Five Lessons Learned as a Young Professional
April 2024

By Alexandra Sanchez ’17

 

I can recall several professional lessons I’ve learned throughout the years that have stuck with me until now. As a young professional, I still have a lot to learn and continue to learn every day, not only in my career but in my personal life.

 

It is true when they say there is always a lesson to be learned whether you encounter a good, challenging, or not-so-good situation. You can take anything and use it as a learning experience. Now, if I think back on my professional lessons learned, there are many that I can think of from my own experiences and from some that I have learned from my mentors.

 

I want to share the story of my first job out of college. I landed a job at a start-up company that had just opened a new office in El Paso, and I was so excited to be one of the first Sales Development Representatives at the El Paso office. I had three colleagues I studied with at UTEP who had started working at this start-up one month before I got hired, and they helped me get the interview.

 

Lesson #1: The importance of networking and investing in your relationships.

 

After the interview, the sales manager told me, “I am taking a risk on you, but I am only hiring you because of the recommendations I heard from your friends.” Although this made me feel grateful for the kind words that my friends had talked about me, I also felt like I owed myself to try my very best and show the sales manager that I was not a risk; instead, I’d be an asset to the company.

 

The first month was challenging. As in any new job, it will be difficult because you are learning your role, the company, the manager, and co-workers.

 

Lesson #2: Don’t be so hard on yourself.

 

During the first month, I did not meet my quota, and my coworker, who had started the same day as me, placed first place while I was last. Every day, the sales manager compared me to my co-worker, and at one point, I felt defeated. It wasn’t until the third month that I exceeded my quota. I realized that everybody is different in learning and that I shouldn’t compare myself to others. I learned that I like to take things slow and learn every aspect of my role and the company to excel. It wasn't until I understood this that I started to feel good about my work.

 

 

Lesson #3: Know your boundaries and make them known.

 

I began taking on other responsibilities that made me feel burnt out and overwhelmed. I realized the importance of setting boundaries.

 

I learned that the first important thing is to know your boundaries. Sometimes, you won’t know them till you are already burnt out and sometimes frustrated. Knowing my boundaries ensured I was doing my job well consistently while also ensuring that I enjoyed it and didn’t feel overwhelmed. After that came setting my boundaries with others and ensuring that I wasn’t taking on other responsibilities I didn’t enjoy. In my case, I began doing all the tasks that anybody would ask for just to please them. However, so much good came from all this, and I wouldn’t change any decisions I made.

 

 

Lastly, two of the biggest lessons I learned from my college experience and my jobs have been those I always remember.

 

Lesson #4: Be comfortable with the uncomfortable.

 

This is a saying that I heard continuously throughout college from my mentors. Being involved in student organizations taught me this because it exposed me to situations I would have never been in. Realizing that feeling uncomfortable is necessary for growth and change and feeling ok with that have been my biggest life lessons.

 

Lesson #5: Never stop learning.

 

I remember when I was getting ready to graduate with my bachelor's degree in marketing from UTEP, and people asked me what was next and if I had thought of continuing to pursue my master's degree. I always responded, “I plan on working for a company in marketing, and I don’t want to go back to school.” Little did I know that three years later, I would be registering for an online master's program. The three years I spent working before pursuing my master's degree made me realize how important it was to continue learning. This meant continuing to learn about the company I work for, my role at my job, and myself. As I have gained more experience in my career, I’ve realized that it is ever-changing and there is always something new to learn. I have taken these lessons throughout my career and hope to inspire my current and future colleagues. I greatly appreciate all my mentors, managers, co-workers, and friends for opening up my mind to learn new things, and I can’t wait to see the rest of the lessons I will learn in the future.

 

Alexandra Sanchez ’17, an El Paso native, currently works as a Digital Marketing Specialist. She is a proud graduate of The University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelor's in Business Administration in Marketing. She further pursued her Master of Science in Digital Audience Strategy from Arizona State University.