Lessons learned as an employee

Mr. Loverman

I thought this might be an interesting thread. What advice can us aul fellas and aul ones give the younger folk starting out on their career?

This is my advice, in no particular order...

Be political

Watching what you say, coming across as positive, and making the right friends will do wonders for your career. I would go as far as saying being political is far more important than being a hard worker or good at your job.


Being senior doesn't necessarily mean you're competent

When I first started working I assumed my manager and the senior managers were smarter/more competent than the average person in the company. It has taken me a few years to realise that is generally not the case.

In my experience it seems many managers got their job because they were either in the right place at the right time or they were more aggressive/more ambitious/better at lying than the average employee.

Obviously there are some great managers out there who got their job through competence and hard work, but in my experience they are uncommon.


Good time keeping is very important

An average employee with good time keeping skills is viewed more favorably than an above-average employee with poor time keeping skills.


Do whatever the boss wants

The most important thing you can do for your career is keep the boss happy. Even if this means having to lower yourself to their level of dishonesty or do things which you feel are wrong or don't make sense, the people who are on the same wave length as the boss are more likely to get promoted.

Remember you still have to live with yourself though…


There is no such thing as fair

Fairness doesn't exist in the workplace.


Don't burn bridges

I know it's a cliché but you never know when you'll need your ex-employer (e.g. for a reference) or will meet them again. Ireland is a small country.


Look out for number 1

Your employer does not care about you, so do not be fooled into working for free (e.g. unpaid overtime) or taking on unnecessary stress or pressure. They would replace you with a cheaper employee if they could, so always put yourself and your family before your job.


Dossing will make you hate your job

People who doss tend to hate their jobs. This makes them doss even more which makes them hate their jobs even more.

You will be happiest in the work place if you do a good job and are proud of your work. Having friends in the office is important too.


You cannot control everything

There will be many aspects of your job you will dislike. For example, there may be a few duds on your team, or your manager may be a moron. It is quite likely you have zero control over this, so you just have to accept it as part of the job and frankly as a part of life.

Changing job may result in a better workplace, but it could also result in a worse workplace. No job is perfect.


Status reports

Managers love status reports from their employees. If they ask for one, make sure you provide it ASAP. Reluctance to provide a status will make your manager think you are hiding something, e.g. you're hiding the fact you're a dosser.


Saving some of your salary is important

Make sure you save some of your salary so you aren't living week to week or month to month. It is also important you live within your means. If you employer is paying you X per month make sure you are living on less than X per month. Don't get into unnecessary debt and become a slave to your job...!


That's all I can think of at the moment.

Anyone have any other advice?

RedXIV

Only two pieces of advice I've gotten ever really stood out to me and I got them in the same company from two different managers

1. Take responsibility

If you mess up, own up. Its easier for everyone in the long run if mistakes are recognised as soon as possible and the longer it goes unnoticed, the more expensive it will turn out. It shows you're honest, you accept the consequences and you come across alot better than someone trying to shift the blame

2. Keep Busy

As opposed to just dossing, there will be periods in your office/workplace when you have nothing to do. Instead of spending the time twiddling your thumbs do something constructive. That is the kind of thing that will be remembered and could be the decider if someone decides to hand out a promotion

amen

Always carry a notepad and pen if working in a large office(multi floors) and you want a break. Someone with a paper and pen must be busy (my first manager told me this. Worked in a bank)

If you something interesting ends up on your desk by accident photocopy it before returning it!

Honesty is the best policy. Always own up to mistakes.

If you are in charge of a team always look after the team members. If the team does well then the individuals get the praise. If the team does bad or somone screws up then its your fault as team lead.

Never say something in email about someone you wouldn't say to their face.

Always be nice to cleaners, kitchen staff, porters, security guards etc.

Mr. Loverman

Another one...

Always get them to say it in an e-mail...!

Phantasos

One that applies to more than just the workplace:

Admit when you've done something wrong and then do it the right way. Don't make more mistakes trying to cover up the mistake.

syklops

I am guilty of this a few times, and hope I wont be again.

Basically, you get frustrated by something so you send an email around to a few people and their bosses to try to light a fire under them. Instead it pisses off people you dont want to piss off. Best case scenario you get labelled unprofessional. Worst case scenario, you are logging onto monster.com by the end of the day.

Email is a very dangerous tool. Do not use it when you are:

Drunk(obvious, but needs to be said again)
Distracted
Angry/Frustrated
Pissed off

Also, when in doubt, keep your mouth shut.

ABajaninCork

Absolutely agree with the above. I've known this over the years, and believe me it's stood me in good stead at times!

Following on from the e-mail. NEVER HIT THE SEND/REPLY ALL BUTTON!! Always check over the mail before you send and make sure it goes to the right people. Use the Bcc button if you need to...

