Transitioning from college to the working world is exciting and daunting at the same time. You have a chance to make something of yourself and show your true abilities in your profession. When starting out you want to give yourself every advantage to show what an asset you are to your company. Through this transition you should be aware of some of the smaller aspects of how to conduct yourself in this new professional environment. The two areas I think are most important to be mindful of are (1) what you say and (2) the things you do.
It is very important to understand the professional environment you work in is very different from the college environment. As a very talkative person, this was a very important lesson for me to learn. Talking to co-workers, bosses and supervisors especially, about a crazy night/weekend out with friends, is definitely not a good idea. As nice and down to earth as your bosses may be, it is still a place where labels can be placed very easily. Especially when starting out, people establish a perception of who you are very quickly, and a perception of being a partier or an irresponsible new hire can be a long-lasting blemish. It takes much more work to restore that perception than it does to mess it up. Another aspect of how to watch what you say relates to talking about clients. Confidentiality is a concept that we don’t have to worry about in college as much, but the reason for not talking about clients at all outside of work is often who is listening to your conversation that can hurt you. You never know when an employee or relative of the owner of the client is standing nearby and listening to your conversation. Even when at lunch with co-workers, it is important to not use client names or even distinguishing details about the company. Confidentiality is part of our professional standards, and must be taken very seriously. Be mindful of what you say, regardless of who you are speaking to.
Secondly, I know this may seem very obvious to be mindful of what you do at work, but there may be some aspects that you may not have thought about. The concept behind why I bring this up is “perception is reality.” Similar to being careful of what you say, often the small things you do can impact perception of you, especially to managers and partners who don’t work directly with you on a regular basis. What I consider one of the more frequently made mistakes is texting on your phone at work. You really shouldn’t text at work at all. This may seem harsh, but let me explain. Let me start by stating your bosses are always watching, whether you see them or not. This is because they hired you and need to make assessments of how you can handle yourself. All it takes is pulling out your phone to send one text as your manager or partner walks past your cube for them to consider you a “texter.” Especially when out with clients or out to eat with coworkers, put your phone away. It is very disrespectful to be texting while at a table with other people, because it makes them feel like whatever you are doing on your phone is more important than they are. Our generation is so used to our friends and family being at our fingertips through technology, but in a professional environment, unless you are the boss, that doesn’t leave a good impression.
I only touched on a few of the major mistakes I can think of. Being conscious of these areas will help not distract from a good work ethic and the value you can bring to your company.
