If you're a recent business graduate, you've probably got that confident, fresh-out-of-college vibe. You feel like you're ready to enter the workforce and start contributing, but do you really know how you should behave at the office? When you're at work, people judge you by how you act, what you wear, and how you socialize with your peers. You might feel that your work behavior is strictly professional, but if your employer doesn't see things the same way, it could really hurt your career.
It's important for recent business graduates to decide where they want their careers to go and how they are going to reach their goals. Most business graduates didn't finish college with the goal of spending ten years in an entry-level position. But to advance your career, you need to control how others perceive you in addition to how well you do your job.
Even though workplace etiquette isn't a course found on most college class schedules, business graduates are expected to know how to behave in the workplace. Often, young workers take their workplace cues from their friends, but it's smart for young professionals to pay attention to how their more successful, experienced coworkers conduct themselves at work. Some behaviors you should generally try to avoid at work include:
- Having an argument or open debate with a coworker.
- Spending time browsing the Internet or social networking websites.
- Texting your friends or coworkers.
- Dressing too casually.
- Adopting a superior attitude toward your coworkers.
- Being untrustworthy or unreliable.
- Making offensive comments or jokes.
- Being chronically late.
First impressions make a huge difference in the workplace, so it's important that young workers know how to dress the part. If you want people at work to take you seriously, you need to stop dressing like a college student and start dressing like a professional. It's okay to express your personal sense of style outside of the office, but while you're at work, you should abide by your company's dress code.
Your attitude also makes a huge difference. Employers want to promote employees who do a good job and have a positive attitude toward their work. Recent business graduates who are looking to advance quickly need to make sure they are reliable, hardworking, and punctual. Let your boss know that you don't mind picking up the slack, and make sure you aren't the one caught complaining about completing tasks that you think are beneath your ability.
Most business graduates don't realize how their actions affect their success. However, if you know what goals you're setting out to achieve and learn how to behave like a professional, you'll find yourself moving up the ladder quickly.
(Photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / freedigitalphotos.net)
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