3 Not S0 Common Career Tips
Reader beware - the following career tips are not for those who like to blindly follow advice. Used in the right circumstances they could help you climb up the ladder quickly. Used in the wrong circumstances and you could be looking for a new job…..
1. Do Not Work Any Longer Than You Have To
Many people consistently work significantly longer than they get paid for. This shows dedication and commitment to the job, right? I can just imagine what must be going through their head: “this is going to look great at my next review”, or “this is sure to earn me a promotion.” Well sometimes this is true. Often, however, people want to be a martyr or are just taken for suckers.
Consider Parkinson’s Law which states that work will expand to fill the time available. This basically means that if someone is only paid to work 8 hours, but always end up working 10 hours, then their work will expand to fill the 10 hours. My advice then is not to do less work. Instead, focus on being more productive. Get done in 8 hours what others take 10 hours to do. Only stay longer at the office when it is absolutely essential.
I also believe that working consistently long hours has, in almost all cases, a negative affect on peoples’ lives. Non-work relationships usually tend to suffer. Hobbies become a thing of the past. Let me put this simply: having no life outside of work makes people boring. These are not the inspirational leaders that (hopefully) rise to the top in the workplace.
2. Question Your Boss
If my previous tip could be summarized as “don’t be a sucker”, this one could be summarized as “don’t be a suck-up”. Being a “yes man” to your boss may be the easy path to take, but it is not the path to gaining respect (which is perhaps the most important thing to cultivate).
There is, of course, a right and a wrong way to question your boss. The wrong way would include such things as continually finding small faults (nit-picking) or embarrassing your boss in front of other people (eg in a meeting). The right way would involve expressing an opinion based on facts and evidence in an appropriate manner and place (eg in private).
3. Ask Stupid Questions
No one wants to look like an idiot, and I certainly don’t recommend asking stupid questions if they can be avoided. However, there are often situations when it is necessary to suck it up and ask the dumb question. Would you rather look stupid now when the project is in its initial planning stage or in 2 weeks time when the project is in full force?
6 Comments
August 21st, 2007 at 1:18 am
Saying “Don’t work more hours” is all very well but what specific solutions do you have for this common problem? That kind of information would prove useful to all.
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August 21st, 2007 at 1:32 am
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the comment. I guess my approach to this common problem has 2 steps:
1) Rid yourself of the mindset that you need to spend extra time at the office. Recognize the importance of having a life outside of work - for your health, relationships and general wellbeing. Also, I am a firm believer that those people who have their lives in order outside of the office perform best whilst at the office, therefore helping them to be promoted.
2) Get more done in less time by increasing your productivity. There are a lot of sites on the net devoted to this, the big ones being Lifehack.org and Lifehacker. Also, the book Getting Things Done by David Allen seems to be the productivity bible. I am reading it at the moment and am finding it to be an eye-opener.
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August 21st, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Nice post. I agree completely about trying to avoid working past the 8 hour mark. Unfortunately, my field seems to be the kind that “expects” you’re going to work more than 40 hours each week. But, seeing as how I work to live and not the other way around I ignore that expectation. There’s something to be said for efficiency and not letting work monopolize your time.
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August 22nd, 2007 at 1:53 am
Exactly. Let me be clear - I know this advice may not be easy to follow as it goes against expectations. Also, in many cases it will make it tougher to be promoted. My first suggestion would be not only be incredibly efficient, look incredibly efficient as well. The other suggestion would be to ask yourself, if you are expected to work long hours now in your career, when will it ever be less? Probably never as you tend to take on more responsibilities as you go higher and higher up the ranks.
Of course the other option is just to follow your dreams, find a career you love, and watching the clock will hardly be an issue
.
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August 22nd, 2007 at 5:35 pm
hi. i liked these suggestions and think they could be applied in my/our life ;P.
anyway i would like to offer an extension of point 3. i agree that you should always ask the questions. what i think people should pay real attention to in a comany is learning WHO to ask the questions to. i am not a good networker but i know who has what skills and who ’speaks’ my language so that the answers i recieve i understand. they get a lot more of my dumb help calls than others. it’s not only the asking but then understanding the information you recieve.
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September 4th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
I completely agree with working less hours. Our lives should consist of more important things than work. Remember, that work should be something we do to earn our living. When we look back on our lives many years from now, we will focus on our families, our experiences, and our joys. Our jobs will be very low on the list of our fond memories.
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