Monday, October 2, 2023. 8:45 am. The alarm clock rings. I’m already awake. How long have I been like this? Felt like the whole night. Since I didn’t want to oversleep, a new alarm clock is now ringing every minute on numerous devices. Before I’ve seen them all, it feels like 9 o’clock and I should really start getting ready, because today is my first day at work.
After a sparse breakfast – I only moved in the day before, the door to the apartment is closed – I fire up Google Maps. I check the route, plug in my headphones and Queen are already belting out “Don’t stop me now” at full volume. Coincidence? I hope not and make my way to the House of Communication.
“I’m traveling at the speed of light,” I murmur a little later as I overtake a group of suits walking fast in the factory district. Am I walking so fast because I always walk so fast or am I perhaps excited about my first day at work? I overtake the next cluster of people. The walking group of sprightly pensioners nods approvingly at me. Almost at my destination, I realize one thing: I am probably one of the trembling eels in this society.
Can you tell I’m excited? No, not a bit, I assure myself and repeat mantra-like “You can do it, Bene. You can do it. You … can’t find the front door to the office building.” I suddenly realize in a panic. Even though my cell phone assures me that I’ve reached my destination. So even before I’ve taken the first step into the office, I’ve already failed to find the entrance.
Meanwhile, Beck’s words “I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me?” are blaring out of my headphones. What an irony. Sweat pours down my forehead. Did I go to the wrong office building? Quickly checked – and relieved: I only have to go around the building once and find the right entrance. I guess I am a lucky loser after all.
A lucky loser and a real rookie, because I started at PLANWORX almost immediately after completing my Master’s degree. There was clearly a concern about being overwhelmed by the new tasks. Now I can say: rarely has a jump into cold water felt as soft and pleasantly warm as with PLANWORX. Not a header from the ten, but rather a jump from one of those professional starting blocks.
My colleagues were extremely attentive and helpful in familiarizing me with the projects, I was able to ask any question (“Where can I find the toilet?” I wanted to know twice on the first day) and express any idea. After about two months, I can see how I am settling into the team and how I can and, above all, should give free rein to my ideas as a conception trainee.