Facebook/LinkedIn? Be VERY careful what you write and upload on there. Check the privacy settings. You don't want your business getting to the wrong ears!:D

bbam

Having been in a MNC for some time I had 9 managers in 13 years and manager to about 50 employees...

ALWAYS know exactly what your boss expects and when... all to often people presume to know and work away on useless projects... particularly important when changing manager within a company... even in the same department managers will have different priorities and perspectives, get to know them quickly.

Some managers do care about employees...again learn quickly if yours genuinely does.

Timekeeping +1

If your at a loose end, go to your manager and see what needs doing next there'll always be something, don't be tempted to hide waiting to be found..

Fess up if you mess up, sooner the better and have a proposal to put it right.

Be friendly, even to the idiots !

You don't know it all, even if you think you do, even if you're the most experienced, even if you're the most educated, even if you're the manager... You can learn something valuable from everybody... the cleaners will know more about something than you do !!

When you're done you're done... leave it at work!

wmpdd3

Cover your own ass.

Lcronin2011

Had a part time job recently, loved it there! i am only 19! have loads of experience as i have had a good few jobs before! Anyway one day i came into work and they said i was in late and had missed two days of work that week! i never miss work!! Never missed one day since i got my first job at 16!! anyway i only worked weekends and they had changed the timetable during the week and had put me on for a thursday and friday aswell as my normal saturday shift and didn't even ring to tell me! how was i meant to know that they had changed it? have define inspiration like? Not only that but they didnt even ring me to see where i was the days i didnt show up! anyway when i got into work they KILLED me and blamed me for it saying i hadn't checked the timetable properly and it had been up (it wasn't because i double check my hours every week) My contract was up the next week and surprise surprise they said they werent guna renew it!! And i know its over that! and the more frustrating thing is that it genuinely was not my fault! Had plenty of jobs before and never had been treated so badly! in a way i am glad i am gone but also kinda gutted coz i need the money!! But ya lesson learned, managers are knobs and dont no a thing!!!!!

bassey

Tell me you didn't ever have to write anything as part of your job?

Don't really know much about office jobs but I've been working on building sites since I was about 15 and one of the most important things I've learned is that if you're not sure about something, ask, and if you're still not sure ask again! Sure the person you're asking might get frustrated but not nearly as frustrated as they'll be if you make a balls of the job.

AlmightyCushion

syklops wrote: »

Email is a very dangerous tool. Do not use it when you are:

Drunk(obvious, but needs to be said again)
Distracted
Angry/Frustrated
Pissed off

Also, when in doubt, keep your mouth shut.

On this point, if you are pissed off/angry/frustrated about something don't deal with it until you have calmed down. You could end up saying/doing something you'll regret or won't work out in your favour.

Be as reliable and dependable as possible. Any one I've worked for has valued it and some valued it a lot, plus it could net you some of the more important tasks/roles which will always work in your favour. This extends to timekeeping and absenteeism as well.

Feelgood

I think the most valuable lesson I learned was:

Never discuss the details of your salary with fellow employees.

Inbox

Walk fast everywhere,
Keep hands out of pockets.

Newaglish

Given that my job regularly involves reading staff e-mails, never ever write anything in an e-mail that you wouldn't be happy to print out on A3 paper and stick on the notice board.

If you want to send personal e-mails to your friends outside of the office, use g-mail, and if that's blocked, text or e-mail from your mobile phone.

Make sure to turn off the little popup on Outlook that gives you a quick preview of any new e-mails. If you're showing your manager something on your computer and "omg, how drunk were we last night" or "manager man is such a ****" pops up, it's horribly awkward and embarrassing.

If you ever want to be promoted, tell your superior and simply say "what do I need to do to be promoted to X?".

If you ever do have a conflict with another employee, never ever:

1. Send a bitchy e-mail to them
2. Raise your voice when talking to them
3. Swear
4. Make stuff up or exaggerate the facts
5. Give them the "cold shoulder" i.e. don't act snotty to them when they're around

Basically be a grown-up about it and discuss the issue (sticking to the facts and not your opinion of them) and if you can't discuss it, then forge about it and move on.

And finally, try not to have too many romantic liaisons with your co-workers! And if you do, try to do it with someone roughly at your level, or in a completely different department. Sleeping with a) the intern or b) the boss is never good.

endabob1

Get it in an email, people have selective amnesia.

If you manage people, be nice to them, they'll do more for you that way & shelter them from the crap flying above, think of yourself as an umbrella. When some one steps out of line, be firm & fair.

There is no such thing as a stupid question, ask, ask & ask again until you are sure you understand.

What happens in the office stays in the office, I had a job where I worked 12-14 hours a day, I never switched off, weekends, Sunday morning lying in bed, phone rings, 9 time out of 10 it was work. I learned a valuable lesson about what's important, it's fine to let off steam from time to time about work but it's more important to be able to leave it in the office.

