Members of the class of 2004, high school, college or graduate school, today you are receiving a graduation gift of zero monetary value but one that intrinsically will pay off in a bright future.
This is a gift of insight that will not be found in any commencement speech, unread textbook or balloon-laden and star-filled graduation card. As you approach a new life in the world of work, permit this grizzled workplace veteran to offer this advice:
* Before reporting to your first day on the job, talk with your parents, older friends or siblings to learn very critical career and job-related survival skills. For the first time, you will be working with people a generation or two older than you and it will be comforting to know how they will react to you and your contemporaries.
* Tuck your unframed diploma in a safety deposit box, congratulate yourself on completing years of formal education, then put school memories away, to be opened only at the class reunion. Unless you have worked to support yourself or had an intense internship while still in school, you’ll learn quickly why they call work, not school, “the real world.”
While you most likely have technical skills and self-confidence in abundance, you are and will be considered a rookie who’s expected to perform at a major league level from day one. You will be expected to fill any gaps between your job requirements and the training you received in the classroom. Do not expect, but relish any compliments received regarding your performance. The big question: Can you a can sustain and improve your performance as you gain experience?
* Re-enter “school” immediately and never leave. Whether paid for or not, take full advantage of any training, professional classes or mentoring that you’re offered. You are entering a world that’s changing at light speed compared to the comfort of the academic environment.
* You will find among your co-workers a wide range of behaviors – some trusting and helpful, others distant, aloof, perhaps even difficult, with the majority somewhere in between. Size up each of them, make notes and devise strategies on how to deal with the most challenging of them so that it benefits you.
* Be prepared to deliver extraordinary customer service. At school, your teachers and professors were your customers; your grades your reward. At work, your customers will be all around you including your boss, important co-workers, vendors and representatives of paying clients. Find ways to exceed their expectations of you.
That said, your boss is customer No. 1. Cultivate a relationship that allows the boss to gradually increase the importance of your duties and responsibilities while allowing you to be open about your confidence to achieve the success desired. Do not allow yourself to become the “boss’ pet,” unless you’re prepared to handle the backbiting and resentments of your co-workers.
* Prepare yourself to be taken down a notch. Somewhere, somehow, you will screw up. Nobody is perfect, and many will be prepared to point out you aren’t, as well, When (not if, but when) it happens, listen, learn and acknowledge your failure. Assure the veteran you’ll work extra hard to ensure there will be no repeat.
* Solicit frequent feedback and evaluations to ensure you and your employer are “on the same page” in measuring your performance. While your boss is the preferred evaluator, turn to a senior co-worker or mentor if a superior isn’t available.
* Maintain a “work journal” documenting your first year on the job. Note assignments and tasks you enjoyed and which motivated and excited you, and those that did not. Position yourself to be placed in situations you like; your performance will be at the highest level there.
* When attending work-related social activities, realize you are still at work. Whether it’s a lunch, a cocktail party, a baseball game with the gang, your bosses and co-workers will be watching. Are you ready to handle a customer entertainment event or out-of-town assignment without embarrassment? Brush up on your manners, eat and drink moderately and slowly.
Write Eric Zoeckler at The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206 or e-mail mrscribe@aol.com.
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