Congratulations! How exciting! As a veteran of 30 years in offices around the world, please go into your job with the motto "Big ears, Small mouth." Mostly listen. Talk little. You don't actually know what you think you know, and avoid the inclination to insinuate yourself into every single conversation around you. Speak when spoken to, or asked for your input. I don't think the newbie sitting next to me will survive today. I may kill him. It is his first job, and he has immediately assumed that his thoughts/opinions/input are incredibly valuable to every single person and conversation in the entire room! He may have to die. For the good of humankind. I'll report back later.
It's interesting... this is also excellent advice for ANYONE in a new job regardless of where you are in your career. We've recently had a bunch of turnover at the executive and mid-level management layers of the place I work. This happens roughly every 3 years. Our EVP of global operations and his whole crew of ex-AT&T managers that he brought with him would do well to listen. Sure... to maxwell's point... one cannot be silent - but when you are the newest person in the room, whether the CEO or the college intern - YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. You can have opinions and ideas. You can share them - but they should be respectfully and thoughtfully made. They should be shared in appropriate settings. But most of all - just remember... even when you're almost sure that you're right, you're wrongMostly listen. Talk little.
Mostly listen. Talk little. Unless you work in a creative industry, do any sort of client servicing, problem solving, researching, or project planning. In which case, not talking makes people think "why are we paying this guy."As a veteran of 30 years in offices around the world, please go into your job with the motto "Big ears, Small mouth."
I understand your comment is a flippant, off the cuff remark on some internet forum, but there is truly no worse advice you could give a first-time employee, than to encourage them to think of themselves as equally valuable to their coworkers. They aren't. And their job is - solely - to execute on the work that their managers give them. As they settle in to the new role, they will learn how things work in the organization, learn who welcomes feedback and initiative, and who doesn't. They will be invited to participate in discussions and designs when they have shown an agility and capability to complete their assigned work. As someone who has hired/fired countless people, if I make the decision to hire someone for their first job, I am going to give them a very narrow band of responsibilities that I am sure they can accomplish. I am going to make sure they work, work hard, and produce quality output on a consistent basis. The reward for doing so is greater responsibility and my soliciting their input when I see their input might be valuable or insightful. Over time they will grow to be a valued collaborator. But if one of these flunkies speaks up in a meeting and posits a half-baked idea in front of a client or manager, that makes ME look bad. Now I gotta crush the kid's idea, in front of other people, who are thinking, "Who is this kid? Why did they even hire someone with such dumb ideas?" Well, I DIDN'T hire them for their ideas. I hired them for their facility with Photoshop, or Illustrator, or Ruby on Rails. Not for their high-level concepting or design capabilities, since they have none. So yeah. I realize this is a strong reaction to a posting on an internet forum, but OP was looking for good advice on their first job, and your advice did not meet that need.
Not flippant at all. I don't disagree with your advice, unless it's to be taken as some axiomatic truth for all first-time workers. Your experience does not jive with mine—that's cool, man. I have no doubt that what you're saying is true in your experience and in your industry. You gonna discount my perspective because isn't doesn't gel with yours? Or perhaps accept that very rarely can you give a piece of broad spectrum advice that perfectly suits all people in all environments. And yes, that was a strong reaction to a posting on an internet forum—I'm a bit bemused by it to be perfectly honest.
Haha! Just as I saw this comment, I was listening to a song from the Hamilton musical, which contains the lyric: "While we’re talking, let me offer you some free advice / Talk less / Smile more / Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for" Quite the coincidence. I will definitely keep this in mind.