There are many things that I have learned during my 15 years working in the corporate environment, to help you prepare for your next career
- Have a Master Plan – Don’t just work for the sake of getting paid at the end of the month, this is the fastest way to unhappiness and job dissatisfaction. Have a life goal and make your job part of it, understand what it is you are gaining or learning from the current position, know where you would like to end up in future and then fill the space in between where you are and where you are going with constant action, learning and regular reviews so you can see and manage your pace.
- Be on Time – Don’t find yourself chasing time, it is a bad habit that will slow you down, you will spend most of your time reacting to situations instead of being pro-active and in control. Be early in everything, wake up early, be early at work and meetings and most importantly be early to sleep this will help you to be early throughout the next day.
- Keep your Mind Sharp – Do plenty of extra reading and research during your spare time and remember to give some time to the body and exercise regularly. We live in a world of convenient transportation, fast foods, the internet and satellite TV, overdoing these things can slow our thinking capacity so regular exercise will do the trick.
- Listen to Yourself – That inner voice inside always knows what is best, so listen. In the corporate world you are constantly faced with tough decisions and the best way forward in those indecisive moments is to listen to your inner voice and remember; if it feels wrong, then it is and vice versa.
- Work well with others – Be courteous and loving to all, choose to be forgiving, understanding and joyful in all situations. This will help you overcome some of the negative situations in the workplace. Some characters are affected negatively by their surroundings, the traffic, even somebody else being happy can cause them to be unhappy. So, rather be positive and loving to all, in return you will experience constant positivity.
- Image Matters – Yes, the guy in a fancy car with a 10k suit may get better treatment and attention, it is all a matter of perception. Your overall image matters, you have to take good care of how people perceive you, and if you don’t know much about the topic then start searching for tips on the internet, there are plenty to be found. Remember to look good you don’t have to spend lots of money, just remember the following; wear clothes that fit you well (not too loose, not too tight) and always be clean.
- Stand your ground – Stand firm on your believes, ideas, and goals. You know those pushovers you find in office corridors and boardrooms, for them, it’s like high school all over again, they get bullied by their managers and everybody new just seems to be promoted ahead of them. The solution is simple, CONFIDENCE! In the corporate world you have to constantly work on your self-confidence, those who mostly succeed have very high and positive confidence levels.
- Take Time Off – Also called sharpening the saw, most people and mainly those who are married and have kids, hardly take time off to spend on their own. This usually leads to unhappiness and stress. You need to take time off in isolation to get an opportunity to rest and appreciate what has happened while preparing for what is going to happen but most importantly assessing what is currently happening.
- Have Fun! – Really have some fun, laugh daily and don’t take everything so seriously, remember you only have this one life to live, we are not guaranteed tomorrow so, to go through the whole day without having a bit of fun is not worth it, when you were a kid you didn’t dream of being a paper pusher.