Finally +1 to knowing the cleaners, if you don't know their names it's likely that you're disconnected from the real world (or possibly that they only clean the office out of hours in which case it's probably excusable)

iMax

If you screw up, go to your boss with a solution not a problem.

Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.

murphym7

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Cover your own ass.

The cover your ass folder (CYA) is a folder every employee should set up on Outlook. It has saved me many a time.

It is important that people do not think of you as someone who covers their own ass though, they will not trust you.

syklops

murphym7 wrote: »

The cover your ass folder (CYA) is a folder every employee should set up on Outlook. It has saved me many a time.

It is important that people do not think of you as someone who covers their own ass though, they will not trust you.

Can you go into this a bit more? I think we could all use some tips on ass covering. I know I could.

Mrs OBumble

Fantastic thread!

I'd take a few of the points a bit further:

Your first priority is to keep your boss happy. Your 2nd priority is to keep your boss's boss happy. Never forget that today's plonker of a colleague may be the boss tomorrow.

Re never putting things into email, I'd go further than the noticeboard test: apply the Joe test. Never write anything you wouldn't be happy to have read out on the radio.

Re relationships: don't screw the crew. Ever.

Re dress standards: no crack, top or bottom.

daigo75

While I agree with most replies, in 13 years of career (and about 40 companies I worked for) I had some different experiences:

RedXIV wrote: »

2. Keep Busy
As opposed to just dossing, there will be periods in your office/workplace when you have nothing to do. Instead of spending the time twiddling your thumbs do something constructive. That is the kind of thing that will be remembered and could be the decider if someone decides to hand out a promotion

The last statement is not always true. I did it for many years and found out that the rule is "the more you work, and the more you work". It's a big mistake to constantly run to a manager and ask for something to do, for two reasons:

• You'll get much more to do, but not necessarily be rewarded. Actually, such attitude can backfire, you'll become too good at what you're doing to be promoted (seen with my eyes).
• You'll be indirectly supporting poor planning. There's no need to plan, if they can just give you one task at a time.

However, I support the idea of using the spare time to study and improve one's skills.

amen wrote: »

If you are in charge of a team always look after the team members. If the team does well then the individuals get the praise. If the team does bad or somone screws up then its your fault as team lead.

This, unfortunately, is not always the case. If the team leader takes responsibility, then it will work as stated. In my experience, I saw very few managers being blamed for anything, crap ended up on the team. Obviously, this mechanism didn't work in reverse, praise and rewards tended to stop on upper layer before reaching the team.

Another confirmation that "fair" doesn't exist in the workplace.

endabob1 wrote: »

There is no such thing as a stupid question, ask, ask & ask again until you are sure you understand.

+1, but remember that actually stupid questions exists, and they are the "FAQ" asked twice because you didn't take note of the answer the first time. To avoid this, I always recommend any company I work for to create an internal knowledge base of some sort. When they refuse, I create my own one.

JustMary wrote: »

Your first priority is to keep your boss happy. Your 2nd priority is to keep your boss's boss happy. Never forget that today's plonker of a colleague may be the boss tomorrow.

I would elaborate this a bit: your first priority is to be happy in your workplace and, at the same time, make your boss happy. Don't just focus on them, as you won't be productive if you're unhappy and frustrated.
Real life example that occurred to me:

• Boss 1 wanted me to cover early shifts.
• Boss 2 wanted me to cover late shifts.
• Bosses' boss didn't want to pay any overtime.

My answer was that I could make two of them happy, and that it was up to them to decide who. At the end, the "uber-boss" gave up and paid overtime, so I worked a couple more hours a day to cover the shifts. Always negotiate and find a suitable compromise, it will pay off better than simply saying "yes" to every request.

HellFireClub

Best lesson I learnt as an employee is that the standard of management in this country with the type and ability of assh*le that consistently worms their way into a management position in this country, is so abominably sh*t, that if you value your sanity, forget about PAYE employment and go work for yourself.

Irish workplaces, as we can see from the OP, are typically all about politics and massaging big ego's.

bbam

JustMary wrote: »

Re dress standards: no crack, top or bottom.

ah go on... surely the ladies can get away with either;)

SeaFields

Don't be afraid to speak your mind

Dont be afraid to speak out when you have an opinion. I don't mean stuff like "hey boss, you're a c*#t!" :pac:. If you believe there is a more efficient way of doing something, say it. Some managers are c*#ts and might take credit for your idea but others will recognise your desire to do things better. And don't be afraid to put your hands up either and say sorry if your idea doesn't work out.

Thoie

HellFireClub wrote: »

Best lesson I learnt as an employee is that the standard of management in this country with the type and ability of assh*le that consistently worms their way into a management position in this country, is so abominably sh*t, that if you value your sanity, forget about PAYE employment and go work for yourself.

My advice is don't go into a job with this kind of attitude. As in all walks of life, there are good managers and bad managers. Don't judge too quickly.

