Starting well

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HOW TO SUCCEED IN YOUR FIRST JOB - DO LUNCH!!

Everything we have talked about up to now leads to this last, vital step.

When someone senior to you invites you to lunch - it's often an interview in disguise! 

Get wise - you are not employed for your looks (most of the time) - but for your BRAINS AND YOUR ATTITUDE.

This is where you have to switch from being a student to being an employee it's a totally different game! 

Your performance in your first job can influence your entire working career. 

Doing well in the early years – the most competitive years – sets you on a career path to success.

NETWORKING

Networking in the organisation will be vital for your future success and career progression. 

Networking is basically developing relationships with people who have or may have a positive impact on helping you to get to where you want to and achieve your goals.

It’s not always what you know - it’s who you know – and who knows you.

Why is networking important? 

Opportunities will come up within your organisation where they need to look internally to find the right person for the job. 

Therefore, if you are known by the key people and have the necessary skills and potential you will be on the list.

Networking involves:

• Developing key relationships
• Developing a good self-image 
• Establishing a good reputation
• Remembering names and faces will always get you noticed (as most people don’t!)

How do you “promote yourself”? 

Well, the first obvious thing to do is to keep your eyes and ears open to what is going on around you!

If you discover an opportunity you would like to be considered for, try to find out as much about it as possible:

• what does it involve?
• what skills and experience are needed?
• who will you be working with?
• If you believe you are suitable, then you need to make the approach to the relevant person to express your interest formally.

SELF-DISCIPLINE

• Look the part! Dress for success.
• Make sure you dress appropriately. Many organisations have cultures which include the way people dress. You need to find out what the “dress code” is. 
• Timing – minutes matter! If you are being paid to be at work at a certain time, be there! Being just a few minutes late everyday gets noticed. Being just a few minutes early each day – does the same and does a lot more good!

PROFESSIONALISM

Attitude, knowledge and skills are necessary of course – but attitude is the key. 

People with positive attitudes can learn and adapt – so don’t just rely on what you know – be seen as someone who is keen to learn and develop and contribute to the good of the whole organisation. So have a good working attitude, while you are at work make sure you are working – don’t be a “clock-watcher”. 

Your character is defined by your values and beliefs. 

People “see through” words and want to find out what you really stand for. They will see you in terms of:

• Your personal integrity and honesty – people need to feel they can trust you.
• Your reliability – people need to believe you will do what you say and stand by your commitments. 
• Your effectiveness and efficiency – this is about doing  your work well 
• Your willingness to put yourself forward - volunteering to help out – being enthusiastic etc. 

BE PROACTIVE

• Have clear career aims – know where you want to go
• Have a career / personal development plan and work towards it
• Prove yourself and your capabilities others 
• Gain, build, and demonstrate confidence
• Have a go at something other than just leaving it for later or letting someone else do it.
• Be realistic about how much you really know 
• Experience takes time to gain, and organisations know that new people need time to develop understanding – make mistakes, learn a few hard lessons etc.
• As good as you think you are – other older and more experienced than you have a big influence on the speed at which you can race up the organisational ladder. 
• Be prepared to take your time and wait!

HANDLING RESPONSIBILITY

• Make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew - “Everyone gets promoted to the level of their incompetence”!
• Ask questions (there are right and wrong ways of doing it) - if you are asked to do a task or project make sure you understand what is needed and the desired outcome - if you are not clear, confirm your understanding with clarifying questions.
• Seek advice - do not be afraid to ask for help from appropriate people
• Learn from yours and others experience
• Learn from your mistakes

RISK-TAKING

You will need at some points in your career to do some things that are unfamiliar to you. 

These may appear to be challenging – you might not succeed! 

However, challenges are good because they can help grow you and push your standards up higher.

• Calculating risk vs. gambling - when you take a risk you need to weigh up the potential benefits against the potential downsides. You try to avoid “wild gambles”, however, a certain level of calculated risk is acceptable and that is for you to determine. 
• Getting support from key people above and around – if elements of your work involve risk, make sure that you receive the support and buy-in from people around you such as you manager and your team - rather than going out on a limb. 
• Taking responsibility – if you take a risk, you need to take full responsibility for it. 
• Standing up for your beliefs – sometimes you will need to voice your opinion which may not be the same as everyone else. If you feel you need to speak out, make sure you do so at a suitable time and place. No one respects a “Yes person” but equally you should not set yourself up to be a sacrificial lamb!

CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)

As people are becoming more and more qualified, you need to continue your education and development. If you stand still, you may well, get left behind. 

Employment versus employability – organisations can no longer promise lifelong employment – but they can offer you the chance to become more employable in the future as you gain new skills and experience to take with you to new jobs.

Ask yourself:

What might my organisation be prepared to pay for me to do (this is often however only what is immediately relevant to your job but worth a try)

What you can I do myself e.g., part time courses at night school, distance learning and short weekend courses etc

CLIMBING THE GREASY POLE

Careers in large organisation are competitive. 

Lots of graduates join each year, but only a few ever make it to the top. That's life. Get used to it. And if you're under constant stress, then maybe corporate life is not for you. Go find something you enjoy...

Because with experience comes responsibility and problems. It becomes very easy to slip back into thinking “it’s all about me”. 

Never forget the adage:

“Be careful who you tread on the way up – because you’ll likely meet them on the way down”!

In a committed relationship you will feel huge responsibility to “deliver." The pressure is even greater if your work culture is one that says “You’re only as good as your last result”… 

So, to deal with this you may decide the only solution is:

• Work super hard
• Equals be successful
• Equals earn loads of money
• Equals make everyone (your dependents) happy

Perfect logic – what could possibly go wrong?