Desperate for a sense of structure in my life, I decided to take on my first ever job about a month and a half ago. I was lucky enough to land a remote customer service position from a company in my home country. That intern on the other side of an Amazon chat box? Yeah, that’s me.
Against the advice of my parents (and pretty much everyone around me), I signed a contract for a twenty hour work week that lasts until June. Though it was difficult at first, I like to think that I’ve maintained a somewhat balanced lifestyle, in addition to learning some invaluable skills. Here are some life lessons from a customer service bot:
- Build a routine
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I knew that one of the hardest adjustments I’d have to face while at college was being completely in charge of my own time. Working Monday through Friday seemed really daunting to me at first, especially considering the fact that I’ve never worked before. During the entirety of fall and the beginning of winter quarter, I was like a Zoom zombie. I’d wake up five minutes before class and go back to sleep immediately after; I hadn’t had even the smallest semblance of a routine. This was honestly why I was so eager to find a job in the first place—I needed something that would force me into having better time management skills.
So I found exactly that. Because my shift was from 6pm to 10pm, I knew that I was in for a bad time if I didn’t do any schoolwork before my shift started. I tried my best to get started on half my tasks for the day before my shift, and for the most part, it worked out. I won’t lie and say that I stopped pulling all nighters or cramming for finals, but I can definitely say that working greatly improved my overall productivity.
- Set boundaries
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One of the most difficult parts of working while being a student is having a balanced lifestyle. For most students, school is their utmost priority; I’m privileged to be in a position where I can take a step back from work if I really need it. With that being said, it’s also extremely important to discuss and set boundaries with your employer to ensure that you do have a balanced lifestyle.
Toxic hustle culture tells us that we need to be on the grind and working hard 24/7, but habits like that can be harmful in the long run and lead to burnout in students. It’s important to develop boundary setting habits during internships or part time jobs; knowing your self worth as an employee while you’re younger will be beneficial to you in the future.
You don’t have to prove yourself all the time, especially if you know that your job is temporary, like I do. It’s okay to tell your boss that you can’t work on a holiday, or that you have to take a sick leave. Your schoolwork and your health will always, and should always, take precedence over a corporation.
- Enjoy the mundane things in life
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The best part about my job is getting to deal with funny customer inquiries or mishaps. My favorite incident to date is when two customers in the same week had a box filled with rocks delivered to their doorstep (it may have been a nightmare paperwork-wise, but it was terribly funny). Other memorable inquiries were ‘Can I crush ice in a food processor?’ and ‘What do you guys do? Wanna be friends?’
My point is that not everything has to be taken seriously all the time. Most of my shift hours are spent filling out endless spreadsheets and filing customer complaints, but laughing at silly questions and comments seem to make my shift fly by a lot faster. It’s important to find pleasure in little things whenever you can, I’ve found that enjoying the mundane things in life make life a lot more bearable.
The beauty of a first job is exactly that — that it’s your first job. What you do now, especially if you’re fresh into adulthood, won’t be what you do forever. But what can last forever are the skills and habits you develop now; it’s much easier to stumble and pick yourself back up while you’re young. So sit back and try your best (as hard as it may be) to enjoy your first few jobs — you’ve only just begun.