“Lack of work experience doesn’t mean that you’re in for the tough time.”
At too early in the morning, it’s one of my favorite people calling me to confirm a rumor he heard about my tenure completion with the project.
Covid 19 was just pacing up and the Government of India has extended 14 days lockdown for the second time. Thankfully before the "Janta Curfew" I had already completed my final project inspection tour and finalized the formalities.
With the Government imposing new restrictions and implementation of new guidelines to restrict any kind of gathering and events, it was not feasible to have customarily "the handing over ceremony" the last associated event of the project. So, the higher authorities had decided to get closer for the project tenure initially estimated for 6 months but was extended for 2 long years.
While talking with him, my tenure with the project just flashed before my eyes. A journey that started as a fresher and how its value in my life, changed my career perspective and circumstances that allowed me to join the project collectively poured a volatile cocktail of emotions in my mind.
I was late on, "day one" of my joining, and thus, under the impression that I was choosing for myself, I found myself standing at the threshold of massively fantastic opportunity as a project coordinator, very much fresher amongst all my to be colleagues having vast work experiences.
Honestly, on "day one" I had no idea that how a mere amateur like me will withstand its ground and adjust with colleagues(at least I was hoping they are) with an extra edge of experience, often with little or no mercy for the likes of me.
The new environment, new work culture, the standard of procedures were different. As you were trying hard to fit in, at the same time you were preparing to gear yourself up for the project execution, learning, absorbing, enhancing, and enacting simultaneously. While seeing others at work, it’s frightfully easy to be lured in the comfort and convenience of shading oneself in the shades of colleagues better equipped and more experienced.
On the very first day, I was taught by the admin, that appearance matter in the firm and management. Now onwards your appearance is as important as your presentation of the project, if not more.
LOOK LIKE YOU BELONG
With few daily routines and daily audio conferencing, reports discussion, my bond with one of my senior colleagues’ sir started flourishing, and with the passing days of my tenure, that bond grew stronger and stronger.
Having a friendly relationship with the colleagues at the workplace had its flavor at the workplace because it’s human nature to form bonds with the people of the surrounding we often used to call them “friends”.
He was such a gentleman that he often used to be my anchor support, proofreader of my reports and emails, my main strategist, my savior for most of the time, especially when the heat from the "BOSS" was "On".
Having a mentor like him at a workplace and call him a friend, had a different feeling because, at one hand, where childhood and school friends are "informal" but friends like him, with whom you can even form a bond in the midway of the relationship of formal and informal, such an approach can be a blessing in its way. One of the main reasons behind our growing bonding maybe was the mental and logical approach and keeping nerve calms.
For the rest of my colleagues, my behavior was friendly and formal that helped me to ease the environment at the workplace but often I tried to ignore to cross paths after work hours.
MAKE 10 ON 10
At the end of the day, it is important to pull your weight in any team or as an individual assignment, to tactfully resolve the situation, after all, you wouldn’t want to be burdened unfairly, but also willingly ready to settle for a little extra.
Every single day of mine on the project was of great learning, with a facet of experience personality, every gemstone of wisdom unearth on the work floor, every instinct honed while making the business decision, altogether had a deep impact on me right from day one to last day on the project.
Every workplace has its flavor just pick the taste where you belong and sail the journey with new enthusiasm pushing yourself around the experience.
