I wasn't clear, I was not insulting your post. Now to the chase. Take a good look around. In the current economy, do you see a lot of success stories corporate wise? No, you don't. Why? Well, that's a complicated question but the long and short of it is the corporate gurus of the 80's and 90's pretty much mortgaged the future to get rich and the bill is fucking due and no one has the cash to pay the rent. There are bad apples in every organization. The problem is identifying them. If you fuck up in identifying them, you're going to take it up the ass. Hard. And no where did I say "appear defensive and cutoff" - nor are you implying I did, in fact, the opposite is quite necessary. You have to appear as if you care and have the office's best interests at heart. If you want to prepare for corporate work life, I suggest reading Machiavelli's "The Prince" - but be sure to take the advice in that work on it's face and not on the deeper intended level. Working in a corporation is an eye opening event. Just be sure not to wear a blindfold.
Right on. The hardest part is finding the balance of being a "team player" without exposing yourself. It's a tricky balance and those that can pull it off can go far, further than the most productive employees.
Be on time has been covered extensively, but it really cannot be emphasized enough. Be polite to everyone you meet, but try to be in good terms with the secretary, and any executive assistants. They know more about what's going on than anyone, and in the EA's case, they have the ears of upper management. This may come in handy later on. Don't gossip. But also don't be sanctimonious about staying above it all. If someone gossips to you, just nod and smile, and keep it to yourself. While overdressing is better than underdressing, try not to do either. Chances are you went to the office for an interview, look around and see what people are wearing. In my office it's acceptable to wear polo shirts and jeans. You kinda look like a douche if you come in in a shirt and tie every day.
This is good advice for the long term, but your first month or so you probably won't have to deal with eating too much shit. Seriously, document EVERYTHING. If you don't know how to archive e-mails or create sub-folders in Outlook, learn now. I can't tell you how many times I heard "well Frank told me you CAN use limited purpose FSA money towards your deductible." No I didn't you fucking idiot, here's the mass e-mail I sent to your department 3 months ago that proves it. Timing is everything here too, if you are in a position of being blamed, put EVERYTHING else on hold until you can prove innocence. If you don't prove it until after whatever punishment is enforced, no one will care, the damage will already be done to your career. I was and still am friends with past co-workers, but believe me, whenever the hammer came down we would scramble to find evidence to place the blame on each other instead of ourselves. It wasn't that we were spineless, errors can blacklist you from promotions, raises and bonuses, self preservation is really what it comes down to in the corporate world and in the "do or die" moments we were bitter enemies. There are some rare exceptions for this, but it is very true. Your boss will not help you grow into a bigger role than the one you currently hold unless it directly benefits them, don't believe the bullshit they tell you about having an interest in your development, at the end of the day you are a tool to make their job easier. Also, in bigger companies your boss can pressure other managers not to hire you and stunt your career if you'll be difficult to replace. It's almost always better to leave your current company once you have enough experience in your job, companies always pay more to outside hires than to internal employees that have been around for years for the same role. This is true, I was a sucker in my last job and took on a lot of responsibilities that weren't directly related to my job. All it did was make my co-workers look better than me because they had better numbers even though I was doing more work. Only take on an extra responsibility if it directly fits into the mold of the career you want to grow into. That's what I thought when all the "bitter, soulless and unmotivated" people gave me the same speech when I was 22 Seriously, listen to him. Yup, like my example above, it doesn't matter how hard you actually work, it's all about how productive you can make yourself look to your superiors. -Edit: Pretty much everything I wrote applies to being at the bottom of the chain of command working for a huge firm in a financial (consulting, outsourcing etc... think a Fidelity type) type of industry. I switched to a small firm about a year ago and it has been heaven, but pretty much every single person that came over to my old company would say that where they came from was just as bad if not worse.
What? The? Fuck? Are? You? Talking? About? I have no doubt that such work environments exist, but I truly feel bad for those working in them.
As do I. Let me clarify further. I grew up with parents that entered the workforce in the late 50's and early 60's. (Yes, I'm truly an old bitter man). The espoused the same thing that their parents, and subsequently, my generation espouses: work hard and you'll get recognized and get ahead. While it is a comforting thought that 'hard work will set you free' the fact of the matter is it no longer applies to a large degree in the current environment. And it's not because I'm so fucking smart that I see this, it's because I see my work life, and the work life of many of my friends (who work in fields as varied as Big Pharma to Big Finance), and we have had to come to the hard earned conclusion stated in my earlier post. It isn't about what you know, it's about who you know. Until recently, I believed what many of the younger generation believed: if you're good at your job, you'll get ahead. I learned the hard way (which consequently is the only way I ever seem to learn). And that's the duty of prior generations. I'll be 38 next week. When I see 22 year olds either entering the corporate world or law (which is the same thing) I feel it's my duty to tell them what to expect. Yes, I could sit back and laugh at the inexperience and stupidity, knowing how their movie would end, but that's not my duty. It is to tell you (the younger generation) about the pitfalls and bullshit that you are facing because I'm horrified to say too many people have the attitude 'oh, they'll figure it out.' And yeah, they will. But at what cost to themselves and their self esteem? And that I can't allow. So as long as I have a forum to say something I will. Is it the truth? Yeah, as far as I see it. But keep this in mind (and take it with a grain of salt as well): I'm bitter for a reason. There are good places to work around. But if you follow my advice at a 'good' workplace, it probably won't hurt you, and if you don't follow it at a 'bad' place it most assuredly will hurt you. Ultimately, I'm trying to find meaningful work for myself. And that's my wish for everyone, as we spend most of our waking lives at work, to find something fulfilling for yourself. It's idealistic, but it's got to start somewhere, right?
