Advice for the first job after college

The following are some thoughts from a friend of mine who always seems to come up with smart, helpful, heartfelt wisdom.

Words of advice to my intern, who is leaping into the big city for her first job after college: These things will help you succeed:

• Arrive on time; don’t leave early
• Bring a notepad with you at all times
• Never say “I don’t know” but “I will find out for you”
• Don’t let an email sit in your in box without a reply for more than 24 hours; follow up, even if it’s to say, “I’m working on it;” 
• Ask “What else can I do for you?”
• Learn how to criticize tactfully – surround it with compliments
• When you make a mistake, apologize, then quickly do whatever it takes to fix it – and learn from it
• Shake hands firmly and look in the other person’s eyes
• Don’t get involved in office gossip
• Ask “How am I doing?” well before your annual review
• Don’t kiss ass, but if you have to, do it with sincerity
• Be as transparent as possible while remaining professional – you want to establish credibility, and you can’t do that if you are not upfront and honest about your own performance
• Check email on the weekend – your boss is!
•  Do what’s asked of you even if it’s not in your job description because you will be known as a problem-solver
• Own each project
• Your opinion will not always matter; your opinion always matters
• Don’t say “I feel” or “I think” without backing it up with facts
• Make sure your head can still fit through the door
• Don’t settle
• Family is the top priority, and they will forgive you if you can’t be there 100% of the time – just make sure you are there 99% of the time
• Exercise
• Don’t ask about your boss’ personal life
• Don’t talk about shoes … no, wait, definitely compliment your boss’ shoes!
• When someone asks what you did this weekend, be vague but say you had a good weekend
• Don’t play hooky
• No task is below you
• Smile and say hello to everyone from the janitor to the CEO
• BE YOU!