Practical Advice From A Professional Job-Hopper:

How To Settle Into A New Job Well  –

9 Off-Putting Things You Should Never Do

1: Criticize Anything

The lack of technology or resources, the lack of perks, the level of noise, the excessive number of meetings, the hoops you have to jump through to get things done … there may be any number of things you find off-putting.  Take my advice: Do not criticize. Learn to bite your tongue.  Resist. You have plenty of avenues (such as online forums) to channel your inner critic. A new job is not one of them.

2: Complain About Anything

Do not complain about anything or anyone - even your commute. Once you have established your value, you can do that. But why would you do that even then?  Develop the good habit of being a non-complainer. And stick with it.

3: Compare Your Present Company With Your Last Company

“In my last company we used to…blah….blah…blah”. Don’t do that.  Don’t make comparisons between your current company and your previous company.  Your peers at your new company might not come right out and say it. But what they will think is, “Why didn’t he just stay in that job – if it was so great?”

4: Boast About How Good You Are

Confidence does not need to be trumpeted. You may be tempted to boast about how good you are. Do not do it. Instead let your work speak for you.  If you are good at what you do, and you have a great work ethic, it will be noticed.  People will say, “What a great work ethic”, “Wow she has such a strong grasp of this”.  You don’t need to toot your own horn as if you are part of the San Jose Symphony.

5: Refuse To Do Anything

Don’t say “I don’t do that” or “I can't do that.” It may be off-putting to discover, you have to take care of some low-level, time-consuming, tedious and professionally non-valuable tasks. You should never outright refuse to do them. Your predecessor may have been doing them. There will come a time – after you have established your value – when you will be able to speak up, and get those tasks switched.

6: Be Unapproachable

Don’t make it such that people can’t approach you. Don't start telling them off if they interrupt you, disturb you, want to engage in a friendly conversation with you, or ask you something for the umpteenth time. The only people who have a right to be unapproachable are geniuses. So unless you’ve been told again and again you are a genius, I would work on being as approachable as you can. Patience will go much further than you ever dreamed of…I guarantee you that.

7: Hold Your Tricks To Yourself And Be Unwilling To Help Team Members

Life is not a zero-sum game.  By helping others, you win. And the person you help wins. Don’t resist sharing your expertise.  More importantly, don’t resent sharing your expertise.  Become known as the “go to” person, the one with the expertise.  Don’t let your mind spin on things like “Oh, she shouldn’t be asking me this – she is in a senior position – she should already know this”. Steer away from those thoughts.  Be happy to be the go to person, the super user, and the one who people turn to. It’s better to be ahead, rather than behind.  It establishes you as being an authority. And that my friend is an opportunity, not a liability.

8: Cause A Nuisance To Any Of The People Who Sit Around You

Some obvious things to avoid - being loud, being obnoxious, taking people’s stuff without asking them, leaving dirty plates around. Be sensitive to the needs of the people around you. It will serve you well.

9: Have Long Lunches And Leave Early

Taking long lunch breaks, leaving office early, taking time off, being late to meetings, and such - these are things to do only after you prove your value. This should be obvious to most of you, but it helps to restate it.

That wraps up the 9 off-putting things you should never do - if you want to settle into a new job fast and well.

So tell me - how do you stack up?