Maybe I'm too young to have really experienced it yet, or maybe the difference may be that my company is a labor driven corporation (ship repair). The company is called *** Industries, LLC. However, it is almost exclusively referred to as Team *** by the employees, and as fairy-tale and corny as it may sound, we truly value and uphold the notion of working together as a team. I'm only 26 and have been promoted at quite a surprising rate based on doing what I consider to be a very good job, not stepping on people's dick or throwing them under the bus. At this point, I am by far the youngest of my professional peers, so maybe I will start to experience more of that as I move further up the corporate latter. And yes, although I haven't felt any pressure or need to do it yet, I would gladly turn someone else into the scapegoat for my personal advancement. This isn't a mom and pop operation either. There are 1,500 full time employees in four cities: the HQ here in Norfolk, and operations in Mayport, Seattle, and San Diego. I would say about 40 - 50% of that 1,500 are office/corporate employees and the remainder are those working in labor intensive trades (the number of laborers typically quadruples with temps during a big job). Of course there are aspects of your description that exist here, and like with anything in life, the biggest assholes and most cut-throat people are more likely to get ahead. But the picture you painted doesn't come close to describing our work environment, at least not as I have seen it to this point. It really does feel somewhat like a family atmosphere sometimes. Hell, everyone even refers to the CEO as Uncle Jerry. And since I was already criticized via rep for not contributing the thread: While sitting alone in your office, don't just fart whenever you feel like it. People will always walk in about 5 seconds after you fart. Of course, telling you this makes me a hyprocrite, as I've had my own office for 3 years now and still haven't learned my lesson. On the plus side, I think it may cause unwanted visitors to avoid bothering me. I'm not sure how applicable this is if you work in a cube or a group office. I think I'd be less inclined to fart. Your own office provides a completely false sense of security.
More on the overarching "shit to do when you start working for a new company" vein, but quickly identify those individuals or departments in the company that have the most power and quickly build rapport with them. Generally in a large corporate environment there are those that actually do work and there are those who create make-work in order to justify their jobs. Building good rapport with those who actually influence the company will pay supreme dividends later, especially if you are good at it. Find some common ground with them, build upon it, and establish a strong relationship. Do favors that they wouldn't expect you to do, because being able to pull the strings when you need it most--especially to counter the moves of a bullish or vindictive boss--will save you a lot of heartache. If you aren't a "people person" you probably won't do well. Sorry.
Hey, I got a spin off question thats relevant to this thread. And I could really use the advice. I have an interview for an internship on Friday, and assuming I don't massively fuck it up (which is of course a possibility) I will probably be starting the job the first week in August. But I have a conflict. During the first week of August I am moving my brother from San Diego to Tampa via road trip (he has a lot of stuff to move). So what do I do? Do I make up some excuse about a wedding or something so that I can still move him out? These plans were made months ago and are very dependent on me helping him by sharing the driving, helping him move in and such. But based on what a few of you established professionals have said, it seems I should tell my brother he needs to find someone else to help him out. Like people have said so far, I don't want to be known as the intern who missed the first week, thats a stigma I don't want.
My dad has been an executive for the last 20 years and has been an invaluable source for any business-related questions/bullshit I've encountered. Best things I've learned from him: 1. Pay attention to how your boss manages people and situations. When mine have 1. proven to be a spineless coward and let the rats run the ship or 2. done shady things, my dad has advised me to look for another job and get the fuck out ASAP. In his words I had no business associating with a shitty managing partner/co-owner of a business. He's right. It's only a matter of time before the business tanks. I don't wanna be around for that. Or, worse yet, I'm sexually harassed/accused of stealing/accused of other shitty things by a client/patient. After witnessing his managing "skills" I know for a fact that when it came down to the bottom line I'd be hanging out there alone, my word against someone else's. When I figured out what was really going on, I was out of there within 6 months. By the way, the first time I worked for someone who pulled some shady stuff, I defended her and told my dad he was being ridiculous. I ignored his advice. And, she completely screwed me over 9 months later. He was right and saw what was going on from 900 miles away. 2. Continue to nuture your relationships and network outside of your department/company. I think it's really good advice to never become too comfortable or content. In case your situation changes or things aren't looking so great at work, it's good to always have an "in" somewhere else. 3. Trust nobody. These people are not your friends, and they sure as hell don't have your back. In fact, some of them are waiting for an opportunity to throw you under the bus or set you up to be fired. 4. Trust nobody. It bears repeating. And, if you ever feel warm fuzzies with your co-workers, repeat #3 to yourself. 5. Don't show any negative emotion. Most of the time it's a knee-jerk response to something stupid somebody did/said. If anything plaster a pleasant expression on your face and wait until you're in your car out of the parking garage to curse, cry or blow up.
