6 Things to Do After Starting Your First Job
You did it! You got your first real J O B! Congrats! Maybe you just finished high school and you are heading into the workforce with your first fulltime job. Or you possibly just graduated college and secured a job in your field of study. Whatever this job looks like, there are a few things you should do right away to start yourself out on a good financial path. I’m lining out 6 of those things today.
- Reward yourself. Let’s face it, for the next few weeks you are probably going to feel like an idiot every single day. It’s just the nature of starting a new job; there’s always a lot to learn. Do something special to congratulate yourself. This doesn’t have to be huge or cost a lot. We aren’t talking Hawaii vacations or anything. It might mean grabbing a drink with a friend or buying yourself a new outfit for the job. Something simple that helps you celebrate your accomplishment. It will go a long way over the next few weeks.
- Create a budget. Your job-offer likely came with compensation details. You should now know what you will be making and it’s time to create a budget around your income. One of my very first blog posts was on the importance of creating a budget. I went on a budget kicking and screaming but once I realized it was really my outline to spending instead of a formal slap on the wrist, I learned to embrace and even love it. Living on a budget helps you to spend within your means and teaches you to save for the things you want. Don’t forget to add lines for things like long-term savings and charitable giving.
- Join your company’s retirement plan. Now, there is likely a probationary period before you are eligible for the plan, but as soon as that time is up, talk to your boss or HR manager and get signed up. Don’t let months or years go by that you could have been contributing. The time value of money is huge here and saving early makes a big difference in the long run. Always take full advantage of whatever your company matches, it’s free money. I wrote a blog post on this as well if you want more details.
- Set up an auto draft to your savings account. This piggybacks off of number 2. Whatever you elected to be saved in your budget needs to be automatically transferred to savings account. Out of sight, out of mind. Don’t force yourself to make the decision to save every single month. By setting up an auto draft you take the responsibility off of yourself. Set it to take place the day after you get paid, the less time it sits in your checking account taunting you the better. Think of this as long-term savings. Personally, my husband and I’s savings account holds our emergency funds, savings for our next home and tax dollars we may owe at the end of the year. For us, this isn’t vacation money or a new four-wheeler and we save for retirement in different accounts. But people save for all sorts of different things. Beyond having some form of emergency savings, this is completely discretionary. Learn early to delay gratification and be a good saver.
- Be a student of the game. Devote yourself to learning every aspect of your job and becoming an expert. Practice the fundamentals and spend time perfecting the basics. Then move on to learning parts that aren’t your job. Understand the inner workings of your company so when a new opportunity or promotions arises you are top of mind. Maybe your first job is your dream job and you plan to stay there forever, but maybe not. Show diligence and efficiency in the work you do and earn the respect of your colleagues and customers.
- Get on LinkedIn. I hate LinkedIn. I’ll be the first to admit it. It’s kind of clunky and a little confusing. My feed is a slew of 3-month-old posts and things posted 5 minutes ago. BUT what I will say about LinkedIn is that I get a ton of headhunters reaching out to me. Now, I’m very happy where I am, and maybe you are too, and this one might feel kind of counter to number five, but as I mentioned before, things happen. Building a network of professionals gives you a place to showcase yourself and what you do and creates a place to start should something happen with your job. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your options open and it always feels good having headhunters call on you. Create demand for yourself and you’ll have lasting job security.
Starting your first job is exciting and a great accomplishment, no matter what the job is. Take some time to start yourself out right financially. Reward yourself, plan ahead and simplify what you can, devote yourself to doing the best work possible and create a space that showcases who you are amongst other professionals. You got this!
