Son joining corporate world

[rayinpenn]

I lasted 38 years with the same firm through mergers rifs and disasters - I attribute it to 2 things.
1. When asked to do anything “happy to help” and say it sincerely
2. Lifetime learning 2 masters at night and took every technical course i could.

Of course you’ll counsel him Dont spend 20 years doing something you don’t enjoy. Ill bet he will do great.

Thanks for the question and Happy to help

[Aerides]

Network, every project, every meeting, make a new friend.
Do favors, build a favor bank.
Make your boss's assistant into your new best friend.
(but do these authentically, fakers/suck-ups are easy to sniff out, you won't move up if your peers hate you).

Move. Don't stay in the same role for more than 2-3 years, less depending on the culture of the company. Take a lateral to learn something else vs. always going straight up. (pro-tip, laterals usually come with nice little raises anyway).

Dress nicely, pay attention to the culture.

Don't date coworkers (or as Olympia Dukakis put it so well in Moonstruck: Don't s**t where you eat).

[snappytom]

Be pleasant but not a pushover. Don't be afraid to get to know people at all levels of the organization.
Be involved in things that make money ..... always "Swim in the the stream of revenue"

[street]

Not much more advise then what has been given. I can tell you after reading what needs to be done, I'm so glad I'm done with all of that circus and trying to climb the corporate ladder. Lol

[38Chevy454]

Lot of good comments. A good attitude and willingness to help is something that can be noticed and beneficial.


I'll just add a couple of one-liners related to each other:
Don't get your meat where you get your bread and butter
Don't go fishing off the company pier

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Make sure to treat people with respect, especially the administrative staff and security staff. They run the place and are great people to know.

+1 People will watch how you treat these people that help make the place sun smoothly.... if you treat them civily it will be noticed... please and thank you go a long ways.

Short story.... we were interviewing for a staff accountant position... we always included our administrative assistant as part of the interview process. We had a candidate that we were leaning towards but the admin asst was not at all keen on (not sure why).... anyway, we decided to pass in favor of another candidate. About a half a year later I'm watching the 11pm news and they have an item where the candidate the admin asst wasn't keen on had been arrested and charged with embezzlement. Bullet dodged!

[jollystomper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Make sure to treat people with respect, especially the administrative staff and security staff. They run the place and are great people to know.

+1. I would add the maintenance staff as well. You would be surprised at how word gets around.

He will encounter disagreements. It is the nature of the corporate world. Never make the disagreements personal, and continue to treat the other person with respect (if if they do not treat you as such) - people are watching more than you think.

Avoid at all costs office "gossip". If he is in a group that starts talking negatively about someone who is not around, PARTICULARLY if it is of a personal nature, say nothing, and/or try to steer the conversation to other things, or try to politely come up with something else you need to do to remove yourself from the group. If it is a person you have worked with, try to come up with something nice to say about them.

Avoid older workers who are constantly cynical; seek out the ones who have a positive (not necessarily rah-rah) outlook, and who spend more time encouraging and learning, and not complaining without a plan.

As smart as one thinks they are, do not be a know-it-all attitude. DO not be afraid to ask questions, and have an attitude that you can learn something from everyone.

[timbervest]

He needs to make himself indispensable to the organization. Learn how to "manage up" in working with superiors. Demonstrate his value to the organization and earn respect. Balance buying into the corporate culture while still being able to get the work done. Take responsibility for his work product and own his mistakes. Be quick to praise the accomplishments of others and give credit to the team. Treat administrators and lower levels with respect. Work hard and don't get involved in drama. Show initiative and always make sure there are four or five other people around that are more likely to get fired than him.

[DFDubb]

It's interesting how many people have advocated the go in early and stay late mantra. That is such a uniquely American and antiquated way of thinking. Fortunately for your son, that nonsense is dying off and/or retiring out of the corporate world with the younger generation. What a complete load of **** that is and there is no reason for it. We can get our work done in an 8 hour day just fine and you managers that are recommending the go in early stay late should really take a moment and reflect on what you're saying and how you view your employees and their families that you're advocating them to ignore in order to "get ahead".

[Redbugdave]

I don't have much to add, but thoroughly enjoyed the answers and remarks.

