How to be Successful at your First Job

     An internship or summer jobs can be the easiest way to jumps start a career after you graduate. The contacts, references, and experience that you gain, can last a lifetime.  Employers are always looking for hardworking talent at every level. However, employees / interns are often engaged in a campaign of self-sabotage.  That is why the staff  at Northeast Ohio Growth (www.NEO-Growth.com)  put together a list of dos and don’ts for employees and interns. The dos are easy, 1). be enthusiastic, 2). have a strong work ethic, 3). take initiative, 4). pay attention, and 5).  be reliable.  The list of don’ts is much longer. 

Things not to do as an employee / intern:

1. Don’t look, play, fiddle, text, chat or do anything with your phone. You should put your phone away when you get to work and not take it out unless you are on a break or lunch.
2. Don’t be late. It is offensive when you are late with a fresh Starbucks.
3. When your boss ask you to redo something because it is wrong, don’t act annoyed.
4. Don’t steal, talk about stealing or about any criminal activity.
5. Never use a emoticon in an e-mail. 🙁
6. Don’t lose your office key.
7. Don’t wear a hoodie at work. You are not Mark Zuckerberg.
8. Don’t bite your nails or crack your knuckles in front of your coworkers.
9. If your supervisor / boss is not eating at the meeting, you should not be having a three course meal in their office.
10. Don’t walk into your supervisor’s office without a note pad.

Things your employer and coworkers do not want to hear about:

1. Don’t talk about your issues with your family.
2. Don’t talk your commute or how bad traffic was. Your failure to get up on time, is not your employer’s problem.
3. Don’t talk about your issues with your significant other.
4. Don’t talk about your medical history.
5. Don’t talk about how you slept. Nobody cares.
6. Don’t participate in workplace gossip.
7. Don’t talk about how much time you spend on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
8. Don’t talk about how messy your car / room/ house is.
9. Don’t talk about your odd/quirky/weird habits
10. Don’t talk about how much you hate a task, job, the customers, or the boss.

Leave us a comment below if you have something you think we should add to our list.