What is the best piece of work or career advice you’ve ever received?

Patsy167 · 09-09-2021 3:20pm #1

Thought this might be a fun topic to discuss - What is the best piece of work or career advice you’ve ever received?

Jim2007 · 09-09-2021 6:42pm

Pushing a pencil is easier that pushing a shovel, especially as you get older (My father, RIP, 40+ years ago, so it is a bit dated)

tom1ie · 09-09-2021 6:43pm

Never work for free.

09-09-2021 6:43pm

Better to be judged by twelve then carried by six.

Very job specific, that one! 😁

Spanish Eyes · 09-09-2021 6:45pm

Learn to read documents upside down, then you know what's on the other side of the boss/colleague's desk. I learned a lot that way in the pre desktop/laptop days, yes I'm getting on now. LOL.

09-09-2021 6:49pm

"Leave and don't come back"

Getting sacked from a retail management job when I was young was the best thing that ever happened to me. I left retail (not something I'd ever planned to do), worked in a factory, educated myself through part time courses, moved jobs & roles as time went on, doubled my salary within 5 years of leaving retail and the rest is history

Glad I followed that advice :)

bb12 · 09-09-2021 6:58pm

keep your powder dry!

don't get caught up in the small petty stuff and other people's drama and battles and never tell anyone anything more than they need to know

LawBoy2018 · 09-09-2021 7:01pm

Never put your loyalty before your own self-interest.

shoxter · 09-09-2021 7:07pm

Dont be a busy fool, I learned that too late in my life! Another is that the ones who are always claiming to be busy or business has never been better are usually the ones closest to the wall.

BrianD3 · 09-09-2021 7:25pm

Not directly work or career advice but very relevant IMO

"A man with savings can walk tall" with the quote then going on to describe how savings (or lack thereof) affects one's mindset in the workplace.

Put more bluntly, don't be a good little wage slave who lives paycheque to paycheque. Save up some fcuk you money if you can by not splurging your money on crap you don't need.

Ravelleman · 09-09-2021 8:22pm

It's them, not you.

ZX7R · 09-09-2021 8:31pm

Never be the first to try something new and never be the last to try it.

HerrKapitan · 09-09-2021 8:39pm

Don't fight other people's battles.

Nickla · 09-09-2021 8:43pm

If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted

Patsy167 · 10-09-2021 8:21am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117869821#Comment_117869821

I've read this a couple of times and not sure I get what the takeaway is. Does it mean that you should develop the next person below you on the ladder to do your job?

jeremyr62 · 10-09-2021 8:25am

Don't expect thanks for doing your job well. It's what you get paid for.

yagan · 10-09-2021 8:29am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117869602#Comment_117869602

That is so true. I had a great job once that turned to crap with a change in management which made it toxic. Feeling fed up one day I formally put myself forward for voluntary redundancy if it arose. After that the management ignored me as they knew they had no hold on me so the job actually became pleasurable again.

MY own career tip is live near work.

BrianD3 · 10-09-2021 10:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117870938#Comment_117870938

Key point there - a good workplace can turn toxic in a short space of time if there is a change in management, restructuring, financial problems etc. I have experienced this myself in the public service. I had gotten myself into something of a rut - specialised work with few promotional opportunities and experience not valued much outside of the PS. My attitude was that it was fine as I was enjoying the work. Then there were retirements and cutbacks and things turned bad very quickly. If I had my time again I'd do a few things differently. One thing that I did do right was save heavily over many years. If I hadn't done that I'd be in a terrible position today in terms of both my finances and mental health.

Royale with Cheese · 10-09-2021 10:28am

My uncles told me when I was starting out working to always take a shít on the companies time, never your own. Advice I've followed for 15 years now.

Nickla · 10-09-2021 10:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117870917#Comment_117870917

what i understood from it is that you could get stuck in a particular job and if better positions opened up you would not be considered.

Turtwig · 10-09-2021 11:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117870917#Comment_117870917

It means that your contribution to a particular pivotal position is so valuable it may not be easy to replace you and achieve the same output. When this happens companies may be hesitant to promote you as that may end up harming their output more.

Your best chances of promotion are outside the company. As may be your chances for better salary negotiation. That though depends on the culture. Some companies may recognise just how pivotal your role is and reward you accordingly. Others may not.

circadian · 10-09-2021 11:05am

Everyone's winging it.

starringme · 10-09-2021 11:16pm

'Make it your business to like your job'

wise words my granny used to say. I often say it to whingers.

My first manager told me to keep a record of your work progress as it happens because you'll easily forget accomplishments, projects, praise from significant parties etc. I highly recommend it as I never really kept track and promotional forms were made much tougher as a result.

