Succeeding in Your Career
Tips for Today’s Business World
M. Reber
© 3/17/2009
Keep a Log
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Update regularly, weekly is a good idea
List assignments, work activities, completed
jobs, responsibilities, critical conversations, and
problems as well as successes
Print copies or email to yourself regularly at nonwork email (if allowed)
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Track Project Progression
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Create and track timelines, minutes, roles and
responsibilities, status reports
Demonstrate impact to overall timeline when a
deadline is missed to discuss rational next steps
Keep track even if you haven’t been told to do so
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Create a Paper Trail
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Save critical outgoing and incoming email on
company mail server
Bcc or forward critical emails to a personal noncompany email account (if possible and allowed)
Send emails to confirm critical decisions, relay
critical conversations, and get approval on
documents (often with deadline for corrections)
Be prepared to objectively show where the ball
was dropped
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Document, Print, and Store
Everything in Writing
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Memory can be faulty, paper is tangible: keep a
PRINTED paper trail!
If you get oral agreement from a colleague or
supervisor, always send a confirmation email of
the details.
Team decisions should also be outlined in a
follow up email
 Important dates or deadlines for the work or
agreement
 Changes in scope of project or responsibilities
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Organize Your Documentation Well
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Print hard copies
File all work documents effectively
Make files easy to find
Printed documentation does you no good if you
can’t find a document when you need it!
Remember that in the worst-case scenario you
may be escorted out of the workplace without
access to your computer files
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Keep a List of Contributions and
Accomplishments
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Keep track of your own achievements: it is not
high on a supervisor’s priority list, so present
yourself well and be prepared
Update regularly as you will likely forget some of
your contributions by the next review cycle
Make list concise and verifiable
Present list at evaluation whether asked to or not
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Market Yourself
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It is easy to lose track of a quiet employee who
always does a good job – so beat your own
drum strategically
Help your colleagues appreciate your
contributions – you want to be someone they
want to work with
Be subtle—no one likes someone who is
constantly tooting their own horn
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Always Try to Get Buy-In From Other
Team Members
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Engage co-workers to encourage them to take
ownership and responsibility
Solve problems more easily if all parties involved
in the project feel their opinions have been
heard
Have a kick-off meeting that involves all and
encourages collaboration and sharing of ideas
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Ask for Advice and Help from People
You Trust
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People love it when you stroke their egos and
seek them out politely as mentors—you can
learn a lot!
Be cautious with who you trust!!!
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Evaluate and Establish Trust
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Be very careful about who you trust
Use your best judgment, but be prepared for
errors
Recognize the risk before you take it
Evaluate how people you admire behave with
others and mimic their behavior
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Watch What You Say at Work
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Walls have ears!!
People who gossip with you are likely to gossip
about you
Rumors spread fast and viciously
No heart-to-heart discussions at work — take a
walk, go in the parking lot
Personal opinions are best discussed off-site or
with people who are NOT coworkers
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Understand Another’s Point Before
Making Your Own
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Understand and repeat another person’s
opinion/statement before you assert your own
Understand other’s words as they were intended
to avoid misunderstandings
Give them the benefit of the doubt
Try to build on common feelings and thoughts
Make them feel understood, then you have a
better chance of making your point
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Resolve Conflicts
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Always deal with problem at lowest level. Deal
with other party directly and politely
Go to a higher level only if there is no other way
of resolving the conflict directly
Try to resolve tension when possible rather than
letting it fester
Sometimes you may have to agree to disagree
and then be pleasant
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Set Expectations Appropriately
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It is better to under promise and over deliver
Do the best work you can and try to exceed
expectations
Don’t say yes before thinking—it is okay to get
back to someone with an answer after you’ve
had a few minutes to think
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Set Appropriate Boundaries
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Your work is not your life - know how much you
are willing to do
Pick your battles and save your silver bullets
Be a team player and give a little extra when you
can, but say no politely when enough is enough
Find objective ways to set boundaries with little
emotion
You don’t leave your personality and ethics
behind just because you have a job!
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Set Appropriate Boundaries (con’t.)
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Remember that rarely does a company truly
care about your health, family relationships,
work/life balance, or sense of fulfillment and
happiness
If you are salaried, why wouldn’t they want more
work for the same amount of money?
Companies care first and foremost about their
own survival and the bottom line—don’t mistake
their natural self-interestedness for undying
loyalty
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Keep Your Resume Up-to-Date
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Update regularly
Keep adding new accomplishments/skills to
resume as they come up
The worst time to update a resume is when you
desperately need to!
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Keep Your Eyes and Options Open
for New Opportunities
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Job searching while you have a job allows you
to evaluate what’s out there
Don’t be an ostrich with your head in the sand—
know what your options are and why you are
where you are
There’s always the possibility of sudden and
unexpected layoffs at your company
Remember a job is not quite the same as a
romantic relationship
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Keep Your Contacts Warm and Stay
in Touch
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Meet for lunch, leave a voicemail, send an email
occasionally to useful people to keep in touch
Help them with requests, referrals, and
information whenever possible
Don’t ask for help at the last minute after a long
silence!
Cold contacts are hard to resurrect naturally
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Save Some Money if You Need to
Quit
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Offers you incredible freedom if you can ideally
save 6 months of expenses
Gives you some peace of mind – you have some
fallback if you lose your job
Allows you to take a stand – you don’t HAVE to
stay at your job if it becomes unbearable
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