Starting a New Job: Fourteen Lessons I've Learned From Five Years of Seasonal Work
Working as a ski photographer had its perks.
I’ve spent the past few years living in different places and working in different jobs. In 2017, I filed my taxes as a ski photographer in Colorado, a hiking guide in Alaska, and a deckhand on a sailboat in Hawaii. I’ve found myself moving in pursuit of adventure and learning different skills in different environments—the very things I dreamed about back when I was sitting at a desk in New York City, diddling around on spreadsheets.
I’ve spent some time reflecting on what I’ve accomplished and what I plan to accomplish, and realized that the most important lesson I’ve learned the ability to navigate a new environment and its unforeseen challenges in a confident manner. Here are a few of the ways I’ve learned to do just that.
1. Don’t just be a good employee. Be a good co-worker.
Who would you want to work with? Some of your favorite co-workers likely share similar qualities: they’re easygoing, personable, quick-to-laugh, willing to pitch in, able to solve problems on their own, and are generally someone you enjoy having around.
Too often we strive to be good employees. Remember to be a good co-worker as well and the rest will fall into place, as long as you…
2. Take Initiative.
If you’re working in a team environment, don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do. No one likes a co-worker who isn’t going to pull their own weight, so take initiative.
Be someone who isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty or put in longer hours. Sometimes it’s a good idea to just…
3. Volunteer to take out the trash.
Every work environment has tasks that no one wants to do. These tasks are often delegated to the “new guy”.
Do yourself a favor, and volunteer to take out the proverbial trash before you’re told to do it. You might as well get credit for taking initiative before someone tells you to do it. However, sometimes it’s best to just…
4. Stay out of the way.
In the beginning, there are tasks you know how to accomplish and tasks you don’t know how to accomplish. Understand the limits of your competency; sometimes the best thing you can do is stay out of the way and let your co-workers handle business.
However, know that you’ll eventually have to do this task on your own. So while you’re staying out of their way, make sure that you’re paying attention and…
5. Learning From Your Co-workers
Take cues from your co-workers. They’ve been here longer than you have, and they’ve figured the tricks of the trade. They know the flow of your job — when it’s OK to dial it back and cruise for the afternoon, and when you need to step it up and work harder. They’ve perfected how to “work smart”, so follow their lead and learn. A bit of subtle observation can make the learning curve manageable, because after all…
6. No one wants to teach you anything…so be a sponge.
Most of the time your boss and co-workers just want a task done, and if you can’t do it, they have to teach you.
Be appreciative of their tutelage and learn from them.
One day you will be the teacher, and you probably won’t want to spend much time showing others; you’ll just want it done. So when you’re the student, be a sponge. And when you’re learning, remember to…
7. Critically filter information.
Don’t absorb everything you’re told without first thinking about it. There is a difference between learning a task and learning how a co-worker accomplishes a task. Don’t confuse the two.
For example, there’s one way to tie a boat to a dock; there are many ways to hose the boat down.
Your co-workers have done this job before and they’ve figured out tricks that can save you both time and hassle…but don’t do something because that’s the way it’s always been done. Do something because it’s the smartest and most efficient way of accomplishing a task.
Sometimes you’ll learn that method from a co-worker, and sometimes you’ll learn it by critically assessing the job yourself, at which point you should…
8. Know your essential job duties.
Know the most important part of your job. At the end of the day, what must be accomplished? Is it driving revenue, meeting your boss’s expectations, or providing accurate and timely information?
For example, photographers must take a good photograph. While providing customer service and meeting deadlines are also important, they mean nothing unless you deliver a polished, professionally-edited image. I’d rather take an extra day to get my client the photos they want than to deliver a shoddy product a day early.
If your boss values punctuality, show up ten minutes early. Identify the little things you can do that make other people’s jobs easier, but always make sure to identify and accomplish the most important part of your job, and make sure you…
9. Stay on task.
If you’re working in a team environment, finish the task you’ve started.
You might be responsible for many tasks each day and it’s easy to get distracted by something that seems more pressing, but you should always finish something that you started. Don’t let someone come across a half-finished project. It’s important to…
10. Own your work.
Your name is on your work, so make it the best it can be. People will judge you based on your finished products, so strike a balance between timeliness and quality. Try not to sacrifice the latter for the former.
You should be proud of your work. But if there’s a problem…
11. Admit when you’re wrong.
Admit when you don’t know something, and admit when you’re wrong.
Have confidence in your ability to learn from your mistakes; after all, it’s how we choose to learn from them that sets us apart.
Fix the mistake, learn from it, and move on. This will help…
12. Make yourself a valuable employee.
Be capable of doing things that others can’t: learn the annoying software problem that no one wants to deal with, offer to deal with a difficult client, or get CPR-certified.
Ensure that you have skills your employer needs — and that others don’t have. This will make you indispensable, and you won’t mind it if you…
13. Pursue work that you love.
You should be passionate about what you’re doing, where you’re doing it, and the people you’re working with. Don’t settle for anything less.
This is the most important life lesson I’ve learned. Working at anything less than your dream job will make you unhappy, restless, and worst of all, an under-performer. No one wants to work with someone like that.
There are frustrating and unfulfilling parts of every job, but finding a career in which you are happy with your core work product is the key to being happy at work. And if you can’t find work that you love, you should at least…
14. Know the work culture that will help you succeed.
I love having co-workers. Knowing that others are waking up every morning to face the same challenges helps me take pride in my work. I also like being told what I need to accomplish and given the autonomy to meet those goals on my own.
It’s important to take some time and think about the conditions under which you work best. Even if you don’t like your job, where you’re working and who you’re working with can make or break the experience.