Acclimating to the Cubicle Culture
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Your resume killed, you aced your interview, and you’ve landed the job of your mildest dreams. Sure, your current arrangements might not be ideal, but for now, you’re just happy to have your little five-foot-square box of heaven. Something’s amiss about that box, though – the people surrounding it look and behave nothing like your old college comrades. No, you haven’t missed a memo – you’re just new to cubicle living. Looks like you’re not in Kansas anymore, but don’t despair, greenhorn; I’m going to show you the ropes.
The first thing you need to keep in mind when navigating the perilous corridors of the office is that, yep, college is over, and it’s time to start adhering to a new set of rules. This means no more all-nighters, no more chest-bumping in the halls, and no more showing up in a ramen-stained T-shirt and tattered shorts. It’s time to start showing some decorum, so a full night’s sleep, more civilized methods of greeting your peers, and some smart threads are in order.
Once you’ve got the etiquette down, you’re prepared to enter this strange new world. Take a deep breath, open the door, and cross the threshold into a good portion of your working adult life. Once you’ve exchanged hellos, shook some hands, and savored the approving looks of your co-workers, it’s time to get down to business. You may have been a slacker in college, and if this was the case, you’re about to learn that bosses, for the most part, are considerably less forgiving than your professors were.
Quit shaking, kid; you can survive this.
If you want to keep your office job, you’ll want to work under the assumption that mistakes will get you canned. This assumption isn’t so far-fetched when you consider the current economic crisis. In fact, there’s a better chance now than ever before that your first flub will be your last, so putting in 110% is that much more important. How to do this?
1.) Stay Alert
As mentioned previously, you’ll want to be well rested and alert when you show up for work. Get eight hours of sleep every night, eat your roughage, stay away partying on weeknights; do everything your mother and countless after-school specials have been telling you to do since before you could form complete sentences.
As mentioned previously, you’ll want to be well rested and alert when you show up for work. Get eight hours of sleep every night, eat your roughage, stay away partying on weeknights; do everything your mother and countless after-school specials have been telling you to do since before you could form complete sentences.
2.) Stay Organized
This means that you’ll need to start using that Blackberry or iPhone for more than just texting and playing Bejeweled. Learn how to use the calendar function on these devices, make note of important dates and deadlines, and, if possible, synch it up with your home computer as a second line of defense against delinquency. If you’re not technologically inclined, pick up an old-fashioned day planner and use that.
This means that you’ll need to start using that Blackberry or iPhone for more than just texting and playing Bejeweled. Learn how to use the calendar function on these devices, make note of important dates and deadlines, and, if possible, synch it up with your home computer as a second line of defense against delinquency. If you’re not technologically inclined, pick up an old-fashioned day planner and use that.
3.) Stay Informed
When a new technology or new approach to the sort of projects you’ve been assigned to comes along, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage by remaining willfully ignorant of it. Find and devour all the information that you can on work-related topics to help keep you ahead. Search the Web, ask around, or conduct a bit of independent research elsewhere to ensure that you’re not stuck crunching numbers with an abacus.
When a new technology or new approach to the sort of projects you’ve been assigned to comes along, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage by remaining willfully ignorant of it. Find and devour all the information that you can on work-related topics to help keep you ahead. Search the Web, ask around, or conduct a bit of independent research elsewhere to ensure that you’re not stuck crunching numbers with an abacus.
Now that your boss is happy, your co-workers see you as their equal, and you’re aware of your surroundings, you can comfortably embrace the cube. Just settle in, and see where the corporate journey takes you. If you follow at least some of my advice, you’ll be surprised to see that it’s taking you places faster than you expected. Good luck!
Labels: advice, first job, productivity, professionalism, the real world
Posted by Seymour Jobs on 1/30/2009 12:07:00 PM
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