Navigating Successfully Through a Job : Formative Years

Introduction

Recently, I celebrated 12 years as a working professional in the IT industry, primarily focused on internet commerce. Reflecting on my decade-long career, I realised that the most significant learning experience occurred during my early days right after college. Little did I know back then that the knowledge I gained during those years would become invaluable. Today, I want to share my experiences with all of you, hoping that some of you will benefit from them.

Formative Years: What are They?

My first job began in 2011, but the groundwork for that job started much earlier. Today, I want to emphasise the importance of the Formative Years in a job. So, what exactly do we mean by “formative years”?

In my experience, a person’s formative years begin around the second year of college and continue until the second year of their job. This period spans approximately five years, during which we learn to:

• Hone our skills
• Develop solid work ethics
• Invest in building a network
• Develop a personal identity
• Create a growth map for ourselves

The reason formative years start in college is because it’s where we are first introduced to a collaborative working environment through group college projects and internships.

College projects: How do they Help?

College projects serve as our first exposure to working in a team, similar to how we work in office settings. During these projects, we encounter different personalities, each contributing in their own way. At that point we understand very little about our own working style, let alone figuring out someone else’s style feels like a daunting task. Below are the few personality types which appear:

1. The delegator: This person comes up with the division of work.
2. The Do-it-All: This enthusiastic person wants to take on everyone’s work, eager to do it all by themselves.
3. The cynic: This team member questions everything and offers unique perspectives, playing a crucial role.
4. The under-confident: This individual observes and learns, struggling with self-doubt.
5. The smart and silent: This person quietly executes assigned tasks correctly, avoiding unnecessary fuss.

Many other personality types emerge during these projects, helping individuals identify themselves and lay the groundwork for defining their own work ethics.

Internships: How do they Help ?

Internships have become increasingly popular for college students compared to the early 2000s. I remember completing my internship at a small, 10-person service-based company in Lucknow without a stipend. It was an amazing experience. It fuelled my excitement and laid the groundwork for the day when I will be writing my own modules and building software from end to end.

Internships provide our first exposure to various aspects, including:

• A formal working environment, i.e., an office
• Working with a group of people, many of whom are more experienced
• Set working hours
• The concept of defined leaves
• Office decorum and culture

As young interns, we are highly impressionable, and our exposure to different working cultures during internships significantly impacts our future job experiences. That’s why the modern trend encourages multiple internships during college to experience different working styles and enhance adaptability in professional settings.

The First Job : A Dream come True

For many, the first day of their first job is an exciting experience. Orientation sessions expose us to a wealth of information about the company, its values, policies, and more. For those who have already participated in group projects and internships, the transition is not as overwhelming.

The most important part of your first job is identifying your mentors. Notice that I use the plural form because, in a team environment, we have multiple things to learn, and different people can serve as mentors for various skills, such as:

• Job skills
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Time management
• Crisis management

Within a team, individuals at different experience levels demonstrate different skills in various shapes and forms. Therefore, it becomes crucial for us to choose mentors from whom we are willing to learn these skills.

As a mentee, the learning process should be driven by self-awareness, research, and proactiveness. A good mentee should:

• Be a keen observer: Observe how your mentors handle different situations and learn from their approaches.
• Ask questions: A good mentee should feel comfortable asking questions without fear of appearing foolish.
• Seek problem statements, not solutions: Instead of seeking ready-made solutions, a good mentee should seek new problem statements from their mentors and guidance on how to approach them.

Overall, dedicating two years to learning during the early stages of your career prepares you to step out into the world and experience the intricacies of professional life.

Summary

In this post, I have discussed the concept of formative years and their role in shaping our careers. You will see that I have used the word Job a lot in my post because while a big part of the world is obsessed about startups and doing something new, a big part of the overall workforce is people doing jobs. So the focus of this discussion has been on jobs rather than entrepreneurship, it is essential to acknowledge the significance of traditional employment and help people navigate through it. I will continue sharing my experiences and insights for those who are pursuing careers in the job market.

If you found this post helpful, please consider sharing it. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, and I will respond to you promptly.