Depends how much you want the job and how bad your brother needs you particularly to help him. It's a risk and it depends on the company, but most employers will understand if you're up front and say 'Look, I've got a familly comitment out of state on X date. If it's going to be a problem, I can cancel it, but would it be possible for me to start a week later?' They might decide you don't have the required comittment just for asking. They might say sure and it will still splash back on you when you do actually start. Or they might be 100% cool with it and not give a fuck. If this is a golden career making opportunity and your brother can get someone else to help him - don't risk it. If your brother is absolutely screwed without you and you can get the same job a hundred other places - then see how it goes. If it's somewhere in the middle - you have to consider how much you're risking going down either path and make a decision about which way you want to go.
Is your brother a cripple? In this economy I wouldn't. Job seekers are more desperate now than ever and employers expect it. Plus, if you got any superiors with a prick up their ass, you're their new target "Mr Dependable-exceptduringthefirstweek".
Very solid advice, you will encounter a lot of shit you and everyone else thinks is stupid, just internalize it and maintain a positive attitude. If you voice your complaints about an order from above at best you will be ignored, at worst you will be considered insubordinate. VI kinda said it already, but a part of success is the amount of shit you can eat without complaining. Also, barking at someone for saying something stupid will make you look like an ass. Do you have a friend or trustworthy contact in the company? If so ask them. If not, assess the situation, is this a small company hiring an intern or 2 to do kinda hang out or is this a serious internship with a scheduled orientation and training regimen? If the former, you may as well ask, if the latter you may as well have fucked the your boss's mom on camera for even thinking about it.
The internship is time sensitive. They want some help on a 30 day project, so knowing that, missing a week appears unacceptable. Unfortunately we don't know many people down here, but if push comes to shove and the internship does start on the same week then my pops will be able to help my brother out. If this wasn't so time sensitive, then I think I could of talk to them about missing the first week, but considering the circumstances I really don't have much choice.
Don't even bother showing up. Get yourself a boombox, bucket of water, squeegee and a speedo so you plant your ass underneath an overpass and wash windshields. You won't have to worry about how to act or what to wear, and you will make more money.
So, if you tell them in the interview that you can't start until a week after they NEED you, they probably won't hire you. If you exclude this detail in the interview, they offer you the position, and then you tell them, how do you think they'll react (how would you react if you were sitting on their side of the desk)? Probably with a degree of negativity. The math seems pretty simple to me.
Like everyone else said, you've gotta sack up and cancel with the brother if you want the job. If our interns can't commit to the scheduled rotation of 3 weeks each at 3 clients, and a week in the middle to put together a "value proposition" because they have a vacation planned, we don't bring them on-board. An internship is basically an extended job interview. Every manager you interact with is evaluating you and deciding if you are the kind of guy they want to be "in the trenches" with. I've seen three instances like yours: A girl came on board and told HR two weeks in that she had a trip to Ireland scheduled already and needed the "value proposition" week off and was shocked when she didn't get an offer. A guy's grandfather died, he took Wednesday-Friday off, came back on Monday and got an offer. Another kids' "ex-Uncle" (I shit you not, the man was the divorced husband of his mother's sister) was in a car accident and wound up in the hospital with some broken bones. Kid took two weeks - TWO FUCKING WEEKS - off. Surprise, he didn't get an offer. So, yeah, I'd suck it up and take the job.
I knew there was something I wanted to mention. It may be a small thing but I highly recommend it. Read Receipts. Seriously. Read receipts. Your organization more than likely uses Outlook. Set up your so that with your emails it'll send out read receipts. No one likes them and most find them annoying. Who gives a rats ass. Set up a rule to place the read receipts in a folder and back that fucker up. This way when So and so jackass says, "I never got that email from you" You can say "Actually Jackass, I sent it to you on this day at this time and you read it." Of course, this will all be in a meeting where someone is trying to make you look stupid or pass the buck. This has saved my ass more than once.
Or you could just check your sent email folder which would require no setup and wouldn't piss others off.