Wake up sleepy heads, today’s the first day of the rest of your young working lives, and you need to walk out the door with your best foot forward.
Speaking of your best foot…fellas, if you’re working with the public, wear socks and serious shoes; big hairy toes or shoe-string draggin’ sneakers just don’t do it for employers or their customers. Gals, if your job requires heavy loading, lifting, cooking or cleaning, chances are you can drop, slop, or slip, so you want those serious shoes to have tread and reinforced toes.
If you want to keep your job, get there on time. If you want to impress your employer, get there early. If you want to be alert and early, it helps to be awake, so get the sleep you need to be at your best.
If you want to keep your job, be polite. It’s a sign of respect to those who pay you at the end of the week, who know more about your job than you do, and have the power and authority to return you to the ranks of the unemployed.
If you want to keep your job, act as pleasant as you are responsible. Managers want to supervise employees who want to be there and want to make a difference while they’re there. Act responsible because no matter what job you have, your safety and security and the safety and security of others are part of the business of being there.
If you want to keep your job, be fully present. Do your work and jump in when someone needs your help. If you prefer talking on your cell-phone, to your work buddies, or to the voice in your head that says you’d rather be somewhere else, count on it, you’re going to be.
If you want to keep your job, respond immediately and energetically when you’re asked a question, and answer it in complete sentences. If you don’t know the answer, say so, and find out what it is.
If you want to keep your job, don’t gossip. Tell the truth. Accept responsibility for your mistakes and learn from them.
If you want to keep your job, anticipate what you can do without having to be told. Balance initiative with common sense.
If you want to keep your job, be a team player. If you’re in a jam you’ll
want your co-workers to help you out. They will if you demonstrate your willingness to do the same.
If you want to keep your job, make work a priority. You’ll be faced with all
kinds of temptations this summer, fall, winter, and spring. Everything from a trip to the beach, to sleeping in late after a late night out. When deciding what matters most, honor your obligations to those who pay and trust you to do the right thing.
If you want to keep your job, learn to do more than your job. If you work
with new technologies, processes, and procedures, you’ll increase your income potential and improve your job longevity.
If your parents shoved this column in your face while twisting your nose and pulling your ear, they have a reason. They may have noticed that you’re not a rule follower, and do the opposite of what you’re told. They’re afraid that you’ll push the boundaries and lose your job.
If your parents gently set this column in front of you, and you obediently picked it up and began reading, they may be concerned that you’re not as assertive as they’d like, and are afraid you’ll be overlooked in favor of those who are more forceful, extraverted, and risk taking.
If your parents got your attention by poking you with the newspaper, plastering want-ads on the bathroom mirror, and wrapping your breakfast in this column, they’re afraid you’re in no hurry to get a job and will be hanging around the house for the foreseeable future.
Surprise them. Surprise all of them. Wash your face, brush your teeth, comb your hair, and get out there and make it happen. Let your parents know through your actions, that you have what it takes to get a job and keep a job.