My other piece of advice is don't get too hung up on what other people are or aren't doing, unless it's impacting your workload. If Fred spends 6 hours a day on Facebook, it will have been noted. Unless you're his boss, or it's causing you extra work, there's no need for you to mention it to anyone. If it is causing you extra work, talk to your manager about your own workload, no need to mention what Fred is/isn't doing.

bbam

HellFireClub wrote: »

Best lesson I learnt as an employee is that the standard of management in this country with the type and ability of assh*le that consistently worms their way into a management position in this country, is so abominably sh*t, that if you value your sanity, forget about PAYE employment and go work for yourself.

Irish workplaces, as we can see from the OP, are typically all about politics and massaging big ego's.

FFS, not everybody can be self employed !
The variability of managers is similar to the variability of employees. Some are great, some are not.

HellFireClub

Thoie wrote: »

My advice is don't go into a job with this kind of attitude. As in all walks of life, there are good managers and bad managers. Don't judge too quickly.

My other piece of advice is don't get too hung up on what other people are or aren't doing, unless it's impacting your workload. If Fred spends 6 hours a day on Facebook, it will have been noted. Unless you're his boss, or it's causing you extra work, there's no need for you to mention it to anyone. If it is causing you extra work, talk to your manager about your own workload, no need to mention what Fred is/isn't doing.

Ehhhh no. I spent 10-15 years of my life in Ireland in PAYE employment, so you can hardly call that a rush to judgement. I don't recall having a single manager in that timeframe who actually understood their job, (or who had any relevant qualification I might add), who would have accepted that it was their job to make me excel at mine, and I say this as someone with a management degree.

At all times, my recollection of PAYE employment in this country is of excess politics in the job, serious brown nosing, jobs for the boys, winning the brownie points, etc.

There seems to be a very healthy dose of the same carry on throughout this thread from the OP downwards, personally I found this kind of behaviour sickening and extremely unrewarding.

HellFireClub

bbam wrote: »

FFS, not everybody can be self employed !
The variability of managers is similar to the variability of employees. Some are great, some are not.

Don't think so, Irish people want to "manage", but f*ck all of them want to actually work. I remember being in jobs where I was busting my ar*se, but because some other sucker was off at meetings talking about the work, he'd get a managerial promotion, while others on the floor, much more qualified, didn't even get to know there was a vacancy until it was filled.

This is the gombeen way that Ireland operates in, the nudge nudge and the wink wink, it's not just a case of there being a few people who don't know what they are at in this country, there is the gombeen culture in the workplace in this country that hasn't ever been dealt with...

slavetothegrind

move purposefully about the workplace and preferably with something in your hand ( not genitals)

be respectful and polite at all times even to the dicks,

timekeeping and very low absenteeism as previously stated is VERY important.

don't be afraid to go the extra mile now and again, you know don't be first out the door at 5 or refuse to do the extra 20 mins off the clock now and then.
obviously keep an eye on it and don't be taken for a fool.

leggo

Two possibly controversial lessons that will rub some up the wrong way, but there's experience and merit behind them:

1) If you can't find a job that you love, do one that you hate...

Very simple logic: if you get stuck in a job that you quite enjoy, but ultimately it's not what you want to do in life, it makes it easier to get stuck in that rut. You'll take the promotions that give you extra cash for essentially the same job (plus a few extra responsibilities) and start taking out loans, building a life etc around a salary that you're now RELYING on but doesn't give you the ultimate job satisfaction you're looking for.

All of a sudden, 'the dream jobs' (that were once achievable and within your range) becomes less practical solutions. They require work that would distract from your current responsibilities and focus that you just can't justify while balancing your life. And all because you've, slowly but surely, added so many quick fix solutions to problems that weren't that important on a grand scale.

The best thing that ever happened to me, career-wise, was the recession kicking in and being let go from a job that I enjoyed but didn't love. It forced my hand to try out different things that I had been putting off for months, things that now earn me money and I love to bits. And it totally changed my perspective on where I wanted to go. Though I'm also back in a similar day-job, that re-building time has given me the focus and lessons that allows me to keep my eye on the prize now.

2) In retail/part-time jobs that you just use to get you by temporarily, never be good at anything...ever...

This is something that I began teaching to newbies (on the quiet) while I was on my way out of a management position of an old job. When training became less about what *I* needed from them and what I hoped to pass down to them from lessons learned doing the job in question.

The logic was simple: while running the floor, if someone excelled in a particular area, both myself and everyone else in power would ensure they did that job every single time when on the shift. You may say "that's poor management" and maybe it is, but in a busy environment with staff rolling in and out all day, your only concern is to get the job done as effectively as possible. Building up a staff member's skillset is so far down the radar it's laughable.

