My First Job: Lessons From the Library

Every once in a while, we get thrown a curve ball.

Sometimes life throws things at you that you would never expect to have a large effect on your life. For me, my first part-time job was supposed to be nothing more than just that, a part-time job. I was looking for work at an old library, I got a lifetime of lessons I’ll never forget.

Here are 10 things that the library taught me.

1. Make an effort to include yourself. I was so painfully shy my first year that I really didn’t talk to anyone on break. I would sit in the room with them and be completely silent. I later learned that a lot of people thought I was stuck-up because I didn’t interact with anyone, when the truth was I was just SO petrified to talk. Of course I opened up eventually and the good news is people liked me (well, at least I think so)! Need an easy way to get over shyness? Getting a job is an awesome way to do that!

2. Get the hard lessons out of the way early. Being that the library was my first job I had a lot to learn when it came to workplace etiquette. I didn’t know calling in sick too much (even if you are genuinely sick) was a bad thing. I didn’t know that telling someone on the phone that I was a student was a mistake. I didn’t know having friends visit you at work could lead to consequences. I eventually learned all these things, because that’s part of what a first job is for. You live and you learn, not just from your own mistakes but from other’s as well. Mistakes are natural, and they will happen, just make sure it only happens once and you’ll be fine. Trust me, I didn’t need to be told twice! And now I’ve been told I have excellent workplace etiquette!

The ladies of the library! Marie, Alex, Kelsey, Me and Carly.

3. Not everyone will give you the benefit of the doubt. This stands for patrons and colleagues alike. I can’t tell you how often I was accused of something I didn’t do, and had to explain myself over and over to my boss. I can’t say I was perfect, I definitely made the odd error. But I knew the difference between when I had and hadn’t done something wrong. There were also plenty of patrons who expected me to know things that I simply wasn’t trained to know because there were other departments who held that knowledge. It’s frustrating when they get angry at you because they simply assume you are incompetent. For the first little while at the library I let these things get to me. I eventually learned that you can’t please everybody and all you can do is your best. It’s hard to let some of these things just roll off your shoulders, but in the end sometimes it’s just not worth the fight.

4. Nothing’s perfect, no matter how hard you try. It never mattered how much I attempted to straighten out the books on the shelves or stare at all the spines to make sure everything was in perfect order…something was always off. Eventually, I learned that with real life too. I was a planner, I knew every detail of my not-yet-lived life, and it was “perfect.” Naturally when my plan inevitably fell apart I had no idea what to do. I suddenly realized that I couldn’t put everything in it’s place, especially before I’d even reached that stage of my life. Whether it was books or my “perfect” plan, I was never going to be able to get things just so. I had to learn to roll with the punches.

Our fabulous bar night. Years later and still kickin’ it! Carly, Marie, Taylor and I.

5. Being observant is key. Learning who the regulars are, who to look out for, who usually needs help, it all pays off. I worked in the depths of downtown…not what you would call a nice area. I definitely had my fair share of odd moments with patrons. A middle-aged man handing me a lollipop the day before Valentine’s Day and telling me “we all have to be a little naughty sometimes” was not exactly what I was prepared for…but it happened. I learned to always have my wits about me and I knew when to walk away and find security or a full-time staff member. Fortunately I was never put into a situation where I was scared, just…disturbed. Other’s were not quite as lucky. It’s unsettling, but the library taught me one of the most important lessons I will ever learn…be observant and keep your safety first.

6. Welcome new people, they’re more terrified than you think. This was especially true for me when I first started, and I was not welcomed with open arms. My first year at the library was a somewhat less than pleasant experience. A lot of the student pages power tripped a bit and chose to be rude to us newbies. That didn’t sit so well with me. I was there to do a job not join a clique. Well, when the beginning of my second year rolled around and a lot of those people left for college, I vowed I would not treat the newbies the same way I was treated. I knew how scared I was, who’s to say these people weren’t feeling the same thing? This was the year I made a lot of great friends because I welcomed them and talked to them and made them feel good about working there. In the end everyone opened up and it became a much more enjoyable work environment.

Our annual get-together. Carly, Priya, Marie and me…there are way more of us present.

7. WARNING: you will get hit on! Listen, I won’t lie that it’s flattering…unless it’s coming from someone who is clearly twice your age at which point it’s creepy. It happens at every job at some point. I’m pretty sure every female that I worked with can tell their own stories of a patron getting their library card and “checking them out.” Fortunately we learned to laugh at it most of the time. I mean how far does someone expect to get with, “Hey ladies! I like the way you push that cart!” Thank you kind stranger…thank you.

8. So…maybe don’t date that guy from work. Especially when he doesn’t seem to be very popular with the rest of your colleagues. For the record, I was rebounding HARD when this happened and I picked up on this information pretty quickly. Not an excuse of course, I should have known better. Fortunately things weren’t awkward after the fact, but they very easily could have been. I’ve learned that friendships are ok, but relationships and work probably shouldn’t mix. Especially when you’re 17 at your first job.

Me and Carly during our lovely beach day!

9. It’s not really work if you make it fun. I don’t really care what they teach you about the workplace…you need to have a laugh every now and then, it will keep you sane. I can’t tell you the amount of jokes, pranks and other various shenanigans that went on in that library. Everyone always asks me, “did you have to shush a lot of people?” Girl please, the employees were the loudest ones in there! As long as the work gets done properly and on time and you’re not hurting anyone, what’s the harm? We should be allowed to laugh, we should be allowed to dance in the aisles, we should be allowed to laugh at the Romance section and all the ridiculous titles. It’s healthy, and it makes the job actually worth doing. Trust me, I always got my work done…that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a little fun while doing it.

My last day at OPL. Erika, Tyler, Alex, Priya, me and Dylan.

10. Amazing friends can be found in the most unexpected places. This is by far the best thing I got out of that dingy, old place. I went into that job, 15 years-old, expecting nothing more than a little more cash in my pocket. I never thought it would be so hard when it came time for me to leave and say goodbye to some of the best people in the world. I give a lot of credit to my coworkers for shaping me into who I am today. They made me bolder, they made me laugh harder, they made me appreciate things I would have never looked twice at before. Carly, Dylan, Priya, Marie, Kelsey, Megan, Taylor, Grace…countless other people I’m sure I’m forgetting…thank you. I walked into that place a shy, uninteresting girl from an uninteresting town looking to save up for college. I left a confident young woman with friends that will last a lifetime. Sure I don’t see them all the time, but when I do it’s like we were never apart. It’s been three years since I’ve stopped working at OPL and I still see everyone at least once a year. It’s not a lot, but right now it’s what we can manage. I grew up in that stupid library. It’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I will never forget those three years.