Just try to fit in, make work friends, dress the part, be yourself and don't back stab. Keep your real life apart from your work life and you will be happier in the long run. Learning and doing new things is what turns work into fun. So, encourage your coworkers and bosses to show you new ways of doing things. Ask questions for your own knowledge and not just for show. Access yourself, (self awareness), to make sure you are not getting in a rut. Go home and see your parents and real friends regularly to keep you grounded.

And this turned out to be more than I expected...

[Nick12]

Interesting take. Corporate world is not for the faint of heart. Doing the impossible possible, coming under budget, getting buy in from your teams, dealing successfully with HR matters and thinking out of the box and implementing changes takes balls and nerve. Some executives at Megacorp didn't even put in a full days work but knew how to make things happen to increase the company bottom line and for them to move up the brutal food chain. For the executive to know everything that goes on that's not reality. The TV show " Undercover Boss".

[Masquernom]

There was a survey where they asked middle managers if other managers in their company had promoted friends in place of more deserving employees. A very high percentage of managers said other managers did that routinely.

When the same managers were asked if they did that themselves, they almost always said no.


My last manager once complained to me that whenever he had a job opening, his phone never stopped ringing. Other managers calling him to promote one of their friends for the position.

[kgtest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueskies123 To avoid layoffs due to corporate takeovers he wants to be his bosses most valuable employee. He will do that by turning in his work early with the best possible quality, get to work on time or early and stay late if needed, volunteer to take some undesirable work from the boss, and not talk smack about one or anything.

Good advice, I wish I could follow. As the grind grows, I've found I talk more smack, take on less pet projects, and with small kids its really tough to stay late and come in early with daycare etc...



SO YES, do this as much as possible while childless, as you cannot compete with the childless as you age. I never say no to anything but some times I say yes with exceptions


Experience affords flexibility and opportunity. Tell him never be scared to learn a new skill, and don't let human fear become a factor, be brave...its a rough cut-throat world lol.

[kgtest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masquernom There was a survey where they asked middle managers if other managers in their company had promoted friends in place of more deserving employees. A very high percentage of managers said other managers did that routinely. When the same managers were asked if they did that themselves, they almost always said no. My last manager once complained to me that whenever he had a job opening, his phone never stopped ringing. Other managers calling him to promote one of their friends for the position.

+1 THIS! It is not what you know, it's WHO you know, and who likes you that is now or could someday be in a position of power that would help you. I learned this super early in life, but the power comes with responsibility, like hiring and firing people, and being fired upon yourself.

[bigcmagor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Make sure to treat people with respect, especially the administrative staff and security staff. They run the place and are great people to know.

This is the best advice I've read in the thread. I once walked out of the restroom near our reception area and overheard a new hire (who was there for an orientation meeting) being short and disrespectful to our receptionist. He was told that his hiring was a mistake, the offer rescinded and to leave.

[GNXGuy]

There is a reason Illinois is the number one State folks are exiting.

I know I'm one of them

[CoolRich59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Thanks for your heartfelt condolences. Where I worked, people that behaved like that were not side lined, they were promoted. If you really never experienced this, I'm envious.

This was my experience as well.

I worked for a couple of Chicago's largest megacorps, so there's a chance the son is going to work for my former employer. If so, travelover's advice is spot on.

EDIT: That's not to say there's no some great advice here and I did many of these things early in my career. What I came to belatedly realize, however, was that at a certain point office politics, not ability, determined who moved up and who got side-lined.

[freedomatlast]

In addition to gaining a broad base of knowledge and expertise, be the only guy in the organization who knows how to do one particular thing that is essential to the organization. Be the "go to" guy for all the hard stuff.

[CoolRich59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Make sure to treat people with respect, especially the administrative staff and security staff. They run the place and are great people to know.

Wholeheartedly agree with this. I always made a point to do this because it's the way I was raised.

When my megacorp transferred me across country to another office, I was very moved to have a couple of these folks come say goodbye with tears in their eyes.

[SumDay]

Tell him to enjoy every minute of Chicago. It's a great place for the young ones. One of our kids lives there and should be an ambassador for the city. They absolutely love it.