This stops you from branching out and discovering the skills that will help you excel YOURSELF in further life. E.g: If you're great at cleaning, but the last thing you want to do is become a cleaner (I'm not suggesting you SHOULD feel that way, for the record), then if the boss finds out you can clean it's going to get you away from doing, say, supervisory jobs that may help you develop in later life.

In short, do your job well enough that you become valuable to your employer, but if you ever find yourself being 'typecast' (so to speak) then ensure that you downplay that and look out for your own best interests.

murphym7

syklops wrote: »

Can you go into this a bit more? I think we could all use some tips on ass covering. I know I could.

The Cover your Ass folder (CYA) was something introduced to me many years ago by a friend at work. This buddy had got srewed over a few times because of other peoples lack of integrity - he trusted them too much. So from then on he created a CYA folder in Outlook, that all mails of importance, i.e mails that make a decision or give direction etc... were stored. This then became the back up, if an issue occured with something my buddy was told to do - or a consequence of a decision somone had made for him.

It makes you feel like a douche bag at the beginning but you quickly learn that the blame culture we had when we were 6 years old remains strong within every adult still. You may not have to ever use it, but becomes very important the one time we need it.

This off course goes hand in hand with "get everything in an email".

HellFireClub

murphym7 wrote: »

The Cover your Ass folder (CYA) was something introduced to me many years ago by a friend at work. This buddy had got srewed over a few times because of other peoples lack of integrity - he trusted them too much. So from then on he created a CYA folder in Outlook, that all mails of importance, i.e mails that make a decision or give direction etc... were stored. This then became the back up, if an issue occured with something my buddy was told to do - or a consequence of a decision somone had made for him.

It makes you feel like a douche bag at the beginning but you quickly learn that the blame culture we had when we were 6 years old remains strong within every adult still. You may not have to ever use it, but becomes very important the one time we need it.

This off course goes hand in hand with "get everything in an email".

Sounds like a public sector culture there...

Mr. Loverman

HellFireClub wrote: »

Sounds like a public sector culture there...

Or a multinational!

mikemac

Exit Interview
Treat this like an interview after being charged down the local garda station. Say nothing. You'll get no thanks for it, even if you speak the absolute truth.
Best to say nothing, you're leaving so it's not your concern what goes on.

Email
The odd personal email is fine. Before you send anything "would I be happy if my boss was at my shoulder reading this?".

Telephone
Used to be a night porter and hotel receptionist, taking abuse from drunks at night and hungover residents the next morning. And bullying is rife in hotels. When you're pissed off, smile when you speak on the telephone:)
It sounds stupid, some like something from some self help book but I'm telling you in works. Smile while you speak and you'll change your mood and the other person will pick up on it.

Negative People
I swear I wanted to slit my wrist some mornings with the bitching and moaning some people do in work. Everything is wrong, the whole world is against them, Enda Kenny is personally responsible for their lunch order going wrong
Avoid negative people. They'll drag you to their level. If you don't notice this person, maybe it's you! :pac:
Same goes for bitching sessions. Girls are terrible for this at slim girls; "skinny bitch" is a common one I've heard

Overtime
I'd do unpaid overtime on an exceptional basis. But eventually, the boss gets praise for running the place with less resources and you'll see no additional staff brought in.
Working for free is occasionaly ok but never on a long term basis and remember they'd fire you in the morning if you messed up enough. So don't put misplaced loyalty in some company. Not unless you're a director or part owner
So you should be getting paid overtime rates

Dress to impress
Something I didn't do for ages, strolling around the offices in runners and jumper while everyone had suits. Nobody said anything but yeah, I look a slob! And wearing a nice suit will help the self confidence too

Dossing
Said already but if you want to go dossing, get a clipboard and pen and walk quickly and confidently around the place. Nobody will question you

murphym7

HellFireClub wrote: »

Sounds like a public sector culture there...

Various large multinationals over many years.

helimachoptor

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Or a multinational!

Honestly you learn pretty quick.. everything in writing.

dan_d

murphym7 wrote: »

The Cover your Ass folder (CYA) was something introduced to me many years ago by a friend at work. This buddy had got srewed over a few times because of other peoples lack of integrity - he trusted them too much. So from then on he created a CYA folder in Outlook, that all mails of importance, i.e mails that make a decision or give direction etc... were stored. This then became the back up, if an issue occured with something my buddy was told to do - or a consequence of a decision somone had made for him.

It makes you feel like a douche bag at the beginning but you quickly learn that the blame culture we had when we were 6 years old remains strong within every adult still. You may not have to ever use it, but becomes very important the one time we need it.

This off course goes hand in hand with "get everything in an email".

Of paramount importance if you are on the management side of the construction industry. Cannot emphasise the CYA notes enough - be it recording phonecalls giving you instructions/agreeing to changes/decisions made in your diary, storing emails by person/CYA, noting things on drawings as they agreed, responding back to someone with an email, listing all the things you've agreed with them in your last conversation and asking them to confirm it...it goes on. Horrible industry for that, full of hangmen....

