I graduated, now what?

Getting along with co-workers and supervisors, and completing tasks on time can lead to success in your first job after graduation.

“The No. 1 skill is the ability to work in a team environment,” said Juan Rodriguez-Nieto, director of the UTRGV Career Center.

If a team does not get along, it is going to spend too much time trying to solve issues, instead of pushing ideas forward, and it will not be productive, Rodriguez-Nieto said.

UTRGV Chief Human Resources Officer Michael James said, “The majority of the issues that lead to disharmony in the workplace have to do with ineffective communication.”

Employees who get along are happier working, able to satisfy their needs, focus on their job, and their creativity expands, Rodriguez-Nieto said. When a new employee gets along with everyone, the employers are going to view him or her as someone who is adding value to the team.

When given a directive by a manager or supervisor, new employees should fully understand what it is they are asking them to do and then get it done to the best of their abilities, James said.

“With your co-workers, it is understanding that not everyone is like you and that you have to be mindful of your communications and respectful to everyone at all times,” he said.

Some supervisors will be specific on deadlines for projects and will take time to explain it to the new employee. Other supervisors will assume that by explaining the projects once, the new employee will understand. It is important that the new employee read between the lines and identify the deadline, Rodriguez-Nieto said.

“I manage [my tasks] … by making myself a schedule where I can go ahead and manage my time to the hours per day that I work,” said Heriberto Marquez, who graduated from UTRGV last spring with a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics-computer engineering last spring and now works for the Geek Squad as an advanced repair agent.

More than likely, supervisors will have many projects to manage that they will not remind you when a project or report is due until probably the day they are expecting it, Rodriguez-Nieto said. Do not assume that it is over, or it is less important.

“It is important to treat every project that’s been given to them as if it was the most important project,” Rodriguez-Nieto said.

If new employees have a complaint, they should make every effort to clearly communicate with the supervisor to ensure that they are on the same page, James said. If the problem is not solved, there is another more official way to go: the office of human resources, or employer relations division.

Graduates first starting their career should be most mindful of proving they are competent and strong employees, and then the opportunities will follow that, James said.

“Work hard. … Prove yourself and the opportunities and the money that goes along with it comes along,” James said.

Marquez said he asks for a raise after he proves he has excelled in his tasks. He shows motivation and always gives his best.

Asked when new employees should ask for a raise, James replied: “I would have given myself plenty of time to learn the job and make sure that I was meeting the standards that have been established for the position before ever asking for more money.”

In the first three months of a job, the employer will test the employee and more than likely there will be an evaluation at one, two and three months. If the employee makes the three months, the next one will probably be in six months, depending on the company and if they decide that this will be your probation, Rodriguez-Nieto said.

“Every week I get reviews … on how I’m doing with my numbers so they can track me if I’m losing track,” Marquez said.

Rodriguez-Nieto said getting along with your supervisor is important because he or she is the one who is going to be conducting the evaluation.

“If he or she perceive that you are definitely an added value to the company you will stay, but if they see that you are not getting along well with him or her, that is more than likely a reflection that you are not getting along well with anybody else,” he said.

Employees who are not satisfied with their performance appraisal should have a conversation with their supervisor “to sort of understand what their expectation is versus what your achievements were so that you can get on the same page and figure out what the disconnect was,” James said.

Asked how often employees should receive training, he replied that training never ends.

“Training is something that you should aspire to have, you know, as an ongoing issue and a theme that runs throughout your career,” James said.

Fringe benefits

Most organizations hiring new graduates are going to have a canned package of benefits that they offer to all of their candidates, James said.

“There’s the standard insurance benefits, medical, life, dental, vacation, sick time,” he said.

To provide for retirement, planning is required, James said.

“From what I earn, 5 percent of it goes to my 401(k) and that’s how I plan to do it,” Marquez said.

People employed by the University of Texas System have a mandatory retirement program through the Teacher Retirement System. It is a contributory account where both the employee and the employer contribute into the retirement account for the employee, James said.

Besides a retirement program, employees should plan on doing voluntary savings, the amount of which will depend on what their discretionary income is and what their obligations are, James said.

Graduating seniors and recent graduates seeking help in obtaining a job may call the Career Center at 882-5627 in Brownsville or 665-2243 in Edinburg. The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in Cortez Hall 129 on the Brownville campus. In Edinburg, the center is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday in Student Services Building 2.101.