I've linked the article explaining the rating system below. A short explanation would be that when you first join your rating bounces up and down like a gymnast on a trampoline. After a hundred or so games, it's more like a fat man taking a nap in a hammock.
https://support.chess.com/article/210-how-do-ratings-work-on-chess-com
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That wasn't my experience. I came in at 400 or so. Each game I played was worth 16 points. If I played a higher rated player, the points were weighted towards me, so I might gain 10 for winning and lose 6 for losing. If I played a lower rated player I might gain only a few points for winning and lose more for losing, depending on the difference in our ratings. There were times I would gain 0 for winning and lose 16 for a loss if he was rated way below me and beat me. In fact that did happen once... I lost to a 200 rated player. (I was contacted a few days later and they restored my points and deleted his account for cheating)
Anyway, it was a slow, steady progression from 400 to >1100 and now it's been a slow progression back down to 1050.
Hello, I have just recently joined chess.com and have been playing chess for about a month using smartphone app games and mostly learning from YouTube and library books. I played my first game against a real person today on chess.com and they were winning but then I made a slight comeback (still down on material) and they resigned. So I am puzzled that my rating has jumped to 916 after one game which I don't feel I really won anyway and I don't feel that I am anywhere near 916 or ready to face that level of play. Will this just correct itself as the next few players wipe the floor with me? Something to look forward to then?! Thanks in advance.