52 Things I Learned My First 52 Weeks in Corporate
1. Your job is different from your career
2. Good leaders support, great leaders elevate
3. Meritocracy is a myth
4. Don't trust anyone who places a meeting on your calendar past 3pm on a Friday
5. Take care of your coworkers who you feel comfortable sending GIFs too
I was surprised that:
6. Corporate moves slow
7. A learner is preferred over a knower
8. Completing 100% at 80% is better than completing 80% at 100%
9. Everyone is figuring it out as they go
Others might've thought this was obvious, but:
10. You're losing money if you're not taking advantage of your company's 401K match
11. Over-communicate
12. If you're a consultant, don't waste your time trying to explain to your friends and family what you do for work
13. Use all of your PTO
14. Keep proof of your accomplishments
15. Negotiate your salary
What they don't teach you in school is:
16. The "CC" line of your email is a political territory
17. Storytelling is an important skill
18. If you don't have anything to say in a meeting, at least repeat someone else's words, but don't stay silent
19. There's no such thing as a "perfect" job
20. Dumb questions do exist - but not all dumb questions have to sound dumb
21. Corporate uses a lot of graphic idioms (cut throat, double-edged sword, take a stab at it, cut to the chase......)
22. It's always better to overdress than to underdress
It was hard to accept, but:
23. Your company is not your "family"
24. You'll never regret packing lunch to work and not spending money on Sweetgreen
25. Say no more often
26. You're not going to love everyone you work with, but you do owe everyone the same respect
Over and over again, I learned that people still matter most:
27. Write down the names of people's spouse, children, pet(s) and call them by their name
28. You can climb up the ladder without a mentor, you can't climb up without a sponsor
29. The most important W in business acumen is not What, When, Where, or Why - it's Who
30. There's a difference between the word "people" and the word "resources"
31. Gen Z's are worth studying
32. A simple "thank you" email after a coffee-chat/networking-call goes a long way and not a lot of people do it
I learned some new "skills" too:
33. If you want something fast, CC their boss
34. Ctrl(+) lets you zoom in on someone else's screen share in Teams meetings
35. Everyone likes hearing their name
36. Words matter in sales - consultants are an "investment", not a "cost"
37. I strongly believe there is a better way to source consulting candidates than the traditional case interview method
38. Always hold your drink with your left hand, so you can shake hands with your right hand
And some life lessons:
39. You're as confident as you tell yourself you are
40. "You gain power by giving away power"
41. Banana Republic has the best work pants
42. Comparison is the thief of joy and a waste in time
43. Microwaved leftovers taste best when you eat them while working
44. Strictly speaking from a technical standpoint, nothing is 100% anonymous
45. Over drinking never looks good
46. "If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room"
But most importantly, I learned:
47. Be faithful in all that you do
48. Be excellent
49. Turn on your "private mode" on LinkedIn
50. Have a life outside of work
51. It's okay to have 3 cups of coffee before noon
52. With no doubt, I could not have asked for a better place to spend my very first 52 weeks in corporate, than at Slalom Consulting