Anytime you are managing someone that hasn’t had a job (or a professional job), it can be a unique kind of challenge. You aren’t only teaching them how to do the tactical pieces of the job correctly, you are also teaching them how to behave in a workplace, expectations of how to grow in your career (you aren’t just waiting for a year or two to get promoted) and how to carry themselves in a team setting.
There are a lot of variables that come with this unique challenge and one of those are the aspirations of that individual. A lot of people that have never had a job before don’t understand the time it takes to build a career…so they will come in and expect the world and fast promos and lots of money. It’s your job to show them the path to success, set realistic milestones on that path when they can expect to get promoted or pay bumps and then help them walk that path. It’s also important to show them how they are diverging from the path.
I recall a person I worked with at one point that wanted to be like the best developer we had at our company…I laid out the path and what that would look like and they quickly realized they didn’t want to work that much or hard. So we created a much more realistic path and that was the path they started down. Helping them understand the different routes one can take to success allows them to make the decision that most fits the lifestyle they want.
Just remember that there is a base level of focus, growth and effort an individual has to put in to be a successful, contributing member of the team…and if that doesn’t fit their lifestyle, they need to change their lifestyle or change companies.
I hope this is helpful, thanks for being here! Reach out for questions or comments!
