Moving away from home for the first time? Don’t worry!

So you have secured a great apprenticeship at a great company. Perfect. Except for one little detail... they want you to move.

Moving home to start a new job can be an incredibly daunting experience at any time in your life. It’s particularly scary when you’re a teenager and you’re moving for your first job.

We know the thought of leaving family and friends behind to move somewhere potentially quite far away is scary, and you’re probably occupied by the fear of not having friends in your new home, not knowing the demands of the job, and not knowing the place.

We’re here to tell you that it’s ok. Everyone usually experiences this in their life. The trick is to view it as an opportunity for personal growth and professional development.

We’re going to try and give you some tips on how you should manage the move based on our own experiences, and it all begins in the mind.

See this as your own personal adventure!

Start seeing your move as the adventure that it really is! You’re leaving the nest, propped up by self-belief and encouragement from your closest friends; you’re embarking out into the great unknown prepared to make something of yourself. The greatest hero’s in history have all had to face adversity alone. The one quality that ties them all together is their resilience to overcome their challenges.

And although you’re not being sent out into the wilderness to fend for yourself like a young Alexander the Great, the pressures of navigating a new work environment with new responsibilities in an unknown place are scary in themselves.

The best thing that you can do is to view these experiences as challenges that are there to test your competence. Face them head on with the determination and excitement to succeed that only you have and you will certainly be victorious.

Embrace learning… and failure.

Just like you have to view the experience as an adventure, you need to also view it with the blind optimism of an inexperienced youth. The reality is you are going to fail, time and time again.

If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough and you’re not learning enough. The entire point to this exercise is to force you out of your comfort zone. Only then will you start learning.

You’re going to amass incredible experiences you never could have imagined. But it also means that you’re going to trip up. But don’t worry, it happens to everyone, and it’s just part of growing up.

You will be measured against how many knocks you can handle, so don’t be afraid. The only real failure is not standing back up.

Every time you get knocked down, stand back up and give it another go. Soon you will realise that you’re getting knocked down less and less, and before you know it you’ll be dodging bullets like Neo in The Matrix.

No world-class boxer made it to the top without being brought down to his knees at least once. Reflect on those lessons of failure, learn where you made the mistake, and never make it again.

Stay connected to Home.

Home is your sanctuary so stay connected to friends and family. They care about you and will be happy whenever they can hear from you, so call back often and stay in touch.

Friends and family are a wonderful source of support in hard times. Tell them about whatever challenges you’re facing at work and they will surely have some support to offer.

Find the right place.

It’s important that you do the right research into the city you’re moving to. Where will your office be? How far away do you live?

Ideally you don’t want to be living an hours commute from your work, so make sure you get there a week early to give yourself time to find the right place and familiarise yourself with the new city.

If you’re work will initially pay for you to live in a hotel until you find a more permanent place then that’s great. You can take your time. We understand it’s not pleasant stressing over a new job and having to find somewhere to live.

A housemate?

You might want to reach out to other apprentices that are also starting at the same time. If they are new to the city as well they might be looking to share a place with someone.

Other than it probably being cheaper for you, sharing a place is a fantastic way to get to know somebody quickly, which will help in getting to know people. It’s also useful to have somebody around that is going through the same challenge as you in case either of you ever need any support.

Reach out and ask for help!

At first you will be inclined to treat your co-workers as purely professional acquaintances but remember that they are humans too. It’s more than likely they have been through exactly what you are experiencing so they probably have some great advice to offer.

After all, you are going to be spending at least eight hours a day with them and they are probably going to be the first people you meet. Of course be professional and respectful, but know that these people will also be your first friends.

The best co-workers are those that treat each other with the same mutual respect they reserve for their friends.