businessweek.com — You've just joined a new company and are all fired up to change things—stat. While your enthusiasm is commendable, you might want to proceed slowly at first. It's too easy for your helpful (and very possibly dead-on) observations and suggestions to be seen as criticisms and demands. Read on for tips on how not to be the obnoxious newcomer.
Jun 25, 2007 View in Crawl 4
xtmno3Jun 25, 2007
I hope you are speaking in binary there and mean two years and not ten. If the only people who spoke up were the ones who did the same job for over ten years, the only input you would get on things is how to continue doing things the exact same way.
mattxbJun 25, 2007
I'm sure its different everywhere you work, but at places I've been the people who just follow orders, don't complain, and (perhaps most importantly) are friendly with the higher ups seem to get promoted. I guess its a thin line between getting involved in the decision making process and complaining about the way things are done, because your higher ups won't appreciate it if you bring up ideas in a way that stresses them out. I know what you mean though, and my advice is for people like me who are looking for a job and not a career.
bishocoJun 25, 2007
No doubt. At my last job, I was a young guy working with predominantly older women. I have this great brownie "recipe" (Trader Joe's Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix) that I would make for potlucks and sometimes just randomly. Those ladies were crazy for those brownies. I got lots of (forgive me) brownie points. Find some specialty or go to Trader Joe's for some brownie mix and your cred at the office goes way up.
Closed AccountJun 25, 2007
Print it and leave it on boss' desk when boss isn't looking.
cronianJun 26, 2007
What is wrong with being obnoxious? What if you don't want to be well-liked at work?
ghaltmannJun 26, 2007
I disagree with this article. Yes you should get to know your co-workers. No, you shouldn't imply they're doing everything wrong. But you know what? Why did they hire you? To maintain the status quo? I just started a new position in an IT dept. Yes everyone's helpful and I've learned a ton from the others around me. Do I think they have workable systems? NO. There are so many things wrong with what's being done I HAVE to constantly push for improvement. Many times, I bring a point up to a co-worker "hey you know what, this XXXX blows we should change it." and they agree, but they just never did anything about it. What ever happened to the fast moving corporate ladder? I guess some people just don't want to be noticed.
celkinJun 26, 2007
"this XXXX blows"Stop looking at p0rn and get back to work!
dopeweaselJun 26, 2007
/me wonders what newbie designed this 'refined' comment system....people still know IRC commands right? Damn I'm getting old.