Most college seniors have just graduated and will start their first jobs in the next couple of months. My firm also has a good group of recent graduates joining us. This time of year always takes me back to the memories of my first corporate job. Here are just a couple of thoughts for those brave souls about to start their careers.
DO NOT THINK YOU ARE TOO GOOD TO...copy, bind, research, set up conference calls, put together boring spreadsheets...etc. Yes, you just received a very expensive college degree and you have knowledge you want to put to work on important tasks. But you must demonstrate to your boss you are a team player and willing to do any task from the boring to the most engaging. In time you will get more responsibility after you prove yourself.
DO NOT GET INTO CORPORATE CLIQUES...organizations who have a large number of young employees tend to have cliques--it's like going back to high school. When you first start a job, lay low and talk and get to know everyone. You don't want to be associated with a certain clique before knowing what those individuals are about. The best advice I ever received about friends and work was that you are not at work to make friends. You are there to excel in your career and make money. Those areas need to be your focus- not making friends. Work friendships will naturally form over time you don't need to stress about joining the popular group.
DO NOT REVEAL TOO MUCH ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL LIFE...so you become good friends with some of your co-workers but hold yourself back from revealing every detail of your hot date from last Friday night- or the boy/girl you are crushing on, or the drinking binge of a weekend you had. People talk- and the last thing you want is to have the bits of your personal life get out in the public. Use discretion. You want your managers to hear about what a great job you are doing. You do not want to be judged on your personal affairs.
EVERYONE HAS GREAT IDEAS BUT YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHO TO PRESENT IT TO...I received this great advice from one of the VPs I worked for. I used to go into his office with a GREAT idea on a daily basis. Ideas that could have really improved our business. But what he taught me is that while it's important to have great ideas it's equally important to play the politics and convince the right people. Find a champion to really buy into your great idea. Maybe you had a great marketing idea. Have your champion try it out. If it succeeds other executives are going to naturally want to replicate the idea. Always try out an idea on a smaller scale instead of trying to convince the organization as a whole to implement it.
BE CURIOUS...a lot of factors go into what makes a successful person. But I believe a thirst for knowledge and curiosity is what sets some employees apart from the rest. Just because school is over doesn't mean your learning is over. Read every single day. Read about the field you are in. Read about the job you eventually want to do. Read newspapers, magazines, blogs, research...etc. Also, share some of the interesting findings with your managers or co-workers. Just send a simple email stating: I read this article in (XYZ) and found it interesting. Just wanted to share it with you.
Henry Ford said it best, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."
ALWAYS LOOK FOR THE NEXT STEP AND START PREPARING...employees need to make sure they are absolute rock stars in their current position. But they also need to think about the next step and how to get there. An example of how I got into consulting... I was working in marketing at my current company but I knew I wanted to be in our Change Management practice. There were no openings on the team but I told my immediate manager that the topic of change management interested me and I wanted to be put on a change management marketing campaign. He agreed. I worked directly with the VP of that practice and got to know him. After doing a couple of months of research on the area I set up a meeting with him. I told him that I was very interested in change management and it felt like a right fit for me. I knew he didn't have any associate positions open but I asked him how I can prepare myself to interview for the position if he ever had an opening. I wanted to get his suggestions on books I should read on the area. He suggested a couple of them which our methodology was based on. Then we set up calls to discuss what I learned. Eight months later there was an opening and I got the job!
FIND MENTORS...you need a good supportive board of advisors to be successful. Your mentors can range from someone just a couple levels above you to the VP of your group. Figure out what you want to learn from that person and approach them. Just set up a time to talk to them and pick their brain. Don't go into the meeting and ask, "Will you be my mentor?" that relationship will bond naturally over time. Most people in corporate America are eager to help out new employees and give them advice. All you gotta do is ASK!!
DRESS APPROPRIATELY...when you first begin a job dress more conservative than you normally would. Also, dress up to work your first week even if it's a business casual environment. This way you can see what everyone else wears and you can see what is appropriate and what's not. General rule, if you question what your wearing is appropriate- it's probably not. Ladies, be careful about your skirt length. Skirts should not be more than an inch or two above your knee. Your shirts should not be body tight. You want to represent a professional image at all times. Do not over accessorize. Men, make sure you are dressed neatly and are well groomed.
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