Suggestions for Surviving and Thriving on the Job

• Be willing to take on any assignment thrown your way. When you’re not busy, ask the boss if there’s anything you can do to help him, even if it’s just something small.

• Think up your own assignments on topics that are relevant to the company and in areas where you might have a particular interest. Discuss them with your boss.

• Make sure you understand what each assignment entails. [the product can be anything] What’s the end product? Who is the audience for the end product? In what form and how should the product be presented? Who are the other members of the team and what are their roles? What are your specific responsibilities? Authority to direct work of other people or otherwise call upon them for support?

• Don’t be shy about asking questions to clarify details of an assignment when it’s made and as you’re working on it.

• Take notes in all meetings so you have a record of assignments, due dates, guidance your boss might impart, etc. Take notes during phone calls as well. These notes should not be formal where you’re worried about someone else viewing them; they should be for your understanding to provide you with all the clarification.

• Get each assignment organised at the outset. Establish a timeline for completing the assignment; start with the due date and work backwards and placing critical benchmarks. Break large tasks down into sub-tasks and make the overall job more manageable.

• Check with the management and stakeholders throughout the project to report on progress and problems.

• If you’re having trouble, let the boss know. Articulate the problem clearly (e.g., lack of or slowness in receiving data, insufficient skills, etc.) and how it affects the assignment. Indicate what you have done to address the problem before bringing it. Bring ideas on how the problem might be solved with […] help.

• Be positive in your approach to tasks and the job generally. Nobody likes a chronic complainer.

• Keep your personal and professional lives separate to the extent possible. They intersect, ofc, but you need a life away and shouldn’t bring your personal problems into the workplace.

• Keep a record of your work. For performance evaluation purposes, etc.; will also save you time on future, similar projects, or future in general.

• Make a point of introducing yourself to everyone in the office. Try to understand what each person does and where they stand in the pecking order.

• Appreciate that everyone makes a contribution to the success of the company—from the guy in the mailroom to the secretaries to the analysts to the bosses. Each of the can help or hurt you in lots of different ways, so be courteous to and appreciative of everyone.

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