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The unfortunate thing about higher education is that it rarely prepares you for your career. Sure, you come out with the knowledge and skills necessary to do a job, but for one thing, you almost never end up doing exactly what you’re trained to do, and for another thing, schooling cannot hope to prepare you to beat the competition and land the job of your dreams, or to navigate the complex world of inter-office politics that you will encounter in almost any professional setting.

Getting a job, keeping it, and attaining promotions are all things that you will have to learn on the fly. But if you start with a few ground rules, you’re going to have a much easier time acclimating.

Be realistic.
Nobody starts at the top (unless they’re ridiculously well connected, say, the son of an industry mogul). When you’re fresh out of college, you’re going to have to pay your dues, and even if you’ve been at it awhile, switching jobs may necessitate lateral moves or even a demotion. The trick is to plot a course that offers the most advancement. That way you have something to work towards even if you find yourself the low man on the totem pole.

Know what’s out there.
Certain jobs are always in higher demand, and it pays (literally) to know what they are. A decade ago, it was graphic designers. These days, customer service, engineering, and nursing are on the rise. If you can catch the wave of the next big trend in the job market, you’re bound to have an in for a lifelong career.

Be nice.
Your momma wouldn’t steer you wrong. Talent and brains will only get you so far and then you have to grease the wheels. If you’re competing for jobs with dozens of other qualified candidates, your attitude could be the deciding factor in who gets hired. So rather than walking in like you own the place, be humble and polite. That’s not to say you shouldn’t toot your own horn, just don’t get too cocky. Continue this policy even after you are hired. And embrace the lost art of thank-you notes. Everyone likes good mail.

Come prepared.
Make an effort to know everything you can about the company you are applying at (or the one you work for). This will not only help you to land and keep a job, it will almost certainly enhance your performance and allow you to spot (and take advantage of) opportunities for advancement.

Avoid entanglements.
Nothing will kill a career faster than dicey inter-office relationships. This means the following: don’t hire your friends, don’t engage in drunken one-night stands after the company holiday party, and definitely don’t date someone from the office. Sure, you could be the one in a million that meets your perfect mate on the job, but are you really willing to risk your bread and butter on the off-chance that the cute receptionist is your one and only? On a related note, avoid sending personal mail through company servers. There are usually IT guys monitoring that sort of thing and complaints about your boss are bound to get back to him.

Jennifer Kardish is a writer for Pickup Artist where you can find great tips and advice on dating.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 30th, 2010 at 6:47 am and is filed under Career, Job Search, Specialization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.