November 8, 2009
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What I’ve Concluded About Work Thus Far
1. Play well with others.
I try to let my work speak for itself, so to say, but in school there's something called class participation grade. Some of those section leaders do not let you get away without speaking up in class. You gotta speak up at work, too…apparently. People like you better after they've had a decent conversation with you and a lot of times, their ideas about your work performance reflects how much they like you, how comfortable they are with you..
2. Demonstrated capabilities should = increased responsibilities.
This is because rarely people will say to you, "I noticed you've been doing a good job, how about a promotion?" I think of it as a ping-pong ball. At school, you're hitting the ball: taking exams, writing papers, and feedback comes from your teacher. At work, you're going to wait a long time before the ball gets served back to you. So if you feel you've been exceeding expectations consistently, ask for more responsibilities or a performance eval if that's where you're at..
3. Vocalize well.
I tend to react to what other people say, I’m not very good at initiating conversations. If Conclusion #1 meant being smart about socializing with others, this one is more about practicing good communication skills. My goals are to be clear and concise when telling the attorney about something, not to confuse coworkers when I ask them questions, and to join in Friday lunch conversation without hesitation.
4. Be in the now.
At work, there are certain things that don’t agree with me as much as I’d like them to. For example, the lack of recycling really bugs me. I take some paper and instead of throwing it out, I reuse it to write phone messages on. I think in many jobs, you’re not going to have everything perfect the way you want it to be, but you can still make a difference at the moment, making decisions you believe in. And then you can take what you learn from this job to your next, and hopefully better, job.
Comments (3)
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yeah, the lack of recycling at work bugs me as well. I think the reason businesses typically don't have recycling bins is because it cuts down on work productivity to spend time sorting recyclables. However, some trash companies do sort recycling stuff at their facilities, if that makes you feel better
I too am not great at having conversations at work. It's something hard to get used to. In school, you either socialized or did your work, but usually not at the same time. At work, you have to learn to do both effectively simultaneously, which can be a difficult balance.
@tw22786 - i can hope! (about recycling)
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