"The Corporate Commandments"

This article is reprinted from examiner.com, a website that is affiliated with the national newspaper chain, and it is from Heather Huhman, Entry Level Careers Examiner. She cites my book as "Recommended Reading" and features an article I wrote highlighting 10 of the 72 "Corporate Commandments that are featured in my book.

Recommended reading: From Graduation to Corporation
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January 25, 9:00 AM
by Heather Huhman, Entry Level Careers Examiner
Making the transition from college life to the workplace isn’t easy. Your body needs to adjust to a regular schedule and any mistakes you make don’t simply result in a lower grade, to name a few of the challenges.

In a recent interview with Andy Teach, author of “From Graduation to Corporation: The Practical Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder One Rung at a Time,” he offered 10 “corporate commandments” you should follow to transition smoothly, stay on track and get ahead.

1. Don’t just look for a job, look for a career. We probably spend more time at work than anywhere else. If you find a job that you love, it will turn into a career that you love. There is nothing more important than finding a career where you look forward to going to work every day and you look forward to making a contribution every day. Your passion will translate into success and happiness all around.

2. Always think about your work reputation. From the moment you walk in the door at work, you are being judged. How you look, speak, act and write all contribute to how others see you. Don’t give anyone a reason to see you in a negative light. Always act professionally and maturely. Forty years from now, you want to look back at your career and be proud of the one thing that matters most – your reputation.

3. Learn from your mistakes and from the mistakes of others. There’s an old saying, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Everyone makes mistakes. The key is to learn from them. I’ve seen people who made one mistake that cost them their job. If you make a mistake, ask yourself what you did wrong and make a mental note not to repeat it. Observe others, and learn from their mistakes so that you won’t find yourself in the same position.

4. Remember that your job is to make the boss’s job easier. We all have a lot of stress at work, and it’s easy to get wrapped up in our own little world, but you should never forget that you were hired to make the boss’s job easier. Always ask your boss how you can help him or her. Maintain a strong working relationship with your boss at all times, and let them know that they can always count on you.

5. Don’t be late. If you are constantly late for work or to meetings, you’re basically saying that your time is more valuable than everyone else’s. It isn’t. Always remember that you are part of a team, and others are depending on you. Also, if you are late to work then you will most likely make your boss mad, and there’s nothing worse than making your boss mad first thing in the morning.

6. Dress for success. I mentioned earlier how people judge you by the way you look. This may not be fair, but it is true. Who do you think will be seen more as management material, the person who dresses in a business suit or the person who wears jeans and sneakers? Don’t dress like your peers – dress like the people in managerial positions. Dress for the position you want, not the one you have.

7. It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you miss a deadline. I’ve had employees who graduated from extremely prestigious universities have problems making deadlines because they were slow and unorganized, despite their intelligence. It doesn’t matter how great your work is if you miss a deadline. Always allocate more than enough time when working on projects, and if you think you may not make a deadline, inform your boss as soon as possible.

8. Attention to detail is everything. In any job, accuracy is crucial. Always re-read and proof any e-mails or reports you write, and do it a few times. You should strive for 100 percent accuracy all the time and be hard on yourself if any errors see the light of day. Why? Because someone reading your work will assume that if there’s one mistake, there might be others, and you don’t want them questioning your abilities after you’ve worked so hard on a project.

9. Always initiate. A supervisor will always be impressed if you do things that they don’t ask you to do, in addition to your daily responsibilities. Initiation can separate you from the rest of the employees at work who only do what they are asked to do. When it comes time to be considered for a promotion, who do you think has a better chance, the person who just executes, or the person who both executes and initiates?

10. Be patient when it comes to career advancement. Younger people have a reputation for wanting to move up the corporate ladder quickly and for switching jobs often. Don’t be in a rush. If you are constantly changing jobs, you are losing out on valuable experience. Also, if an employer sees on your résumé that you don’t stay with any one job for a reasonable amount of time, they might assume that you won’t stay with them for any length of time and may not hire you because of it.