Posts Tagged Corporate Culture

Yesterday, a new person started working in my department.  The person is a recent college grad, and this is probably her first real job.  The manager in charge started giving a rundown of job responsibilities and guidelines that made even my head spin.  I heard at least a dozen acronyms, which I’m sure she wasn’t familiar with.  I’m not sure if this force-feeding is the best approach when breaking in a new employee.

The other thing that usually occurs on your first day at a new job is the round of introductions.  I’m terrible at remembering peoples’ names, and the initial meet-and-greet is no exception.  Everyone knows who the new guy is, but the new guy may have to remember a dozen new names right from the start.  I’ve tried using a mnemonic, but I always wind up excusing myself and my bad memory.  Not the way you want to kick off a new job.

I’ve been the new guy at many jobs over the years.  The new guy has to remember that it’s going to take time to feel comfortable at their new job, both professionally and socially:

Professionally

• The new hire has to learn new procedures
• Training may be needed to learn new software
• Follow the structure of the chain of command

Socially

• You may find yourself alone amongst a group of cliques
• You can choose to either fit in by partaking in group lunches, kaffeeklatches, Super Bowl pools, or softball teams
• Choose to remain an outsider

I would recommend trying to join something.  After all, you’ve joined the organization professionally, and you’ll be spending most of your waking hours at work.  Why not make a few new friends?  I’m sure that she’ll get all the help and encouragement that she needs from my coworkers; we’re all pretty helpful here.

Whether you choose to be one of the gang, or remain aloof, or you could decide that the job isn’t right for you.  I think that you should give the decision at least a few months before deciding to move on.

You can read a guest post on Brazen Careerist from someone who quit her new job after just two weeks.  The comments are particularly interesting, ranging from bashing to applauding her decision.  I’ll let you be the judge.

• A Backup of a Backup Photo by Mocodragon Backup my hard drive?  How do I put it in reverse? - unknown One of my coworkers had a near-meltdown last week when her computer wouldn't recognize her thumbdrive.  The thumbdrive contained all of her important files, and was her only copy.  Now, I could have......
• Don't Just Answer the Question Photo by alexanderdrachmann I was on a conference call today with two of my coworkers.  One of them, a program manager,  was asking questions about a specific contract, and the other, a contracts administrator, was giving simple yes or no answers.  The program manager finally became frustrated, and said,......
• The Unthinkable: Giving Up Coffee Ahmed Rabea I've cut down my coffee drinking.  I used to drink ten cups a day - well, ten mugs, really.  I used to associate my coffee drinking with working.  Anytime that I had a task that I was procrastinating about, I would get a cup of coffee.  It......
• The Conspiracy Guy Photo by Marko MiloÅ¡eviÄ� One of my coworkers is a little paranoid.  Well, maybe more than a little.  He's always looking for hidden meanings in the most pedestrian announcements that are issued by our company.  To him, black is white, up is down, right is left, etc.  He thinks......
• I Don't Have Time for This! Photo by fdecomite "I don't have time for this!" That was a favorite line of one of my bosses.  Whenever he felt overwhelmed by problems or demands, he would recite his tagline.  I always wondered how he had the time to leave work early for a golf game, but......

• Professional Strategy of Making Money From Your Blog So far making money from your blog is a hot topic for many years. In fact, every one running a blog will write at least once about this topic. That means it is a common fact or a well know topic that every blogger is aware. Today, we are also......
• The Importance of Mentors When Starting A Work From Home Business. Hi everyone and welcome, as many of you know by now I started my online business with Stone Evan's Plug-in Profit Site and quickly went on to join the PIPS Power Group. This group has to proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt The Importance of Mentors......
• Surviving a recession - what you need to do now Photo by: warrenski Next to the current democratic race, the biggest topic of discussion on the news, in the office, and on the internet is the recession. Are we in one? Well, that is all part of the discussion. Some people, like the media, would have you believe we're......
• The Art of Learning By Josh Waitzkin Although this is a book by a chess expert, don’t let that fool you. There is some hard hitting advice here that can help you in many different areas of your life. If you are trying to learn more about managing your money and becoming a success, this book is......
• What I wish I'd known about college before I started When I was in high school, I assumed that I would go on to college. It was just a matter of which one. So I didn't really give college as much thought as I should have. I mean, I knew that I needed to get good grades, and that college......

The dress code at my office is business casual. There’s no strict definition of what that means. Rather, my company lists the things that you shouldn’t wear to work, liked ripped or revealing clothes. But there are some people who push the envelope, and I think it’s going to hurt all of us. Read the rest of this entry »

• Stepping Up on Short Notice Photo by TheGiantVermin I had to substitute for a colleague, who's wife became ill.  He was supposed to present his program to his director, and because I had intimate knowledge of the program, I was asked to step up.  In other words, nobody else wanted to be put on......
• Shark Tank Photo by Kecko I started watching the TV show Shark Tank a few weeks ago.  It consists of an entrepreneur pitching his or her business model to five "sharks", rich investors that can buy a piece of the entrepreneur's company.  While there are some viable ideas, most of the......
• Don't Be a Weasel! 5 Rules for Accepting Blame Photo by law_keven Yesterday, we had our monthly program review with our director.  One program manager had bad news about one of their projects.  Let's call him Larry.  He did a good job explaining, in great detail, about where they went wrong, and the steps that his team needed......
• Self-Reliance Series #2: An Office Survival Kit Photo by  96dpi This is Part 2 of my self-reliance series.  I talked about my Personal Survival Kit in Part 1.  This post will not address the best anti-virus software, how to overclock your computer, or how to climb the corporate ladder.  I like to be able to take......
• 7 No-Nos When Dressing for Work Forbes.com recently presented 7 tips about dressing for work for the ladies.  You can view the pictorial here.  I figured we could have some fun with this. 1. Too Much Cleavage - the experts say if you want to get ahead, ditch the low-cut top.  Studies show that women who......

• Create a Blog for Business – The Right Way! Creating a blog site is easy…once someone shows you how… Create a blog the way it should be done. I didn’t. And I’ve been paying for that mistake for the past two years as I struggled to learn the software, learn the “dashboard,” and learn all the “lingo.” If you’ve......
• Yoga for Busy People Too! Do you think you are too busy to exercise? Can't fit in a lengthy yoga session every morning? Don't worry, there is yoga for busy people too. Here is a quick and easy yoga sequence that you can do at home, in the office at lunch or whenever you need......
• Choosing Between Popular Perfume Brands Have you ever purchased a popular perfume based on a friend's recommendation? I've done that before, and lived to regret it. No matter how much your best friend or fashion and scent soulmate loves a popular perfume, it's no guarantee that you won't absolutely cringe when you smell it. There's......
• VoIP Business Solution - Today's Modern Office With today's current communication technology many businesses are seeking out a Business VoIP solution to connect their office VoIP PBX with a VoIP provider service to decrease cost of company calls dramatically. This is obvious from the fact that a traveling sales representative once had to report to the......
• LinkedIn is a great way to get answers to business questions from business people If you don't have a LinkedIn account, start out by creating one. Fill out your LinkedIn profile with every bit of information you can about yourself and your business and your products or services. Then go to LinkedIn Answers and post a business question. Here's a list of questions......