Don’t Take the First Job that is Offered to You
A lesson I learned in my early twenties
When I first graduated from college, I wasn’t free to hit the pavement (and by hit the pavement, I mean look online) and start searching for jobs. I had a 3 month internship that I was to complete before my school mailed me my diploma at the end of the Summer.
All Summer longI worked hard to develop my skills and tighten up my resume. My degree was in Resort Recreation & Hospitality Management and my time spent in the hotel that summer taught me a lot about myself and the industry.
But at the end of the Summer I was left with a few questions.
- What do I want to do?
- How am I going to do it?
- Where am I going to get money from until I am able to do that?
Looking back on it, my dream was a little unrealistic. I wanted to someday be the manager of a quaint small town Inn, similar to the Independence Inn that Lorelei worked at in Gilmore Girls. But an important thing to think about is that if those kinds of jobs even exist, you need connections and experience to get them.
Or in Lorelei’s case, you start at the bottom and work your way up. If you’re not familiar with the show, she began working at the Inn when she was just a teenager. She was a single mother looking to provide for her newborn, and she was willing to do anything, even be a maid for her first couple of years.
I too was willing to do anything. Which is how I ended up at The Westwood Inn. (Name has been changed to protect all involved, although the owners have since retired and sold their business).
The interview process was fairly normal. I met with the owner’s son in the breakfast nook, right off the lobby. He sat there with his laptop and asked questions. I answered them. But then a few days later I got a phone call offering me the job.
I should have taken a deep breath. I should have said thank you and asked for a day to consider my options. But I was feeling stressed by the job hunt and a little insecure because of how my boss treated my at my internship.
So I said yes.
It was the first job offer I got and because I wasn’t experienced I somehow said yes, right there on the phone. After I hung up, my Mom asked me what my phone call was about. I told her, and then I started crying.
That’s maybe not a normal response to getting a job, but I just had a strange feeling about it. A feeling that was later proved to be correct.
This hotel was nothing like the Independence Inn in Gilmore Girls. The guests were rude, the manager was rude, the hours were strange, and I didn’t get my paycheck on time. It was a mess.
I began to hate it there, but the hatred of the job inspired me to work hard and stay on the lookout for new opportunities and jobs that I could apply for. I got plenty of good stories to share with my family and friends. I even wrote a zine about my experiences there.
But if I had to go back and do it again? I wouldn’t.
So if you too are feeling unsure of yourself and looking for your first job out of college, I have a couple of tips for you.
Apply to more than one place
Interviewing is a skill and the more practice you get, the better you are at it. I approached my interview process slowly in that I only applied to one place and figured that I would move on to the next after I was turned down for the job.
Don’t do that. Apply to lots of places and see what’s out there.
Keep your options open (but go with your gut)
You really don’t know what a job or a business is going to be like until you arrive for your interview. In my case, I had misgivings about the Westwood Inn when I was there for my interview. But I ignored it. I have since come to the conclusion that if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
After seeing what’s out there, make the best choice for you
No job is going to be perfect. But sometimes, we don’t have time to wait it out until we find something close to perfect. Sometimes we just need that paycheck right away.
I try not to dwell on the past, so when I think about the first job out of college, I chalk it up to a learning experience.
And that’s ok. Because life is all about learning.
