Pragmatic job tips – the kind your father use to give

The Internet is chock-full of helpful job advice…how to get one, how to keep one, how to quit one. However, there is some advice that you simply will not read in all the self-help articles. Here are our top 20:

Do the jobs no one else wants to do. You will stand out over everyone who says “that’s not my job”.
Plan your day. Make a list of your priorities and rank them. Work hard to scratch everything off your list.
Never rest on your laurels. Be an eternal learner. Learn new skills. The more versatile you are, the more valuable you become.
Participate in social functions…especially if you are new. Go, because the invitations will stop, and you will slowly become the outcast.
Actively listen. Do not multi-task while someone is talking to you. It is rude and disrespectful.
Do not gossip. Ever.
Make your boss look good. Then, make your boss’s boss look good, but not to your immediate boss’s detriment.
Frazzled is not a good look. Do not bite off more than you can chew. When you look frazzled, people think you overwhelmed and inadequate. However…
Be proactive. If there is something that you can fix, fix it. Fix it well. (NOTE: There is a happy medium between #8 and #9)
If your phone rings…pick it up. People notice, and assume that is what you will do to them.
The same goes for email. Respond to all email within 24 hours. If someone sends you an email, they need something. Chances are you have a smartphone…use it.
Treat everyone with respect, even the gentleman who cleans your breakroom. If you treat one person bad, people assume you will – eventually – treat everyone bad.
You are not entitled to anything. Understand and internalize this. You do not deserve a promotion just because you were hired first. If you want it, you have got to work for it…hard.
Spend some time really understanding who you are. Your weaknesses (and we all have them) will not hurt you, but the weaknesses you have that you are unaware of…will.
Be reliable. Be on time, and if you say you will do it…do it. No excuses. Reliability is not a commodity nowadays. Employers value it.
Stay in touch. In most cases, the people who leave your company are more valuable than the people who stay.
Embrace every opportunity provided to you. If your employers want you to learn something, well, they want YOU to learn something (understand?).
Do not just focus your gaze up the corporate ladder. Look side to side too. You will be surprised at the skills your work cohorts have that they can teach you, and vice versa.
Do not look constantly for praise and affirmation. You are expected to do a good job. That is why you were hired. Learn to provide your own level of affirmation.

And finally….

20. Do not cook fish in the microwave. This is not open for discussion. Just don’t.

Brought to you by the helpful folks at Snelling, and when you are ready for a new opportunity, contact us. We have the skills you need to find you your next best-fit job!