I desired and was excited about the crisped shirts, well-tailored pants, skirts and dresses, beautiful stilettos I’ll have to wear and of course, the pay! Little did I know that those things are not really what matter in determining my success in the corporate world, it takes a lot more than those. I have learnt a lot however, I want to keep this post as concise as possible, so here are just 3 lesson points (with many sub points, lol);
I could write a book from my experiences so far in the corporate environment for the past 2 years, 8 months, 3 weeks and 5 days (such precision, lol) but I will share some of the morals in bits, first with these three points (and many sub points). More morals will be shared in other blog posts, just stay connected *winks*
1. Perception / impression is KEY (had to put the ‘key’ in capital letters).
· Perception is simply how someone or something is judged, regarded or looked upon.
· Be perceived as an idiot and be treated like one but be perceived as a royalty and you will be treated like a king. Be careful how you present yourself.
· Perception can determine your experience within your first few years or for many more years.
· Perception can be very hard to change especially when it is a bad one. Sometimes, it takes a lot to correct or change a bad impression.
· Perception determines how you will be received/treated.
· Look it, act it but more importantly, do it well.
2. Office bullies are real! (I wish someone told me this earlier)
· Office bullies are real, beware of them lest you fall victim, stay confident and bold.
· Do not appear weak, incompetent, ill-informed or ignorant, please don’t, lest they make you their prey.
· Be firm with your responses but not rude, sound confident (not arrogant), seek clarification when in doubt but never look or portray obtuseness.
· Bullies easily perceive weakness of any sort, they take advantage of it and make the work environment miserable if care is not taken.
· As much as possible, always exude confidence, don’t let negative words get to you.
· Never doubt your abilities to be excellent even when you goof, only show a willingness to learn and correct your mistakes.
· Don’t let their words get to you (I beg you), they can make you feel like you are the worst employee (you aren’t, trust me). Fill your mind with the possibilities of success and excellence.
3. Take up relevant responsibilities and be responsible for your work.
· Taking up responsibilities, executing them excellently and efficiently can help your visibility (which is key!) at work.
· As much as this can be tricky, I mean, we do not want to add any and everyone’s work load to the overwhelming one we already have yet, taking up responsibilities in line with your work objectives can be good for you.
· Responsibilities help build up your capacity, visibility and efficiency, don’t shy away from them.
· Do those ‘extras’ excellently and timely, take credit but very importantly, acknowledge the input of every one who was part of each success.
· Take up only responsibilities which are in line with your general work goals. Work can be overwhelming, don’t add up ‘unnecessary’ work load, focus on the relevant activities and avoid every irrelevant one.
I feel like have had the toughest three years of my life since I started working and so I usually love to share the lessons learnt.
Let’s rub minds, let’s share our experiences so others can learn from them.
I have more to share in regards to soft and hard skills, just stay here with me.
I look forward to your comment(s).
Thank you once again for reading!
Dress from Helen Woman (my clothing brand)
Olajumoke.