So you’ve finished school and found yourself a real adult job. You’re probably being paid about a third of what your qualification cost, but it’s still a job. Yay for you!

You have responsibilities now and may even be considered a valuable member of a team. In most situations this will probably lead you to some form of conference or work trip. Maybe your work is going to host something, or maybe you just have to attend.

Either way, throw everything you thought you knew about your job position out the window – this is no man’s land.

Follow The Lead Of The Seasoned Professionals

If it’s your first work event there may be a very good chance you will be asked to perform tasks you’ve never performed in your life. You have an iPhone? Awesome, you’re now a photographer and social media expert (auto-filters are lifesavers, just FYI).

If you can’t wing it, almost everyone else at the event has probably had to do it before or is doing it too. Watch people or ask someone for help. Besides, depending on your workplace you may be the youngest there by 10 or 20 years. Look frightened and they’ll (hopefully) take pity on you, you big frightened baby.

Expenses

Anything, and I mean ANYTHING, you buy while you’re away for work, you need a receipt for. Yeah, those pieces of paper you throw straight in the bin are back with a vengeance. And after you collect all the receipts, you’ll need to fill in an expense report.

There’s also some specific rules to adhere to about expensing. For example, you may have to catch a taxi instead of an Uber because Ubers don’t provide tax receipts. Stuff like that.

Try To Be Brave

Walking into a room with a couple of hundred people in it — of which you know two — is daunting at the best of times. It’s a hundred times worse when you need to go in there and network, or photograph, or-heaven forbid: present.

Put on your big kid pants and try talking to a couple of people. There are probably people in your same position too. As long as you look more confident than them you’re winning (a little liquid confidence never goes astray either –  one of the perks of networking events is definitely the amount of free alcohol available, but keep it to a minimum).

Even if you can’t bring yourself to network, just being there will get you big points. Everyone at these functions has had their first and know how daunting it is, and the bar for people being impressed with you is set pretty low first time around.

Enjoy The Novelty

Yeah, it’s a work trip. But it’s a TRIP. A trip someone else is paying for! You’re flying on fancier airlines where alcohol and baggage is free, staying at nicer hotels than you would ever get yourself, and someone else will foot the dinner bill (provided you get a receipt).

It may be a bit more of a hassle than your typical trip, but it’s still exciting. You may see part of the country or the world you’ve never seen before — or, you may just end up in Canberra! Even then there’s a lot less roundabouts than you’d think and that’s kind of interesting? Yay.

(Lead image: House of Lies/Showtime)