500強副總裁給職場新人的建議

The honest answer to this question is that there are a lot of things I wish I had known when I walked in the door for my first day of work years ago. Time and experience are great teachers, and I’ve certainly had my share of learning opportunities along the way.

Today, when I have a chance to talk with young people who are just starting out in their careers, I find I often learn more from them than they do from me. When they ask for advice, though, I tell them that—from my current vantage point—I think they’ll have an edge in their careers if they do these things:

1.Have an agenda: Decide what you want to do, learn, and accomplish.

2.Learn how to make a decision and move on.

3.Be willing to go where others may not.

4.Be impatient with the status quo.

5.Learn the fine line between being recognized for what you do and being humble about your success.

6.Make friends with someone in technology (you’ll be glad you did).

7.Say, “I don’t know” readily.

8.Find time to have fun and laugh.

9.Raise your hand when you have—or see—a problem.

10.Know what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, and develop the skills that don’t come as naturally to you.

11.Remember that you are in charge of your morale.

12.And, finally, don’t make any important decisions when you are tired, angry, or hungry, because your judgment will be clouded.

Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with some great leaders. I’ve also made my share of mistakes. These experiences have shown me that it’s important to:

13.Ask for feedback, listen to it, and act on it?

14.Great leaders are self-aware. They seek out direct, personal feedback, both formal and informal. Ask the people around you how they experience you. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Where can you improve? Listen to what they say, and then act on what you learn.

15.Sharpen your communication skills?

16.Everything we do in business involves communicating. You need to be able to convey an idea clearly, crisply, and in a compelling way to sell concepts, motivate people, and accomplish things. Part of communicating effectively is knowing—and reading—your audience as you speak so you can meet them where they are.

17.Be ready to reinvent yourself?

18.The pace of change in our world today can make your head spin. If you want to stay relevant and competitive over time, you have to be willing to start over, take a different path, and try something new. If you are adept at reinventing yourself, that dead end you think you’ve hit may turn out to be just a bend in the road on your way to a whole new adventure.

If I had to boil all of the advice I have down to one thought, it would be this: While education is important, the details of the subjects you studied in school won’t be that much use on the job. The most important things you can take away from your education and bring with you to the working world are an ability to think critically and creatively and work well under pressure. Once you are in the workforce, your real education begins. Keep your eyes open and pay attention, and you’ll learn a great deal over the long haul.

坦白地說，對于這個問題，我的答案是我希望初入職場的時候，能早知道許多事情。時間和經(jīng)歷是優(yōu)秀的老師，在職業(yè)發(fā)展的過程中，我有過許多分享經(jīng)驗教訓的機會。

今天，當我有機會與初入職場的年輕人們交流時，我發(fā)現(xiàn)，我從他們身上學到的，遠比他們從我身上學到的東西多。在他們向我征求意見時，我會以我目前的觀點告訴他們：只要他們做好下面幾件事，他們便可以在職業(yè)當中獲得優(yōu)勢：

1、制定日程：決定你想要做什么、學習什么和成就什么。

2、學習如何決策和繼續(xù)前進。

3、愿意去其他人可能不愿意去的地方。

4、不要安于現(xiàn)狀。

5、了解“因為所做的事情而得到認可”與“對自己的成功保持謙遜”，這兩者之間的細微區(qū)別。

6、與技術(shù)行業(yè)的人成為朋友(如果你有這樣的朋友，你會很高興)。

7、爽快地說“我不知道”。

8、找時間讓自己開心，歡笑。

9、當你遇到或看到問題時，舉手提問。

10、知道自己擅長和不擅長什么，培養(yǎng)那些不會自然而然產(chǎn)生的技能。

11、記住，你能控制自己的士氣。

12、最后，在疲勞、生氣或饑餓的時候，不要做出任何重要的決定，因為你的判斷力會受到影響。

在職業(yè)生涯當中，我曾與幾位優(yōu)秀的領(lǐng)導者有過共事機會。我也分享過自己犯過的錯誤。這些經(jīng)歷讓我知道了下面這些重要的事情：

13、尋求反饋，聽取反饋，采取行動。

14、優(yōu)秀的領(lǐng)導者都有自知之明。他們會尋求直接、私人的反饋，包括正式的和非正式的反饋。詢問身邊的人對你的感受。你有哪些優(yōu)點和缺點?你可以在哪些方面做出改進?聽取他們的意見，然后根據(jù)這些意見采取行動。

15、磨練溝通技能。

16、在商界，我們做的每一件事都離不開溝通。你必須能夠以令人信服的方式，清楚傳達自己的觀點，兜售自己的理念，激勵身邊的人，實現(xiàn)自己的目標。溝通很大程度上是在講話的時候，了解和解讀你的聽眾，以滿足他們的需求。

17、做好自我改造的準備。

18、當今世界的變化速度之快，令人目不暇接。若想始終保持相關(guān)性和競爭力，你必須愿意從頭開始，選擇不同的道路，嘗試新事物。當你擅長自我改造之后，你所遇到的死胡同，可能只是整個探險旅程中的一個拐彎而已。

如果將我的這些建議總結(jié)成一條，應(yīng)該是：教育很重要，但你在學校里所學的科目，在工作中沒有太大用處。你能夠從教育中得到、并真正用于職場的最重要事情，是批判性、創(chuàng)造性思維的能力，以及在壓力下工作的能力。進入職場之后，真正的教育才剛剛開始。睜開雙眼，保持專注，隨著時間推移，你會學到更多。