A Guide to Starting a New Job
The Memphis Grizzlies hired me for a temporary sales role though I was interested in marketing, I decided there’s a benefit to starting a new job with a goal in mind. My goal was to stay on with the Grizzlies and move to marketing at the end of the 4-month sales contract. If you’re starting a new job, here’s a guide to help you get started right:
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Know someone is always watching so give them something to see
People are considering whether you are a hard worker, lazy, sloppy, or pleasant. The idea behind the assessment is not to judge but to evaluate you as a suitable fit for a future opportunity.
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Make sacrifices
Starting a new job can be a sacrifice in itself. You might have moved to another state for the job or accepted a salary which is much lower than you expected for your level of education. The other sacrifices are personal to help you save money. In my case, I made many personal sacrifices so I could have money to provide whatever my son needed.
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Keep moving forward
Right from the time I was in high school, I got into a habit of setting challenging goals for myself. And when I achieved one goal, I set a new one. My college after graduating high school was to be successful in college. After graduating with honors from college and starting a new job, I set a goal to buy a house. Though it was hard being a teen mother in high school, I pushed myself to excel. In college, I had my son with me while working a full internship and being a student leader. The key, I learned was to take one step at a time and to keep moving forward.
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It’s not all about the money
When starting a new job, college graduates make the mistake of focusing on the amount of money they will be making. Yet, the realities in the business world are different. With my high GPA, internship and experience of working with different organizations, I thought it would be easy to get a job. The reality was it took time. And when the offer came, the money offered was less than half what I expected to make. However I had a much-needed job.
My job with the Grizzlies allowed me to make connections and a means to provide for myself and my son. 20 years later, I know I had the best post-college job because of the people, connections, relationships and experience. Many college grads discount this part and only want to make as much money as possible.
I could have looked for a new job which would have paid me more but not the same experience. If you are starting a new job, focus more on seeing impact in what you do and being happy with what you do. Also keep learning and increasing your value. Soon enough you will be getting paid what you’re worth.
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I’m Summer Owens, and my passion is helping youth and young adults realize success no matter what obstacles they face. As an international resilience and leadership keynote speaker, author, S.O. What! Success Coach, and creator of the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum, I empower people to say, “So what!” to even their greatest challenges. provide a framework to help people see past their challenges and focus on solutions using the S.O. What! Success System (Overcome Obstacles + Eliminate Excuses + Calculate Choices = S.O. What! Success). Through keynotes, workshops, books, online courses, and workbooks, I use life’s challenges and my own story of resilience as a rape survivor and teen mom success story to help others confidently pursue their dreams.
Looking for an inspiring college motivational speaker? A high school literacy curriculum? A middle school life skills workbook? A great example for teen mothers? A women’s empowerment or single mother’s conference speaker? I’m your girl and will help any audience say, “S.O. What!”.
