I didn't have enough characters to tweet this
You might be wondering why I'm back.This is the reason: I do not have the luxury of owning a soundproof room where I can scream for a good 10 minutes (please also refer to my title). Hence, I've come here to vent.
I've been working in the 'real' world for just a little over the year and during this year, too much has built up inside me that if I don't let it out, I'd probably explode really, really soon.
Here are ten observations/personal experiences that I have encountered throughout the past year (this is mostly negative, I'll try squeeze in some positive things but that would defeat the whole purpose of this rant)
1. There are three types of managers
A. The manager that sees the overall picture and are aware of what their team's individual tasks are
B. The manager who sees the overall picture and haven't got a single clue as to what their team are doing
C. The manager who just has no idea what the F%^& is going on
If you are lucky, you'll have A as your manager. I think the majority of us have B (or maybe I'm just terribly pessimistic, I don't know). Unfortunately, I got stuck with C for the last six months of the previous year.
2. People are not able to construct clear and concise emails when they require a issue to be fixed
Hi Helen,
I have an issue with xyz, please help urgently.
Kind Regards,
Jane Doe
I get these kind of emails way too often. I understand that you are busy and you need your problem resolved asap but how the heck am I meant to help you if you don't specify WHAT your issue is?
Now this leads to my next point..
3. People are also not capable of reading emails properly (or just reading in general)
I was in a PMO role for six months, which is basically a fancier term for 'Personal PA for the entire team'. There were times where I had to send a mass communication to the entire team informing them of a new process etc. Two or three hours later, I have people coming back asking me what the process is.
4. Conference calls suck
No further commentary necessary.
5. Always pay attention in meetings, especially when you are the scribe
Otherwise this will happen:
6. You cannot please everyone
This was something that I'd thought wouldn't make it into the corporate world. I always had the impression that if you did your job right, no one should have any reason to dislike you for no particular reason. Cause that's not what adults do right? WRONG.
No, I had to learn this the hard way. No matter what stage you are at in your life, there's always going to be that one person who dislikes you and you'll never ever find out why.
7. 'Consulting Guard'
In the consulting world, this is pretty much your motto. To have a 'consulting guard' is knowing when to shut up, what not to say in certain situations and what you can say. I think it's a pretty valuable 'skill' to have in general and sadly, this skill was not taught in uni.
8. Having a big night on week nights: proceed with caution
Thursday night outs are a thing here. We went out after our staff Christmas party (it was on a Thursday night, I'm almost 100% certain that it was planned on that night to prevent people from getting super drunk and taking a sickie the following day due to a terrible hangover). My friend had just a bit too much, didn't show up to work the next morning, everyone asked me where she was at the client site, I texted her at 10am asking if she was okay and this was her response:
I just woke up!!!!!!!
9. Always check to see that you have attached your document prior to clicking 'send'
Other avoidable face palm moments:
Check the spelling of peoples' names, especially in situations where a misspelling could guarantee you a spot on the person's death list..for life eg. Sweety = 'Sweaty', Satam= 'Satan'
Make sure your recipient is the intended reader in emails
Yammer is not Facebook
Always remember that your email can be easily forwarded to a million others so be careful in what you write
and ending on the most positive experience...
10. Maximise all opportunities where food and drinks are free
