First job? Lean into emotional intelligence to thrive

Congrats! You got your first job! While you may have had temporary jobs while going to school, you might be feeling a variety of emotions, including excitement as well as some anxiety at the prospect of a first full-time job. While being hired means your employer believes that you already have the basic technical skills and academic knowledge to succeed, emotional intelligence will make the difference between thriving and surviving. Emotional intelligence is commonly described as your ability to recognize and understand your own emotions while also having an understanding of other people’s emotions. This is critical in your first job as it determines how well others will like and trust you. The importance of this cannot be overstated as this will impact how much your colleagues, supervisors, and managers will be motivated to help you as you learn new skills, explain how things work in the organization and the underlying politics to avoid. Starting any job will involve dealing with a degree of uncertainty, and a first one even more so. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, continually second guess yourself and wonder how well you are doing. Self-awareness Self-awareness allows you to have better control of your emotions without letting them control you. It allows you to take time to think, look at your situation, and respond more rationally, instead of reacting. “This is particularly important for the younger generation entering the workforce today, because they often face pressures from social media comparisons, evolving workplace expectations, and the challenge of establishing a professional identity in an increasingly complex and competitive environment,” says Charmaine Rose, a PhD Business and Marketing Professor, mentor, and advisor at Keiser University. So when companies want to help them build self-awareness, the old-school workshop format just does not cut it anymore. What actually works is hands-on training, things like interactive tools, real-life sce