The Real World: Don't close your windows of opportunity
Have you heard the joke about
the four engineers — a mechanical
engineer, chemical engineer, electrical
engineer and engineer from
Microsoft, sharing a ride in an
automobile?
The car breaks down. "Sounds to me as if the pistons have seized. We'll have to strip down the engine before we can get the car working again," says the mechanical engineer. "Well," says the chemical engineer, "It sounded to me as if the fuel might be contaminated. I think we should clear out the fuel system." The electrical engineer says, "I thought it might be a grounding problem, or maybe a faulty plug lead."
They all turn to the Microsoft engineer who has said nothing and say, and ask him, "What do you think?" He responds, "Well, I think we should close all the windows, get out, get back in, and open the windows again."
Reliability and credibility are two of the most important traits of any employee. Far too many times, I've been impressed by polished resumes and professional cover letters, only to see talent wasted through false promises and inconsistent work ethic. This week, let's discuss traits that will make you an invaluable member of any workplace.
Arriving for work on time is the most basic demand of any job, but I know of some hard-working, skilled employees who were fired for consistently arriving late. Sure, time is money, but when an employee is never on time for work, that's a sign of much larger issues: unreliability and apathy. I once worked with someone who was late for every single appointment over a two-month probation period. The final late arrival — more than two hours late, without a good excuse — finally saw that worker back on the unemployment line. Get to work on time, and you pass the first test in the eyes of your boss.
My biggest pet peeves at the workplace are water cooler gossip, backstabbing and jealousy. Despite the fact I work out of a home office, I do spend close to half of my time with clients or out in the field covering news events. And over the years, I've held many posts within retail and office environments. Drama is counterproductive, and like an act of jealousy it's a diversion from getting the job done well and on time. Backstabbing employees are not only nasty creatures of habit, but are also insecure about their own position on the corporate ladder. Stay away from this trio of negative traits, put your nose to the grindstone and surround yourself with trusted allies within the workplace.
Of course, employers are not immune to bad habits. I once received negative feedback from an employer simply because of a computer glitch, which was out of my control. Despite the fact I had an unblemished record, and was consistently praised by clients during annual evaluations, this employer thought it was the end of the world simply because a file had gone missing. Instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt, three executives spent hours throwing scathing comments at me for not completing a task. In the end, the blame was put on a computer error — but not before time was wasted and my opinion of that employer took a nosedive.
Here's another of my pet peeves of the workplace. As a magazine editor, I see this act of irresponsibility far too often: submission of sloppy, substandard work, which leaves someone else with the dirty job of cleaning up after you. Confession time: as a young writer making his bones in the publishing industry, I made the mistake of submitting bad copy to an editor. I got lucky: that particular editor was willing to mentor me with words of advice on getting the job done right the first time, and on time. I once stopped offering freelance assignments to a writer who submitted three consecutive stories with more holes than Sonny Corleone after he was whacked at a tollbooth. Here's an offer you can't refuse: demand only the best from yourself, and you'll be rewarded for it.
Finally, don't be afraid of taking chances. Even if you aren't pulling the strings at the workplace, your input is valued. If it isn't, then perhaps it's time to polish your CV. The strength of any employer rests in its people.
Before you close the windows, get out, get back in and open the windows again, think about how you can avoid problems before they become issues that only hamper the workplace.
Award-winning journalist Jeffrey Reed is a Fanshawe College professor with the Corporate Communication and Public Relations post-graduate program and an instructor with Fanshawe's Continuing Education department. Email him at jreed@fanshawec.ca.
The car breaks down. "Sounds to me as if the pistons have seized. We'll have to strip down the engine before we can get the car working again," says the mechanical engineer. "Well," says the chemical engineer, "It sounded to me as if the fuel might be contaminated. I think we should clear out the fuel system." The electrical engineer says, "I thought it might be a grounding problem, or maybe a faulty plug lead."
They all turn to the Microsoft engineer who has said nothing and say, and ask him, "What do you think?" He responds, "Well, I think we should close all the windows, get out, get back in, and open the windows again."
Reliability and credibility are two of the most important traits of any employee. Far too many times, I've been impressed by polished resumes and professional cover letters, only to see talent wasted through false promises and inconsistent work ethic. This week, let's discuss traits that will make you an invaluable member of any workplace.
Arriving for work on time is the most basic demand of any job, but I know of some hard-working, skilled employees who were fired for consistently arriving late. Sure, time is money, but when an employee is never on time for work, that's a sign of much larger issues: unreliability and apathy. I once worked with someone who was late for every single appointment over a two-month probation period. The final late arrival — more than two hours late, without a good excuse — finally saw that worker back on the unemployment line. Get to work on time, and you pass the first test in the eyes of your boss.
My biggest pet peeves at the workplace are water cooler gossip, backstabbing and jealousy. Despite the fact I work out of a home office, I do spend close to half of my time with clients or out in the field covering news events. And over the years, I've held many posts within retail and office environments. Drama is counterproductive, and like an act of jealousy it's a diversion from getting the job done well and on time. Backstabbing employees are not only nasty creatures of habit, but are also insecure about their own position on the corporate ladder. Stay away from this trio of negative traits, put your nose to the grindstone and surround yourself with trusted allies within the workplace.
Of course, employers are not immune to bad habits. I once received negative feedback from an employer simply because of a computer glitch, which was out of my control. Despite the fact I had an unblemished record, and was consistently praised by clients during annual evaluations, this employer thought it was the end of the world simply because a file had gone missing. Instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt, three executives spent hours throwing scathing comments at me for not completing a task. In the end, the blame was put on a computer error — but not before time was wasted and my opinion of that employer took a nosedive.
Here's another of my pet peeves of the workplace. As a magazine editor, I see this act of irresponsibility far too often: submission of sloppy, substandard work, which leaves someone else with the dirty job of cleaning up after you. Confession time: as a young writer making his bones in the publishing industry, I made the mistake of submitting bad copy to an editor. I got lucky: that particular editor was willing to mentor me with words of advice on getting the job done right the first time, and on time. I once stopped offering freelance assignments to a writer who submitted three consecutive stories with more holes than Sonny Corleone after he was whacked at a tollbooth. Here's an offer you can't refuse: demand only the best from yourself, and you'll be rewarded for it.
Finally, don't be afraid of taking chances. Even if you aren't pulling the strings at the workplace, your input is valued. If it isn't, then perhaps it's time to polish your CV. The strength of any employer rests in its people.
Before you close the windows, get out, get back in and open the windows again, think about how you can avoid problems before they become issues that only hamper the workplace.
Award-winning journalist Jeffrey Reed is a Fanshawe College professor with the Corporate Communication and Public Relations post-graduate program and an instructor with Fanshawe's Continuing Education department. Email him at jreed@fanshawec.ca.
