What is the mistake you made when just started a job ?

Another mistake I made as a 16 year old was to get on well with the boss. It was strictly professional but we had similar tastes in literature and played chess during lunch hours. We were never on 1st name terms. Subsequently, the boss recommended me to his boss for a special course which gave me a leg up in my career and the opportunity to pass professional exams.

Fast forward a few years. When I returned to work I met an older woman who used to be my direct senior when I began. I was now technically her senior although she did not report to me. When she found out about my course and who had put my name forward she was very snippy. "Oh you always were well in with Mr B".

Near the end of my time in that location she gave a party and made a point of inviting everyone in the department except me. I turned up anyway with two colleagues and of course there was nothing she could say in front of the guests. I dont think she enjoyed the evening, particularly when I proposed a toast to thank her for her hospitality. When I left the department I made a point of inviting her to my night out. She walked off without saying a word. It was a large organization and we never met again.

As a trying to be friendly 18 year old I asked an older woman when her baby was due. Well she might have looked as though she was about to give birth but very stiffly told me she wasn’t pregnant!

My first "proper" job was as a library assistant. I was very green and often a reader would want to order a book, but not know the correct details. For example one asked to order:-

"I lost my wrap" when the book was "Without my cloak" by Kate O'Brien.

Then I had to find the corrrect book in the catalogue and order it. Usually one of the more experienced assistants would guess what it was. However the one which had us completely stumped was when a library patron asked to order what sounded like:-

Reg Hughes, Financier

The book she actually wanted was "Red Shoes for Nancy" by
Marguerite Hamilton.

Such mistakes gave us a lot of laughs behind the scenes but at first I always felt very foolish when a member of the public asked me a question and I had to say "Ill look it up. in the catalogue"

One day a very sarcastic woman remarked "I thought you librarians knew everything". I told her "Only God knows everything, the rest of us have to find out as we go along."

Being from Liverpool I was always good with the "one liners".

I was working as agency temporary admin assistant in a public survey company canvassing folks opinion. Quite interesting.
Was engrossed one day typing survey results, made a mistake, reached for a bottle of Tippex.
The bottle upended and splashed all over the carpet under my desk, but in full sight of boss oooooh!
Needless to say I didnt go back after lunch and still have flashbacks at 3a.m and nearly 60 years later!

LRavenscroft

When I first started teaching half a century ago, on my first day in the staff room, I sat in the WRONG chair and drank out of the WRONG mug and was put immediately right. They still had dragon matrons in the classroom in those days. Oh, well, I am now the dragon matron myself and quite enjoy the role but don't have anyone to breath fire at. Hey! Ho!

Oh yes! I sat on the wrong chair with the wrong mug on my first day of final TP. I reported it to my tutor, with the plea that students should be warned - It hadn’t happened in previous schools.
Strangely, they were among the schools who offered me a job, but I thanked them and said no.

On the first day of teaching, I had my long hair loose. The headmistress got me into her office and told me in no uncertain terms to tie my hair up and gave me a piece of string as I would catch head lice. I also sat in the wrong chair and used the wrong mug.
A few weeks later we warned her that a child was riddled with body lice and to be careful, she insisted on helping them get undressed, next day she came into school with a nasty rash luckily no one laughed.

My first day of teaching ,in a boy’s pre school, I went unknowingly into the MALE staff room. I was quickly hustled out to a tiny room up the corridor ‘for women’……… I didn’t stay there long.

Not knowing that my colleague was job share and did not have a job share partner. I was full time and expected to also take on the other half of an unfilled post!

My second job in fact. I was secretary to an ambassador. I got him all organised to attend a formal lunch with a French bank…chauffeur briefed, schedule typed out etc…. Off he went.

I’d put the date in the diary …a month early 😱. Oh he was cross and scary but didn’t sack me

I remember being at work in a big insurance company, doing some audio typing. I typed out the first letter on the tape, then there was a long gap. Out of habit, I clicked the delete button to go back to the start. It was only the next day, my boss told me he had stayed late to dictate loads of other stuff, which I had deleted... oh dear.

In one of my holiday jobs from uni I was a cleaner in the operating theatre of a London hospital. On the first day I squeezed the mop tightly in the bucket then lifted the handle aloft and smashed the lights above the operating table.

When I first started teaching half a century ago, on my first day in the staff room, I sat in the WRONG chair and drank out of the WRONG mug and was put immediately right. They still had dragon matrons in the classroom in those days. Oh, well, I am now the dragon matron myself and quite enjoy the role but don't have anyone to breath fire at. Hey! Ho!

I started work from school, in an Insurance Head Office. Huge open plan place, very exciting. Lots of kids my age very social. I discovered that someone I vaguely knew a woman in her late 30's was the subject of rumour about her having an affair with the "Big Boss." He was actually physically repulsive, I have truly never seen anyone since who was so ugly and actually rather repulsive in his manner also. The lady I knew was very attractive and in my naïve teenage way, the rumour was ridiculous. Why would/could such a woman have an affair with that awful creep? Her 2 promotions in quick succession were mentioned but I just thought she must be very good at her job (I later learned, she wasn't). I actually mentioned it to my equally guileless Mum and we agreed I should tell the lady I knew vaguely what the hilarious thing was everyone was saying (I know how stupid!). I told her and we both laughed, I actually said "Imagine what he looks like in the bath?" cue more laughter. Of course it was true and I never really spoke to her properly from then on. It actually had no impact on my career as far as I could tell. I have actually relived my embarrassment as the lady in question has died (in her late 80's) and the eulogy in the local paper made me chuckle, loving wife etc. Both she and her husband spent most of their time being unfaithful but for some reason that has been forgotten about. That was my mistake and I am cringing now 50+ years later.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.