Career Advice Nobody Tells You
Career advice that often goes unspoken and can keep you out of hot water from Lisa B. Marshall, aka The Public Speaker!
It’s graduation season! And my niece, Jill, and my nephew, Joe, graduated from college, while my niece, Beth, graduated with a master’s degree. All three are starting a new chapter in their lives. Jill is moving back out to California in search of a Production Assistant job (if you can help her, please let me know). Joe already started his new job as a mechanical engineer. Beth hopes to be a guidance counselor in Virginia or Maryland. They will all be starting jobs soon, and it got me thinking about advice I wish someone had shared with me before I started my first job. 
Today I’ll cover three important career tips that often go unspoken:
Career Advice Tip #1: First Impressions Are Important
First impressions are extremely important. Whether you are a new graduate just starting out your career or a seasoned veteran moving to a new position, it’s likely you underestimate the importance of first impressions.
The reality is we all take shortcuts and categorizing people is one of them. From one-tenth of a second to three minutes after meeting, people decide if they like someone or not and spend the rest of the time trying to find support for the conclusion they found. And worse, research suggests that it takes quite a bit of effort to change an initial bad impression.
From the perspective of a new job, I would expand the time frame for a first and lasting impression to include the first few months … that is, impressions formed in your first few months will turn into long-term perceptions of you and possibly even your lasting reputation at this particular company.
Fix? It is important that in your first few weeks of a job, meet with as many people as you can one-on-one. This is the time to build rapport by finding and sharing common ground. Focus on sharing your natural charisma, your positive attitude, and your enthusiasm (this means happily accepting all tasks, even grunt work).
In the first few weeks, dress to blend (or err on the conservative side), learn names quickly, closely observe corporate culture, listen and learn the lines of power and authority, take initiative, show confidence and spunk, be a team player and volunteer to help others, and work longer hours. If invited to informal social activities, participate in them. However, be cautious about what you share by keeping all interactions professional.
If you left a job to take this one, it’s important to avoid any “we had a better way of doing that at my old job” conversations or really any comparisons to your old job. Remember your old “we” is now “they”—don’t mix up your pronouns. Remember you are part of a new team and It’s a good idea to wait to share advice on changing things until you have a better understanding of the new workplace environment.
Remember that it’s important to share and show appreciation and that subtle sincere flattery is always welcome. Ask for advice. Talk positively about the boss to a friend of the boss, and remember to frame flattery as likely to make the manager uncomfortable: “Don’t want to embarrass you, but your speech was extremely powerful and inspirational.”
Career Advice Tip #2: The Company Is Always Watching
The company is always closely watching you. There’s a record of everything you do while you are using company computers and phones: every phone call, every text, every email, every document you create. At most companies, they save that data for many years. It’s common practice for HR and IT work together to filter email, voicemail, and monitor computer files when breaches in company policy are suspected.
Fix? Assume no privacy, know the details of the digital policy, and act as if everything is posted in big print on your boss’ door!
Facebook (or any social media) can get you fired and keep you from being hired. Don’t complain about customers, the boss, or the company, and don’t post work inappropriate pics that include alcohol.
Dan Leone, a game-day employee at the Philadelphia Eagles stadium, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was fired for criticizing the team via Facebook. Here’s what happened: After the Eagles’ beloved safety Brian Dawkins signed to the Denver Broncos, Leone posted the following status update: “Dan is [expletive] devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver…Dam Eagles R Retarted!!” Days later, Leone said he was contacted by the team’s director of event operations regarding his Facebook post. Leone deleted that post, but couldn’t save his job.
Expect that what you post will be seen, so think about the ramifications before you post! Don’t say anything that could be deemed inappropriate or as a complaint, double check your privacy settings, assume whatever you write will be posted in BIG PRINT on back of your boss’s door!
Career Advice Tip #3: Pay Attention to Special Projects
My dad shared this next bit of career advice with me very early in my career at General Electric when I was assigned to a special project. He told me that being assigned to “Special Projects” either means you are a rising star or a falling star. What he meant was that companies often use special projects for two different purposes: either to quickly increase the responsibilities (and salary) of a high potential employee or to move a problem or low performing employee out of their current role so someone else can step-in.
Fix? Always be hyper-aware of your work situation. Take notice of who receives special projects. If you are the high potential employee, be sure you recognize the opportunity that you are being given and be sure to step-up to the challenge. If you are the employee that got moved and your main responsibilities have been taken away, then it’s probably the time to freshen up your LinkedIn profile and your resume. Even if you are in neither of these, it’s still important to pay attention to whom is assigned to special projects, as this is outward signal of the political landscape in your workplace.
Although these three bits of career advice may seem obvious to some of you, I know from experience, that often people don’t put enough emphasis on how important it is to understand and always follow these unwritten and often unspoken rules of the workplace. Often It’s when we aren’t paying close attention that we run into trouble.
So congratulations to all the new graduates that have landed their first job and to rest of you that have recently started a new job. I hope you’ll keep this advice in mind no matter what stage of your career.
This is Lisa B. Marshall helping you to lead and influence. If you’d like to learn more about compelling communication, I invite you to read my bestselling books, Smart Talk and Ace Your Interview, and listen to my other podcast, Smart Talk. As always, your success is my business.
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About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.
