Hi Reader
This blog about some lessons learn from my job. I was overjoyed when I received my first job offer Chemical Sector right out of college. I contacted my parents, and began looking for rooms in that city before realising I couldn't pay one. However, as the job start day approached, I became increasingly concerned. This was my first full-time work, and I'd like to share my horror stories of recent graduates student making stupid mistakes in their first two years, leading to a terrible reputation. A terrible reputation in job may mean that you never get staffed on projects; in businesses with flatter structure, such as software companies, it may mean that you never get to drive any of your ideas since no one is prepared to work with you. In this article, I'll share three typical mistakes I find young professionals across sectors making that,
1. Limit their ability to perform on the job in the near term and,
2. Negatively impact professional advancement in the long run.
My current views of recent student, now that I have a few more years of experience in few companies.
1. Not understanding the goal
The first mistake is to get into the job without first thoroughly understanding the goal. The explanation for this is rather simple. We are terrified of asking dumb questions in front of our more experienced colleagues as new professionals. We're all pretty excited to get started, right? So when that first assignment comes around, you're eager to get started and plunge in to prove your value. However, as you can see, if you don't completely understand why you're conducting this project, your final output is quite likely to be lacking certain crucial parts that your boss wants to see in the first place. Of course, the solution appears to be simple. I believe we can all agree that wasting 15 or 30 minutes is a waste of time. So, I believe we can all agree that spending 15 to 20 minutes more clarifying your understanding is far more effective than wasting hours, if not days, working on something you misread in the first place. But it all comes back to that mental block of embarrassment. What if they think I'm a idiot? Here's a tip: the next time you're in this circumstance, instead of asking an open question, word your question in a manner that reinforces your knowledge. For example, instead of stating, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand anything," Could you just repeat what you just said?" Say something like, "Excuse me, just to confirm that my understanding of the action items is right, "may I assume that we're seeking to achieve.
"one, two, and three, or was I off the mid point?" As you can see, this approach allows the other person to explain their point without causing either of you to appear weak. To be honest, after all these years, I've discovered that asking questions rarely reflects negatively on you. What will surely result in a problem though, is investing a lot of time and coming up with a deliverable that no one asked for. As an example, In past I was in a huge team meeting when there was a word on a slide that I had no idea what it meant. After chatting with a few of my co-workers, I discovered that none of them understood what it stood for either. I was nervous because it was a huge meeting, so I problem with myself and finally I asked, "Excuse me, Sir, May I verify that word on slide three, you are referring to the other team?" or is there another thing with the same name?" The presenter, who is very senior, smiled and said that he should stop using abbreviations in slides and specify which team he was talking to. What I found funny later was how several of the other team members messaged me and thanked me for asking the question since they, too, were surprised. Remember that none of us confirmed which team was? Now We might have easily followed up with the incorrect team if we had not known which team that stood for.
2. Not taking responsibility
The second mistake is not taking responsibility of your work. A widespread misunderstanding among young graduates is that the scope of work assigned to you is the sole part of the total project that you should be concerned with. Those are technically incorrect, because you must absolutely do the duty assigned to you. The major value you bring to the table as an employee, and the reason you were employed, is your capacity to think critically. How does this little role for which I am responsible fit into the bigger picture? Is there a better approach to accomplish that goal? Consider this: most of the time, if not always, your supervisor or project lead will have a general idea of what they want to accomplish. They will express this to the team either directly or by drawing it out on paper. And, because they are further removed from the very raw ability to execute specifics, it is unavoidable that they will overlook some of the plan's minor features.
So, if you take their words at face value and act only on them, the end effect will not be what they planned. The solution is to thoroughly consume and understand what the ultimate purpose is, and then relate the task you're responsible for to that bigger goal. Assume you're a sales account manager with responsibility for a client portfolio. You're having a rough quarter, and revenue is down, so your manager wants you to look into the export sector to see if there are any untapped potential. A seasoned account manager will read between the lines and devise a recovery strategy by examining both the export and local markets. He or she does this because they understand that the goal is to raise income, not to investigate a single aspect of the firm. And in order to do so, they needed to break down all potential revenue sources, not just the one specified by their management. If you're concerned that the "additional work" you're doing may not be what your boss is looking for, simply produce a copy of the bare minimum job that you're ordered to do, make changes based on your knowledge, and provide both copies, demonstrating your proactive attitude.
3. Not taking the initiative.
Another mistake is failing to take the initiative in seeking out possibilities for personal growth. Let's be clear right away. It is not the company's job to guide you through your personal development path. Nonetheless, this appears to be the expectation of many recent employee. Companies will invest in you and train you for the job you were recruited to perform, but it is entirely up to you to actively seek chances that will further your personal growth. And, in my perspective, these chances abound, particularly in huge businesses. What startled me was when a peer informed me she wasn't going to take it because it wasn't required. All kidding aside, corporations provide these incredible possibilities, but it is ultimately up to individuals to reach out and seize them.
Conclusion
To summarise the three points I made in this article, the first is to properly define the goal before beginning work. Second, take responsibility by considering how your job fits into the wider picture, and third, aggressively seek possibilities for personal improvement. I've made all three sorts of mistakes at some point in my work career, therefore I hope these lessons help you avoid potentially embarrassing situations. There are several advantages to avoiding these professional mistakes. People will say nice things about you even when you aren't around since your reputation follows you, and you may even have an expedited career path because you can avoid these basic level mistakes.
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