When You're Wandering

When I was 22 years old, I visited the desert for the first time.

A metaphorical desert, if we’re getting technical.

I was fresh out of college, starry-eyed and eager to begin my post-grad life. I had big ‘ole me-centered dreams: a shiny, brag-worthy PR job in the music industry! An apartment with an exposed brick wall that (somehow) would fit an upright piano! A committed relationship with a kind, goofy man!

I got exactly none of those things.

To summarize an entire year’s worth of emotion: I was devastated.

Witching Hour (or, Fighting Off Demons at 3 am with a Box Cutter)

Between the hours of 3 - 4 am, I find myself awakened by nothing in particular. The room is silent. There is no sound outside. No loud car horns. No dogs barking.

I’m upset.

I wish it was something other than just me. Then I could stop it. Nothing is to blame. It feels like moments have passed since I closed my eyes. The moments of a long dreamless sleep last about 4 hours.

A Song for Growth

A year ago, a friend of mine got a job at a well known tech company. He had been slogging through the interviews, and he finally got an offer. Obviously he deserved it. He was a hard worker, and his attitude for success and life was admirable to say the least. I knew he was beyond qualified.

But at the time, I was on a career path I couldn’t see myself being happy in. I had made the mistake of staying in the industry mainly for the money. Every month in the industry was a reminder of how much I did not want to stay. It created a nasty cycle of overthinking and career angst. Feelings of inadequacy and existentialism rooted themselves deep inside me. I couldn’t focus on anything and was utterly disconnected from the work I was doing.

I admit I wasn’t happy for him.

A Song for the In Between

It may be over.

Despite its nature, the concept is definitive. The body is better at preparation than action, so the concept invokes an uncontrolled reaction. The sweaty palms; the rusted coils in the stomach; the feeling of teetering on the edge—my body thinks I’m dying.

It tries to save me from myself. It transforms into a spring to weather elements. Or a boulder. I am hunched, prepared for the event.

But there’s nothing to save me from. My life isn’t in danger. I’m not being chased by a wolf. I sit on the couch. I sit in my chair, still. I am, in theory, perfectly healthy.

Yet my mind paces.

A Song for the Nocturnal

I woke up again and knew I wasn’t going back to sleep.

The alarm wasn’t even close to waking up. The cracked light through my drapes showed the indigo sky—a shade I’ve come to refer to as “you’re not sleeping tonight” blue. I looked at my phone but already knew what it would read before the screen turned on: 3am.

It was the third night in a row I’ve woken up at this time. In the past, options to tackle this insomnia were aplenty: I could go back to sleep after a drink of water. I could read and drift off. I could even play some video games until sleep lulled me back. But lately, my mind pulls the body along a joyride of thought. It starts and doesn’t stop. It has become loud and uncontrollable, like a child. In dead silence this time brings, my mind wakes before my body can at 3am.

3am. Historically, I’ve gotten along with this time.

One could say I’ve preferred the night in my life.

A Song for Embracing the Present Moment

Despite the sun’s rays and the heightened sense of joy in the air that wafted like perfume, I was feeling gray. Over the year, COVID-19 made me uncertain about my future. In my life, like most people, the pandemic revealed certain aspects of life that weren’t previously apparent. Maybe for some it was relationship issues. Maybe it was cabin fever or job uncertainty.

In my case, my career path was no longer clear. I was increasingly aware of this fact as the days dragged on in isolation. Throw in the economic flux of the job market, a splash of consistent restlessness, and you have a cocktail of underlying anxiety.

Caught in a web of thought and analysis-paralysis, I often spent more time pondering the future than acknowledging the present day.

Is This Everything You Wanted, Now That It's Everything You Have?

Is this everything you wanted, now that it’s everything you have?

This question haunts the intro of a song by singer/songwriter Noah Gundersen. At just 2 minutes and 16 seconds, the song is short but packs power like a summer thunderhead. I’ve listened to this song so many times in the last six months, and yet every time I hear it, it does that thing that all good songs do, making your heart feel like it just might burst from an inflation of emotion.

Is this everything you wanted, now that it’s everything you have?

On the surface, yes.

You Can Do Hard Things

“Would you rather be comfortable?” my roommate, Chelsey, asked me.

Work has weighed heavily on me these last several weeks, and on this particular day, I felt like I was on the precipice of a cliffside drop into a panic attack. As I boiled noodles and browned ground turkey, I shared my stresses with my friend as stray tears tried to make a quick getaway from my eyes.

Would I rather be comfortable or challenged?

Unwritten: Overcoming Fear and Doubt

You know that feeling when you first discover something and that something new-to-you suddenly appears everywhere? It happens to me a lot with words, the once unfamiliar expressions jumping from each subsequent page I read or floating through the air, only to rap on my eardrums.

Lately, I’ve felt that way about writing.

Keep Going: Thoughts on Celebrating Four Years of Windrose

I have given up on so many things.

Keep going isn’t exactly my life motto. I’m an instant-results girl, which is why cooking and 5-o’clock traffic bring me such mental anguish.

But today Windrose is celebrating four years of existing in this li’l Internet space—four years of stories told of navigating the challenges and triumphs of life in your twenties.

Waiting for Happy

For my entire life, this has been my dream. Freezing cold, sitting on the roof of my apartment, staring out at New York City in all its glory, at 2 o’clock in the morning, listening to Billy Joel. It really, truly does not get better than this.

But at the same time, it could.

Because there’s something that no one tells you about getting your dreams: Sometimes, it’s not what you thought it would be. Because sometimes, dreams change.

CareerHilary HorvatitsSeptember 26, 2017Comment