The Little Joys of the 'First Job'
After years of thinking to myself and telling the world that
I would never have a job or work for
someone else, the past week saw me getting on board a corporate media house
as an employee. As hard as it is for me to accept the fact and the sudden
change in my routine, there is no denying that there sure are little joys that
one gets sans anticipation from one’s first job. It is a time when you are
exposed to something completely new. It is a time when you have actually no
clue of what to expect and of how things work. A new phase of life begins and
getting to know the nitty-gritty of it is actually fun.
From the day I forwarded my CV in lieu of the opening to the
day I got my offer letter, an entire month passed. Out of the 30, the last 5
days were the most difficult- the wait for the offer letter on mail after
everything has been finalised verbally. Early one morning, I finally received
the HR’s call asking me for a revert on the Offer letter that now waited in my
inbox. There was no way I was going to sit quiet and facebook saw my excitement
clearly. Of course I was shouting it out. My family members reminded me of things like 'There was a day when you couldn't even hold a cold drink bottle', 'I used to scare you with the speakers', and so on. Why did everyone feel that I had suddenly grown up?
That's probably the second post, in all the time I have used facebook, that has crossed 200 likes. The first was last September when my film won its first award at a festival. |
Once I joined (and it’s been just 3 working days), it took
me a while to register the fact that this time it is not an internship or
anything that I am doing. I am an integral part of the organisation. I have to
do certain duties because I have been hired for that. I am being depended on
for work and I can’t be taking things lightly (Not that I did during any of my
internships). It’s weird. And it’s still going to take some time for me to
accept this- it’s actually happening, I am a full time employee, a fresher with
no work experience, but at the same time an employee
with a big media house of this country.
I got access to my corporate email id on the third day, along
with a short welcome message from the HR Team. So it is no longer just a Gmail
id that I shall be using. Now I have a MyName@ThisIsWhereIWork.in email
id to boast of! And that’s where all the official
emails are going to land in. And look at the new opportunity- finally I am
going to make use of the never-used-before Outlook app. In my quest to move
towards Apple, a Microsoft feature just got a new user. Haha!
And then there are other little things that are happening. I
was called in to meet the representative of the bank the other day for the opening
of my salary account. ‘Salary account’? Yes! So the first day of every month
will actually see the account being credited with more money that won’t be
coming from my father. Someone is actually going to pay me in return for the time I spend working for them
growing my skills. Can you actually
comprehend the gravity of this statement and the fact that I said it? (I can’t, yet!)
Probably the habit that Jamia inculcated in me for the last
two years- of waking up and commuting in a crowded bus to reach before the 9.30
class to not miss the strict timing of the attendance- is the reason why I am
okay with waking up early and commuting in the local train to work 20
kilometres away while having vadapao for
breakfast. (And of course, trains are any day better than buses!)
Right now my entry and exit timings get hand-written in a
register at the reception as my digital punch-card is yet to arrive. The most
exciting part is probably this card which is going to have ‘MEDIA’ written in
block letters on top of it. Which Mass
Communication student hasn’t had the dream of getting the media/press card in
hand and using it for all the privileges it entails? Hahaha!
It’s a Saturday today and I woke up well past mid-day and a very
amusing thought presented itself to me- It’s
a holiday and I am sleeping at home, and I am being paid for it. How wonderful
is that? Hahaha…
It’s been just three days into my ‘professional life’ and it’s
actually been fun including this happening. I am sure the coming days are going to present themselves to
me with a lot more things to learn. I am definitely excited. How about you?
Remember the anxiety, nervousness and excitement of those initial days when YOU
started working?
Congrats Antarik :) and for the moment I thought it was your actual email id. ^_^
ReplyDeleteHahaha...Thanks Dev :)
DeleteAnd the circle of life starts again..well again its me with you! Welcome bro and All the very best :) we ll meet soon now ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen you wake up one morning and find Ankit Goyla's comment on the blog, you actually wonder if you have seen the right thing! Hahaha... Yes, again we are together. And Thanks Mr.Colleague! :D
DeleteHi and many Congrats Antarik! It does feel that you have suddenly grown up :p Just kidding! But seriously, I have been following your blogs from quite a long time. I have seen your dilemma in selecting courses after 12th grade, your "What Next?" thoughts few weeks before completing Masters, your endeavors with directing short movies, and now this post!!! Seeing all this transition i feel you have correctly taken your next big step :) Wish you luck for future. Btw have you got used to Mumbai locals?? It's not a big deal, is it? Getting off at lower parel(Google search gave this as an address of RED FM) is easy peeasy after all (no pun intended) :p
ReplyDeletePS : What's the probability of meeting you in Mumbai locals? Do you travel in first class bogies of Fast locals?
Hey Neel, thanks. That's quite a detailed research you have done there! And yeah, I travel a lot by the locals. You should check out the posts relating to love for trains. ;)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOh yes! Can totally relate how it feels to start with the first job. All the best... keep rocking.
ReplyDeleteThank you Manjulika :)
DeleteWishing you lots more success. First job is always special
ReplyDeleteThank you Shrinidhi :)
Delete