My advice? Never, ever be afraid to ask a question, no matter how stupid. Don't pretend you know everything, because nobody does.

Be nice to the receptionists, the porters, the cleaners, the general handymen, whatever. It speaks volumes about you as a person if you're not.

Do not work overtime unless strictly necessary. the company will continue to function whether you're there or not. The building will not fall down if you go home. There's rarely anything that can't wait until the morning.

Don't bitch (you know those "it's Friday afternoon on a bank holiday weekend, I'll go have a bitching session with the girls in the HR/Purchasing/Sales/Whatever dept), don't tell tales and know when to keep your head down!

Be very,very careful of who you forward on "funny" emails to. There's a few lads in PWC who learned that lesson the hard way...what's funny to you may be completely inappropriate for your manager/female/male colleagues to be looking at.

Don't be insulted if you're not told certain things about the business. Some things are just nothing to do with you! Learn when to keep your nose out of things!!

When possible - eliminate the middle man. Don't be the middle man yourself. If someone rings asking you to speak to someone else about XYZ, tell them you'll give them the phone number of the person in question and they can speak to them themselves. Or give the person in question their number and ask them to ring them (unless, obviously, you're their manager and you're assigning them work). There's nothing more annoying that being in the middle of a 3 way conversation, either as the middle person or one of the other 2. It inevitably leads to misunderstandings and everything takes twice as long as it should.

Always make time to eat your lunch!!

superelliptic

dan_d wrote: »

Always make time to eat your lunch!!

+1







also, +1 thread. Wish I read this 5 years ago tbh.

srsly78

Be an independent contractor (and never look back).
Avoid large companies unless they offer silly money (as contractor naturally).
If working for large company keep mouth shut.
If working for large company master the art of appearing busy (load of rubbish).
Avoid startup companies too >.<

doolox

I would back the self employed option for people lucky enough not to need the security of a job for a mortgage application.

Up to recently mortgage providers only considered people in jobs for mortgages and self-employed people had to show 3 or more years of large profits to get a mortgage. Bank were cautious of self employed people until they lost all reason in the past decade.

If you have a relatively small mortgage, small family, partner in a steady job or one with very high demand then self employment is an option that can get rid of the heirarchical nonsense that goes on in the contemporary Irish workplace. Especially if you are working for a large number of different customers and can minimise your contact time with each.

It is important to keep relationships cordial and upbeat at all times and keep updating and refreshing your product/service and always be looking for feedback and future intentions of your clients. Having a brief working relationship with each client is a great help in achieving this. 3-4 hour contact a week with 10 different clients is much better than 40 hrs with the same people, less likely to get jaded or appear tired or bored.

It is always important to have a reserve team of clients ready to replace lost clients, also important to find out WHY you lost them so as to improve service and avoid further losses.

Once you have a good product try and make it unique so that you stand out from the crowd and can command a higher price and get more work. Always be looking for ways to increase your skills and capabilities so as to appeal to more sectors in your chosen area of expertise. This can cover snags like seasonality or sectoral downturns. (eg cold weather can slow down icecream sales, hot weather can slow down fuel sales do your self a favour and learn to sell both........)

Eoin

I wouldn't agree with avoiding large companies outright; there can be benefits to working for larger organisations (pension, VHI, college grants, share schemes, transfer possibilities, sick leave etc), even if the bureaucracy can be frustrating.

dan_d wrote:

Be very,very careful of who you forward on "funny" emails to. There's a few lads in PWC who learned that lesson the hard way...what's funny to you may be completely inappropriate for your manager/female/male colleagues to be looking at.

Absolutely - and that extends to jokes in the office, not just emails. What you consider humour, other people might consider bad taste or worse.

feelingstressed wrote:

Exit Interview
Treat this like an interview after being charged down the local garda station. Say nothing. You'll get no thanks for it, even if you speak the absolute truth.

That's not always the case at all, that's a real sweeping statement.

feelingstressed wrote:

]Avoid negative people. They'll drag you to their level

Totally agree with this though; it's amazing how some people can just demotivate and sap the life out of you.

On the management side of things, I think one thing for both managers and their staff to remember is that a lot of time the manager doesn't need to know how to do the work that their staff do. Shame that so many people seem to have had so many bad experiences though.

Mink

If you are leaving the job, for whatever reason, make sure to give plenty of notice, write up your whole role fully & work with your manager to train in a good replacement.

Then, if things don't work out in your next venture, they'll be much more likely to take you back.

This happened to me a couple years ago. An opportunity came up to work in a friend's new business, I gave 6 weeks notice and completely turned over every function & every scrap of paper to my replacement. The managers were very happy with this.

Then when the "opportunity" went t!ts up and I rang my old boss (crying on the phone - mortifyingly) they were more than willing to take me back. Granted I had to start from the bottom again but I learnt my lesson.

