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New Chapter
Today was my last day at my first "real" job. I cannot believe I am closing a big chapter of my life and starting a new one. When you leave a shitty part-time job, it's a relief but it's absolutely exhilarating to leave a career job to move on to something better. I thought that I'd sure my Job Survival Tips for those of you who just started or will start their career, and to prep myself for Monday. Some of these I learned first hand, some of these were shared by others that I found useful. These will not always work, and sometimes you are just thrown into a work environment where everything goes wrong, but I still find that in general, it's good advice.
WORK ETHICS
 Arrive 5-10 minutes early, no more, no less. You should be actually WORKING when your shift starts, not turning on your computer or just getting to your work station.
Be organized. Sometimes when you work papers are strewn all over the desk, that is fine if you know where everything is. When you leave, make sure your work is in neat piles so tomorrow you will know where to pick up
Go above and beyond your job but you're not a doormat. People will take advantage of you.
You can say "No" sometimes if you feel it's justified (I have a lot of trouble with this one)
DO YOUR WORK. Work first then chat/socialize. I'm surprised that a lot of people don't actually do this!
Show initiative and offer input when reasonable. You NEVER know if you don't try.
Do your best to be interested in your job. Even if it's something small, focusing on something you enjoy will make your work more enjoyable.
Choose your battles. There are times when you should and should not complain. If you complain too much then nobody takes you seriously, but if you complain too little you'll do a lot of things that you do not like because you did not speak up.
WORK RELATIONSHIPS
Be nice (or at least polite) to everyone. I knew someone from my old job was just in a very small-fry middle management position. She was dismissed by a lot of people. She's now the Administrator of the entire company and all those people who dismissed her are now sucking up to her.
Do not get involved in office politics if you can help it. Sometimes, you are forced into it though.
Defend your coworkers if justified. Trust me, if the time comes when you are wrongly accused of something, they may save your butt.
Do not burn any bridges. Even if you think you are leaving and never coming back you never know when you would need a favor.
Never underestimate the power of a simple THANK YOU card.
No matter who you are dealing with, always stay professional.
I've done my very best to try and follow these rules. I have an excellent work ethic and I really tried to be interested in the job. I've showed initiative and therefore I was offered a lot of opportunities. Even though I did not get paid extra for it, I gained very valuable work experience that obviously paid off in the end. When I left, I got some really nice comments and it makes you feel really good to know that you really did make a positive impact. You want to leave a job feeling accomplished, not that you wasted X amount of time. TIME TO START A NEW CHAPTER!
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