Learning how to schedule a meeting for the first time.
LEARNING HOW TO SCHEDULE A MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME.
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We graduated, armed with distinctions, ready to change the world. Our resumes boasted leadership roles, groundbreaking research, and a knack for complex problem-solving. We aced challenging courses, debated philosophy, and managed incredibly demanding schedules. Then came the real world. The first few weeks felt like a bizarre parallel universe. Suddenly, the most perplexing task wasn't crafting a thesis or coding an algorithm; it was scheduling a simple meeting.
The workplace culture shock hits differently for us. We were taught to think big, innovate, and challenge conventions. Nobody prepared us for the nuanced dance of corporate calendars: finding a common slot across time zones, deciphering attendee hierarchies, knowing when to use Doodle Poll versus direct invites, understanding the subtle art of the meeting agenda, and the dreaded follow-up email. It felt absurd, even humiliating, to struggle with something so seemingly basic after mastering intricate academic concepts.
This isn't just about scheduling; it's a microcosm of the entire transition. It’s the unexpected shift from intellectual prowess being paramount to administrative proficiency and soft skills becoming the daily bread. The realization that a significant part of your job involves mastering tools and processes, not just generating brilliant ideas. If you’ve felt that jarring disconnect, that moment of thinking "did I really go to that university for this?", you are not alone. It’s the weird transition nobody warned us about. We’re all learning these unspoken rules together, one calendar invite at a time.
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