Your First Job: Ten Critical Things That Nobody Tells You
2. You Cant Screw Up or Be Wrong, Ever
In college it was OK to get a B or a C on a project as long as you were keeping the chains moving, gobbling up credits until you have enough to graduate. In the real world there are no letter grades. Well, actually there is. There is A and F and nothing in between. You either complete your projects perfectly or you failed. This is one of the hardest things for recent graduates to understand.
It sounds daunting and stressful but it’s not so bad. The key to adhering to this paradigm is that you must think carefully before you speak. You must also proofread all emails before you hit ‘Send’. Most importantly, you must triple-check everything before you tell your boss an assignment is complete. If you are giving your opinion on a strategic direction then you need to have some reasons why you arrived at that opinion. These are things that all professionals do so that they are never wrong and never passed up for a promotion. It’s all in your control.
If you do screw up, like a no-call, no-show or you bomb a project that impacts the organization, you’re chances for advancement are gone. You are done with this company and need to move on if you wish to move up.
You Might Also Like
