Not much of a corporate veteran myself, many of the lessons I have learnt have been the hard way. I consider myself fortunate that God gave me the opportunity to work with some of the most horrendous and evil people that walked the surface of the earth. As a junior level consultant I had worked with seniors who have not only been callous and selfish but have also resorted to every nasty and mean trick in the book in order to get ahead in their career. Often, the lowest person in the rung becomes the proverbial scapegoat and safe to say, I have adorned the position on more than several occasions. What prompted this posting was the emotional outburst of one such goat yesterday. She was obviously upset at the bad treatment meted out to her and needed a shoulder to cry on. And that’s when I offered her my two bits on how to survive the wham-bham of the corporate world.
1. Repeat to yourself-my colleagues are not my friends, they are just people I work with. This must be the mantra that guides every interaction in the office space. Getting over friendly or too sympathetic towards a colleague is just not called for. You don’t need to trust them with your secrets or the fact that ‘the last week when I had the flu, I had just been to goa on vacation’. Too much information is not good information.
2. Learn to not take things to heart. People will do anything to get ahead. You just happened to get in the way. Don’t take it personally.
3. Don’t expect people to like you-You aren’t their spouse, parent, uncle, aunt or child. Not even the indulgent grandparent. Unconditional love and worse, friendship, outside of these relationships, is only an urban myth.
4. Love yourself and be confident-Nothing matters like confidence. If you don’t take yourself seriously, no one will. It is not a mere coincidence that the office bitch is usually your boss.
5. Keep your eyes and ears open- Helps to understand people, especially when you are new. Also helps to identify weaknesses and play to them.
6. Never display emotional weakness-if there is one category of people who get massacred in an office environment, it is those who have displayed emotional weakness. Sobbing or worse having an angry outburst is fodder for gossip and perpetrating a less than desirable office image.
7. Blend in- This is vital. Try to blend in as much as possible, be it in terms of dressing, behavior or work ethics. Being your own self is fine but as long as you are not viewed as the resident jack-in-the-box.
8. Network- Absolute essential. Be it your boss’ secretary, the sweeper, the IT guy or the other vertical’s boss you met in the cafeteria. Networking ensures visibility and visibility equals top of the mind recall during appraisals. Being friendly without being too familiar is an art that takes a lifetime to perfect for some and comes naturally to others.
I hope the few points on top would help at least some of the other lambs out there who are trying to get a foothold in their professional careers. Roughing it out in the first few years is vital to ensuring that you come out unchanged and values intact. And above all, it is important to remember that neither does your professional self necessarily define your personal life nor is it required to be an extension of you. You spend over 80% of your time with people who hardly matter in the larger scheme of things. It is just what you do to put food on the table and a roof over your head. Remember this the next time you have a bad day at work.