Securing employment is a big deal. It's a feat worth celebrating, especially in an age when job security is a myth and degrees don't guarantee much beyond, perhaps, insurmountable debt. Contending with unemployment or round upon round of interviews can be soul-deflating, but it's pretty amazing when torment pays off. Here are a few perks that come along with new gig.
1. You get a fresh start. All the headaches and hiccups from the last job: gone just like your lunch leftovers from the communal fridge. A new gig means new first impressions, new drinking buddies, and new coworkers who bless the break room with the charming aroma of nuked salmon every Wednesday.
2. New company, new cast for the sitcom that is your life. Good riddance to Brad With The Bad Interpersonal Skills and Linda the Loud Chewer. There might even be a new workplace love/lust interest on the horizon. Just focus on doing your work so that sitcom doesn't get prematurely canceled.
3. Bonding with new coworkers in bars builds trust. Nine out of ten human resources experts agree that the best way to get to know your fellow cubicle mates is by connecting over candid conversations and Jim Beam Black (on the rocks) during happy hour. That way you'll know more about them than just who has their own face as their background wallpaper.
4. One small step for man, one giant leap away from your nine roommates. Whether it's your dream job or your latest this-will-do-for-now gig isn't the point. The point is that you're adulting correctly by setting your sights on the rarest Pokémon of them all: Stability.
5. You get to re-use all your most successful excuses for lateness and absence.Remember your favorite aunt who has passed suddenly and tragically twice since Y2K? She might pass away again…just in time for that birthday road trip you're planning with your friends.
6. You never have to see that evil, calculating ex-coworker ever again. Remember the guy who was part-time Frank Underwood and full-time life ruiner? America's Next Top Underminder is somebody else's problem now.
7. The joy of receiving Ye First Paycheck is unmatched. Consider it your reward for struggling to remembering all those new names.
8. No one can say you don't pull your own weight. Yes, you might be a childish narcissist who doesn't clean the bathroom, remember anniversaries or read minds, but at least you're bringing home the bacon. That has to count for something.
This story originally appeared on Esquire.com. Minor edits have been made by the www.EsquireMag.ph editors.
