How to Make your First Job a Success
by Sarah Barnard, ROK Student
ETIQUETTE
Communication:
There’s nothing worse than a receptionist who’s too consumed in Heat magazine whilst texting her boyfriend to pick up the phone. Likewise, failure to inform colleagues of your next-day breakfast meeting may lead to your boss assuming you’ve turned off the alarm again. Communication is everything, without it, companies simply couldn’t exist. Learning to assess the best form of communication between colleagues and clients is just as key. You’ll soon learn that your boss prefers you to leave his phone messages on a post-it and that you should always be pleasant to the security guards as you never know when you may need them to open that meeting room you’ve lost the key to.
Language:
We all like a laugh but “Oi loser! That new bird on the second floor’s a bit tasty isn’t she?!” is one way of getting the MD’s attention for all the wrong reasons. In office hours it’s generally best to leave your social lingo at your front door. The fast-track way to a successful working life is to keep language to a clean and appropriate level. A bit of common sense is all it takes really.
Respect - everyone deserves it:
Work time isn’t the right place to be blowing a gasket and telling the HR Manager to bog off or shouting down the phone at the car park attendant. It would be a miracle if no one in your company got on your nerves but it’s a good idea to count to ten and walk away if you want to preserve your reputation and dignity. Likewise, you should also be given the respect you deserve. Whilst it may not be nice to tattle tale to your peers or have confrontations in the workplace, you should set yourself on respect autopilot but also avoid being sized out as a doormat. The fine line may seem a difficult one but the simple rule is just to learn to get on with as many people as possible and avoid any troublemakers who may make your life tiresome.
Be yourself:
Whilst it may be tempting to boast about your love of golf to the boss (after spotting his cabinet of trophies) or feel obliged to take part in every social event going, including your colleague’s sponsored bring-a-dog-to-work-day (not mentioning the fact you’re allergic)- don’t feel pressured to be someone you’re not. Making a good impressions ticks all the right boxes but making a plonker out of yourself doesn’t and it’ll only be a matter of time before you’re sussed. It’s always a good plan to make a special effort to be polite and approachable in your first role but just make sure you don’t give any Oscar winning performances. Taking the first steps into full-time employment can be a daunting affair, it’s the beginning of what could be your long-term career and that’s a fair weight on anyone’s shoulders but the main thing to remember is that no-one will expect the earth of you. It would be highly unusual if your colleagues expected you to digest all the new job information within your first month at work- you should always be given time to settle in, learn the ropes and have time to breathe. That way, you should never need to pretend you’re someone you’re not.
Timekeeping:
You can’t go wrong being early, that’s my mantra and I’m sticking to it. You’ll be amazed how many people notice how frequently you make it in early or leave after home-time strikes and the same goes for lateness. In my book, timekeeping is one of the most crucial ways to impress in a role. No-one’s even been commended for showing up late one too many times but although you may not want to roll out of bed ten minutes earlier, I guarantee it will be worth it in the long-run. Common sense alert again- if you are going to be late, just ensure you ring your Line Manager in plenty of time. And make sure you don’t use the “my train was delayed” excuse more than once a month!
OFFICE ATTIRE
- DO err on the side of smart rather than casual, especially for your first day. It’s always better to look a little over-groomed than look like you’ve walked straight out of the gym
- Avoid any low-cut tops or belt-sized skirts. It may be the ‘in-look’ at the local nightclub but it’s not going to pull you any winners in the workplace
- Do get your footwear right. Although it may be tempting to slip on your new 5-inch heels as they match your trousers perfectly, you’ll end up regretting it come 5.30 pm when your ankles have caved it.
- Stick to tidy hair and sensible make-up but don’t feel you have to forgo cosmetics altogether. One of my colleagues once kindly pointed out that I may have taken the ‘sober’ make-up approach one step too far and could in fact do with a bit of mascara and blusher to make myself look vaguely human again- nice!
THE LITTLE THINGS
What to bring, what not to bring:
Should you stick that extra set of light bulbs in your bag just in case there’s a power cut and leave out the emergency post-it pack? Hopefully your company should supply you with everything you’ll need to get your job done and if not, will send out a list prior to your start date detailing any extra bits and pieces you may require. My tip being- you can’t go wrong with one too many pens and paper for random jotting down moments.
Passwords galore:
We’re not all blessed with a built-in Blackberry memory capability so you’ll be forgiven for forgetting which login details you need to get onto the email in the morning. Aha, you may think it’s the same as the logging-in details you use for your personal online agenda but no no no, that’s a completely different set of letters entirely. My most blonde moments arrive anytime I have to ring up our IT department.
Dumb Blonde:“Hi, yeah, I’ve locked myself out of my PC”.
IT Chap: “Right, when you logged onto your mainframe and typed in your Outlook password, which server were you in?”
DB: “Err, pardon, mainframe? Is that bit with the letters I push on or the bit I plonk the CDs in?”
IT Chap: Sound of muffled laughter. “I’ll be right down. Stay away from any plugs ok, infact, just back away from the monitor all together.”
DB: “Um, monitor?”
My advice? Write EVERYTHING down somewhere safe and keep it nearby at all time, to avoiding locking yourself out of your computer just as you’re asked to print off 50 copies of that very important agenda for the meeting that starts in 10 minute’s time. Gulp.
No-one got anywhere without asking:
My prime worry when I started my first job was being scared of asking questions. No matter how many people said to me “If you’re unsure of what to do, all you need to do is ask”, I was convinced I would be set upon with a searchlight and alarms would penetrate the building as the company fraud police uncovered me for admitting to not knowing what I was doing. Needless to say, I was wrong. There’s nothing worse than sitting in silence desperately trying to solve a problem by yourself as the seconds on the clock tick louder and louder. Everyone needs to learn somehow and you’re more likely to earn brownie points for having the guts to ask upfront how to go about a task you’re not 100% on rather than waste half the morning hoping everyone will forget you’re there. Not once have I ever encountered a frosty retort to me asking for help, even from my boss direct, and you never know, he may be coming to you one day when he can’t replace the paper in his printer (scarily more common than it sounds).
Ring ring a no-no:
It may be ok for the Vice-President of the company to pick up the phone to his wife asking for approval on the colour of the new china set in the middle of a board meeting; but it’s just not good practice to leave your mobile phone on during work time. If you’re awaiting an important call it’s best to turn your phone onto silent and then take the call away from your workmates. In more liberal companies it can be perfectly acceptable after a while to take personal calls at work, but it’s generally a non-spoken rule that mobile calls should be confined to lunch breaks instead.
Cup of Tea?:
I don’t drink tea or coffee so it’s generally acknowledged that I make the worst cups of both in my department (tea out of the machine and coffee with way too much milk) - don’t feel undermined by being asked to make the tea though. If you offer to make a round you can’t help but cheer people up and hopefully if they have any manners, they’ll return the favour.
