Summer Job Musings

Yesterday was the last day of my summer job. It was four months of working five days a week after nearly two years away. Working in a semi-legal field this summer taught me a lot...mostly about myself.

Where to start? For one, I used to think of myself as someone who could work in any environment. After all, my teen years and early twenties were all about being flexible. You had to be flexible to survive! I thought I was very good at it and that I would always be adaptable. However, after a few months of cubicle living in an open space, I learned that being able to control my immediate environment is important in controling my mood and general contentment at work. There were many, many days I wished I could close my door and just work in silence, without my co-workers conversations, emotions, and general gabbery permiating my space.

I also learned that I am not a good suck up to my boss. This should be good news--stickin' it to The Man and all. But, I am at the early days of my career and envision a lot of ass-kissing ahead of me. I don't think there is a way around it. The problem is, I am just not sure I'm up for it. A few things happened this summer with my manager and I gradually lost respect in his leadership. After that, while I would discuss work-related issues with him, I had a hard time making small talk and didn't even sign the "Thank-You-For-Being-Awesome" card that was making its way around the office. I didn't even want to mingle at the end-of-summer party the Board threw for us. I just.couldn't.be.bothered. I tell myself that if my summer job had further career possibilities, I may have worked harder at networking. I hope so. Networking is important and I like to think I am good at it. But this summer? Not so much.

The third thing I learned about myself is what a hard worker I can be. Seriously. I ended up as one of the top decision-writers at the office and I owe it all getting to work on time, working from the moment I sat at my desk until I left for the day, setting goals for myself and keeping track of my daily progress. Maybe I can do this law-thing after all!

Finally, I learned that how I dress for work is important. I tried to make an effort everyday to wear office-appropriate clothes, tailored and pressed. I wore my hair in a low bun and kept my assessories tasteful. While my personality may be a bit wild at times (I make up songs and dances and perform them for my co-workers) I was shocked when my co-workers described me as very refined. Refined!! It has just gotta be the clothes, no question.