It’s true that a change can be as good as a holiday, especially when the change involves taking on the challenges of a brand-new job. There’s always a bit of trepidation mixed in with the hope and excitement, but if you work at it, you’ll be able to take the changes in your stride. By Mary B
They say it takes about two years to feel at home in a new job, from being adept at your new responsibilities to settling in with coworkers and office culture.
That two-year average, which may feel like a long time when you’re just starting out, depends on adapting to the structure, figuring out colleagues , and enjoying the wisdom of your predecessor before they make their exit.
My new job had none of those things. Yep – I’m going to give myself a good five years before a chance I’ll have a hope of feeling settled.
I’ve just started at, well, a start-up. A company that is about as green in the world of business as I am. There are no systems, no processes, no job descriptions, no HR department to sort out your leave and set your hours, no office administrator to phone Telkom when the internet is down.
Instead, there is a beautiful, pristine desk and a fresh pile of stationery, an open plan office and a Mac laptop with a blank desktop. Walking into the office for the first time and sitting down at the barren desk was one of the most terrifying moments of my career. And yet, one of the most energising.
Gone were my systems and processes and routines. There was no ‘late’ or ‘absenteeism’, just time lost and jobs not yet completed. There was no ‘well done’ or prospect of a raise or ego boost in front of my seniors in the boardroom. Instead, there was the §promise of a peaceful night’s sleep and a little less to get done tomorrow.
I’m a creature of habit. I love making coffee at 8.45am every day, just before the morning meeting. I love predictable deadlines and clocking off when I planned to clock off. I love the same old conversations about the same old things with the same old colleagues. Which makes new things – undefined, untried, unknown new things – petrifying.
Setting your deadlines and monitoring your progress gives you a responsibility you can’t shy away from. If something goes wrong, it can only be your fault. And it’s up to you to fix it. There is no scapegoat, no safety blanket.
Yes, I have colleagues – all two of them – and yes, we’re working together. But in such a small team, where you’re doing everything together and figuring it out for the first time, there is no corner to hide in or smokescreen to distract from your shortcomings, fears, or failures.
The funny thing is, in all of this chaos and uncertainty and discomfort, I have not once missed my previous, cosily controlled, clearly defined job. Sure, I miss some of my colleagues, and I miss that fact that every morning there was miraculously toilet paper in the loos and fresh milk in the kitchen and someone to take a message if you couldn’t get to your phone on time.
But as much as I’m out of my depth and scrambling around for the security of systems and processes, I don’t miss that old routine. Not one bit.
And I’m lucky. I am passionate about the product I’m attempting to sell, and the brand I’m trying to build. I believe in what I’m doing.
Am I terrified every morning when I wake up and have no clue how the day will pan out? Absolutely. But I’ve never felt more alive.
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