BhoyRayzor · 10-09-2021 11:20pm

No one will value your time as much as you do.

floyd333 · 11-09-2021 1:09am

Don't take annual leave the same time as your boss

Jim2007 · 11-09-2021 9:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117870917#Comment_117870917

No they might pass you out on the ladder ;-) It means don't make yourself indispensable, anybody on your team should be able to step in and do your tasks. Back in the day, I remember one guy who's job it was to run the out going mail packing machine at a major insurance company. It should have been easy, just make sure the machine did not jam, but this guy took to reading the content of the out going letters and in doing so caught many embarrassing errors - missing balances, demands for late payment being sent out before the invoices etc... Senior management learned about him and heaped praise on him. Great. But every time his team leader proposed a promoting or moving on, senior management shot it down on the base it was too risky to move him. Eventually he figured out that the only way to move on was to move out.

Wildly Boaring · 11-09-2021 9:56am

Before you send an email.......

Half it.

Before you send an angry or argumentative email........

Save a draft (without recipients) and read again the next morning.

You'll end up deleting it 99% of the time

11-09-2021 12:45pm

"It's only a job"

ebbsy · 11-09-2021 12:48pm

**** flows downhill, make sure you are standing on the bridge when it gets to you.

Ger Roe · 11-09-2021 12:54pm

Advice given to me by an experienced manager :

Don't give urgent work to the person doing nothing. If he is doing nothing, that is his nature and he won't care about your priority.

Give your work to the busy person. They have the correct ethic and will work to get on to your requirement as quickly as possible.

11-09-2021 12:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117876189#Comment_117876189

This is why a lot of people do as little as possible!

you know you're the last on the list for work 😁

Strumms · 11-09-2021 1:01pm

Work to live, never live to work.

do the job you were hired to do, nothing else, favors turn into full time responsibility and additional work quickly. That favor will be slow to be paid back...if ever.

every graveyard in the country is stacked full deep and high full of ‘hard workers’. If you are hired as a painter and decorator do your job, that job efficiently, effectively and well.. as efficiently and as well as you can with the resources they give you.... if the van you have been provided with breaks down... no matter what time you get to the job... you finish on time... don’t sacrifice your wellbeing, personal, health and family wellbeing because your employer can’t deliver their end of an agreement..

Littlehorny · 11-09-2021 1:07pm

I suppose "don't let the companies problems become your problems" is one that I have seen more and more as I go through my working life.

Some companies and managers are very good at putting the guilt on employees to get certain things done, getting extra work out of people, working weekends and doing two jobs at once etc. Usually it's good employees who suffer in these situations.

YellowFeather · 11-09-2021 1:13pm

Nobody is irreplaceable is my one.

I've done the crazy hours, and certainly I got thanks for it, and enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t do it again. It’s not worth it when you realise that you’ve plowed years into your job at the expense of your own real life because you think everything will break down if you don’t. It won’t!!

Also related is - learn to delegate! Probably one of the things I found most difficult to do.

inconnu · 11-09-2021 1:18pm

Learn to say no!

Patsy167 · 11-09-2021 1:23pm

If you show up and do your job you are ahead of half of your competition

11-09-2021 1:25pm

"if you were hit by a bus tomorrow someone would be in your job next month"

Patsy167 · 11-09-2021 1:26pm

Be 50% a good worker and 50% a good coworker

inconnu · 11-09-2021 1:40pm

Nobody is indispensable. No matter who they are, they can be replaced. So don't try to make yourself indispensable by taking on extra work.

growleaves · 11-09-2021 2:22pm

Keep your mouth shut. Your colleagues aren't your friends. Don't make enemies if you can avoid it. All obvious stuff.

In a corporate setting, social weight counts for more than skill/ hard work so either be charming or be quiet and inoffensive.

Live below your means if you can, to reduce your dependence on employers.

If you're negotiating pay or something else, you need to start a soft auction i.e. "This other company has just offered me €5,000 more". The other company could be imaginary. I'm not telling you to lie though - it's better to line up real offers and play them one against another.

Wildly Boaring · 11-09-2021 2:35pm

If you don't ask you don't get.

Applies to promotions, rises, perks, nicer roles.....

Obviously to be used sensibly

jackboy · 11-09-2021 2:44pm

Be on time

Take your time

Leave on time

Viscount Aggro · 11-09-2021 3:56pm

Remember, your colleagues are not your friends.

11-09-2021 4:06pm

Don't go into catering.

From my father a chef

Flinty997 · 14-09-2021 11:09pm

Brevity and Clarity in all things.

15-09-2021 2:08am

Treat your employees well and most of the time, things will take care of themselves. Be a leader and empower your employees to make decisions rather than having to run to you every time. A lot of people thrive when given responsibility.