Ah yes that's the other lesson, I wouldn't advise going to work for friends in their new business. It's better that they hire someone they don't have any previous connections with as it can get personal.

Krieg

Do not invest yourself too much in the company (emotionally)

Not that I have been victim of this but ive certainly seen it a lot
Joe bloggs works for the same company for many years until one day security are waiting for joe, they escort him to his desk, takes his belongings and then he is escorted off the premises.

You might think from that story that joe did something wrong but quite often its a case that joe's job was no longer cost effective. Escorting an employee out of the workplace is an idea that comes from American companies and has been brought here by the multinationals. I should state that this stuff only happens to upper/middle mgmt and support staff. The point is not to degrade the person, but to make sure they dont do any damage. The belief is that if an employee is given a months notice of termination, he/she might start stealing, whether it be company products or work drawings, basically stuff that the company doesn't want to see leaked outside the company.

The reason I bring this up is so you are aware that this does goes on and be prepared for the possibility of it happening to you. I cant imagine anything worse then working for the same company for 10 years, doing a great job, then out of the blue you get fired, security escort you out of the building before you can even process whats happened.

The funny thing is, the purpose of this practice is not prevent damage to the company. But if I were in joe's position, id probably be too overwhelmed by the incident and return with my 12 gauge :pac:

Have an exit plan from day 1

Somewhat of a follow on from above but it really does apply to everyone. It will likely happen that in your lifetime you will be met with being fired/laid off, whether it be out of the blue or you knew in advance. Regardless, its important you plan out how you will get yourself back into work as quickly as possible, hit the road running so to speak.


Theres been some great advice in this thread so far but some of it is circumstantial, ie; some managers love getting their arse licked, others hate it etc

wmpdd3

murphym7 wrote: »

The Cover your Ass folder (CYA) was something introduced to me many years ago by a friend at work. This buddy had got srewed over a few times because of other peoples lack of integrity - he trusted them too much. So from then on he created a CYA folder in Outlook, that all mails of importance, i.e mails that make a decision or give direction etc... were stored. This then became the back up, if an issue occured with something my buddy was told to do - or a consequence of a decision somone had made for him.

It makes you feel like a douche bag at the beginning but you quickly learn that the blame culture we had when we were 6 years old remains strong within every adult still. You may not have to ever use it, but becomes very important the one time we need it.

This off course goes hand in hand with "get everything in an email".

I am whole heartily in the private sector and I have a diary and hard copy folder for just this reason. Human Nature.

Tigger

This is one of the best short sharp truths on being an employee u have ever read

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I thought this might be an interesting thread. What advice can us aul fellas and aul ones give the younger folk starting out on their career?

This is my advice, in no particular order...
....

kippy

Krieg wrote: »

Do not invest yourself too much in the company (emotionally)

Not that I have been victim of this but ive certainly seen it a lot
Joe bloggs works for the same company for many years until one day security are waiting for joe, they escort him to his desk, takes his belongings and then he is escorted off the premises.

You might think from that story that joe did something wrong but quite often its a case that joe's job was no longer cost effective. Escorting an employee out of the workplace is an idea that comes from American companies and has been brought here by the multinationals. I should state that this stuff only happens to upper/middle mgmt and support staff. The point is not to degrade the person, but to make sure they dont do any damage. The belief is that if an employee is given a months notice of termination, he/she might start stealing, whether it be company products or work drawings, basically stuff that the company doesn't want to see leaked outside the company.

The reason I bring this up is so you are aware that this does goes on and be prepared for the possibility of it happening to you. I cant imagine anything worse then working for the same company for 10 years, doing a great job, then out of the blue you get fired, security escort you out of the building before you can even process whats happened.

The funny thing is, the purpose of this practice is not prevent damage to the company. But if I were in joe's position, id probably be too overwhelmed by the incident and return with my 12 gauge :pac:

Have an exit plan from day 1

Somewhat of a follow on from above but it really does apply to everyone. It will likely happen that in your lifetime you will be met with being fired/laid off, whether it be out of the blue or you knew in advance. Regardless, its important you plan out how you will get yourself back into work as quickly as possible, hit the road running so to speak.


Theres been some great advice in this thread so far but some of it is circumstantial, ie; some managers love getting their arse licked, others hate it etc

Great thread!

1. Have an exit strategy from day 1 as mentioned above. Now this depends on what your role is and this tactic works, not just in forming an exit strategy but also doubles as a decent method to improve ones CV for promotion. Make sure you keep your CV up to date and do/take any training courses you can get via your employer particularily if you are in IT.

2. Try be friendly with EVERYONE - top to bottom - you never know where these contacts will come in handy again.

3. Be very wary of office politics/relationships within the organisation. No bitching about anyone to anyone. This tactic serves a few purposes and sometimes you need to learn the hard way that there is a good chance there are a lot of politics/relationship factors that are at work.

4. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES US YOUR WORK EMAIL FOR PERSONAL EMAILS. DONT EVEN GIVE YOUR WORK ADDRESS TO YOUR FRIENDS. This has been said already - but it really cannot be overstated. Tied in with this is DO NOT VISIT ANY WEBSITE THAT IS NOT WORK RELATED.

5. Every few weeks review your situation and the people around you. Are you too good at your job? I find that people who are good at their job tend not to get promoted or moved. The real idiots and troublemakers tend to do better. Managers dont want to deal with them and move them on smartish. You've got to be careful here - obviously you want to do a good job and you should have opportunities based on this however its down to the quality of the manager as to whether you get rewarded for this or not.

6. If you are p1ssed off/angry etc - walk slowly away from the email client until you have calmed down.

7. Ensure you get all decisions that could come back to haunt you in email. In certain organisations there are a lot of people who cant make a decision to save their life - when they do they dont EVER put it in writing.

8. This was probably one of the best pieces of advice I was given by a very learned manager 8 years ago and it may contradict point 7. We use emails too much nowadays, sometimes spending days emailing back and forth trying to tease something out. Pick up the phone - ask what you need to ask, clarify what you need to clarify - get stuff done faster and with more clarity - then to make sure all parties are on the same page, use email to summarise what has to be done and get buy in from all involved.

9. Depending on where you work, always dress at least with a shirt and slacks. Jeans/Tshirt not good in most situations I have been in.

10 and most importantly - work is work, it is a means to an end. Dont get too caught up with it. Once I leave the office, thats it until I get back in there. Life is too short to take those things home with you. Theres nothing worse either, I think, than speaking about work too much at home or in conversations with others either.


Theres lots more bits and pieces but they've been said before.

Mr. Loverman

Don't be the drunk fool at any work party. There's always one, make sure it's not you!

pow wow

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Don't be the drunk fool at any work party. There's always one, make sure it's not you!

At our work outings it always our HR Manager

On thread....

*Don't ever assume you're irreplaceable - because you aren't.

*Don't ever assume your colleagues are there to help you (we've all met at least one who was there to hang us :rolleyes:)

*Think for yourself and take responsibility for your actions.

*As already stated a million times, be polite to everyone.

*Do as your managers/colleagues say, not as they do.

MyAmber.net

A few lessons I learnt:
- if you have flexible working hours always go to work earlier than others.
If your managers come to the office and see you there they think you are organized.
If on the other hand they leave the office and see you working (as you decided to come later this day) they think you can't do the work on time.
- ALWAYS CYA (Never enough to highlight this)
- They say – do something for someone “only once, as a favor” and everyone will take that as your new responsibility.
- I had a manager who worked that way:
When a customer called with a new request he wrote that down, put on the board and didn’t start.
When the customer called again to check the progress he took it from the board and started doing.
If the note was on the board for over a week he threw it to the bin.
You may not approve such approach, but there are lots of tasks people ask you to do and the day after they are not relevant any more.

shoegirl

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Be political

Watching what you say, coming across as positive, and making the right friends will do wonders for your career. I would go as far as saying being political is far more important than being a hard worker or good at your job.

Good time keeping is very important

An average employee with good time keeping skills is viewed more favorably than an above-average employee with poor time keeping skills.

Look out for number 1

Your employer does not care about you, so do not be fooled into working for free (e.g. unpaid overtime) or taking on unnecessary stress or pressure. They would replace you with a cheaper employee if they could, so always put yourself and your family before your job.


Dossing will make you hate your job

People who doss tend to hate their jobs. This makes them doss even more which makes them hate their jobs even more.

You will be happiest in the work place if you do a good job and are proud of your work. Having friends in the office is important too.

I would dispute the "political" and "look out for no 1" advice. Being political often distracts from the real work of doing your job and often creates problems in the workplace that can end up with everybody loosing their jobs because the place becomes increasingly unmanageable and fair selection is no longer possible due to protracted disputes.
Looking out for yourself at the expense of others is connected, often that will simply create new problems. You won't be trusted or respected if you don't share the burden.

Absolutely agreed on timekeeping - for no reason other than the fact that tardiness can mess things up for other workers and customers. Its also a sign that somebody isn't really 100% committed or just plain laziness. Neither is a virtue.

Advice on dossing - good. I'd go one further though

Be excellent at your job
Even if you are in a very simple job, doing things really well gets you noticed and builds respect in the workplace. If there are promotions going, having a great reputation is an excellent way to progress.

If you are not happy, don't hang around
Hard one in todays tough job market, but if you are really unhappy you are probably unproductive and not learning anything, look at other opportunities and don't be fueled by the perks of the work or pay, unless its really exceptional and unattainable.

DyldeBrill

dont get caught having sly **** in the jacks at break