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Thanks for all the responses so far. The corporate culture is even more different from what I'm familiar with than I thought. I'll adapt!
One thing that I'm a little concerned about, is that they're a small group of people who've worked there for a really long time, and are all older than me (30s and up). I don't need/want to be best friends with them, but I also don't want to be looked upon with suspicion, because when the going gets tough, the outsiders seem to be the first to go.
I'd rather just be seen as a competent, valuable member of the team who gets along with everyone.
From what I've learned: Socialize. Even if a little bit/in doses. It's understandable that you're new and you may be quieter, but show you've got "team spirit" by showing up to planned events/outings your first few weeks there.
Do not partake in the gossip. Even if you think it's helpful - you'll just give yourself a jaded outlook and then end up looking like you're not enthusiastic/you'll take a hit on your morale. And they'll notice.
You said it yourself: You don't want to be seen as the outsider. So make yourself seem like a team player, at least when they're still evaluating if you're really a good fit/mesh with the team. After this, you can start declining things politely or being 'quieter'... but they want to know who you are.
If it's a good place, they'll know you're younger and know there's obviously a bit of a "conversation" issue in that dept. In my office everyone else is older than me (above 30) and there's one other person in my office my age, but she's rarely there. So I normally just sit quietly doing what I need to do, and interject a comment or a smile and a laugh here and there.
They know they can't relate to you about certain things. They don't expect you to chime in with crazy topics pertaining to... kids, let's say (if you don't have them), and be able to hold a 15 minute convo. But you can always be a fun, laid back kind of third wheel. So try and find that middle ground. I'm not BFF's with my coworkers, by any means. The other one my age I talk to the most, but still, we're by no means BFFs. Becoming friends? Sure. But that's a slow process.. don't worry about that! You can establish your middle ground and if it's a good place, they'll respect who you are, and still find value in you.
But above all else? Please socialize, especially if the boss invites you out after work.
-document your work, progress, and hurdles. Even if they don't ask for weekly/monthly status reports, you may be doing work, but alas, it's good to show proof of it too and have that image of being a good employee.
-ASK QUESTIONS! I still struggle with this, but many folks would prefer new developers and other tech positions have something explained in 10 to 20 minutes than you taking 3 hours to a day to research and figure out something yourself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ohhwanderlust
So I've recently switched jobs, and now I'll be working with a big name company as a developer. I'm really excited, and am looking forward to what I'll learn and do there. But I'm also nervous, because it's a completely different work environment than I'm used to, and I want to avoid any blunders.
Nothing is absolute. Get a feel of the place to see what things they do differently. Otherwise, better to play it safer. To be on the safe side, ask! Unfortunately, to get more work done, sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission, so you'll need to use your intuition here as well.
Dunno if you can do that in a corporate environment. Probably shouldn't. Unless the CEO tells you you're welcome to come knocking on his door, but the place has to be small enough to do this (not something like a 8K+ employee company or something), and even then, is he just being polite and doesn't want you around that much?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ohhwanderlust
The type of place where everyone was around my age (I'm 24), people had beer to drink on the job whenever, people swore freely, addressed emails as 'Hey (firstName)', cracked inappropriate jokes, and made fun of interviewees who wore suits to job interviews. We got things done, but I know that the corporate world is completely different.
Don't drink at work unless others are doing so and you're sure management approves it.
I've been told to go with a first name basis if you're unsure. If you use a salutation plus last name, it seems old fashion and can make you fit in even less. However, some companies, if they're old fashioned and your managers are old, scary people, you should go with a last name basis.
"Feel the room" with the swearing. You're free to do it every now and then too if that's what others do. Unless you feel you'd fit in more by swearing, don't over do it. However, be aware that some employees that aren't part of your group/clique may wander in every now and then, and depending on the environment, avoid doing so if kids pass by (not that they won't pick it up eventually, but still)
Inappropriate jokes CAN get people fired, so be careful! Small companies with only 5 to 15 or so employees are close knit enough that these things are either less of an issue or can easily be addressed. Larger ones, they'll probably make you watch mandatory videos, slides, and training regarding sexual harassment, bullying, and hostile work environments. Amongst the companies I've been in management has reminded us of these concerns, and cited how 1 employee from our company, and even another one from another one we're contracting under have reprimanded employees or even fired them for such behavior. However, if you have a small knit group, that can be fine. Beware of open cube environments, as your voice can carry further than you think.
I've seen my coworkers heavily critique interviewees, but not while the interview is taking place. Only after they've left. The interviewers have gotten whiff of this, and decided that they need to conduct closed door interviews from now on
Thanks for all the responses so far. The corporate culture is even more different from what I'm familiar with than I thought. I'll adapt!
One thing that I'm a little concerned about, is that they're a small group of people who've worked there for a really long time, and are all older than me (30s and up). I don't need/want to be best friends with them, but I also don't want to be looked upon with suspicion, because when the going gets tough, the outsiders seem to be the first to go.
I'd rather just be seen as a competent, valuable member of the team who gets along with everyone.
During a layoff, many competent people will be gone. If there are 10 competent people in a dept and half of them have to go, the ones with no relationships be gone. They will have the harder time finding jobs.
The people most likely to find new jobs would be the employees that survived the layoff. The social ones will have stronger networks with old bosses, vendors, clients, etc.
I am an introvert, but I can ask for a job from former bosses, co-workers, vendors, clients, etc. I rarely went to happy hour, but I still had lunch with people. Work was less stressful, when you can let it out at lunch too.
Last edited by move4ward; 03-19-2015 at 05:43 AM..
Absolutely. No matter how small, back it up with a quick email "Per our conversation" or "It was great talking to you about"
At first, observe as much as possible and see how others act in meetings. Some companies like people to be quite without participation. Others allow people to pipe up.
This may sound silly, but see how people dress. (I actually had a supervisor criticize my clothes as not being professional enough, while I was wearing a suit).
If a memo comes out stating "change your email address to look like xxx" do it quickly.
This <bold> is very,very critical ESPECIALLY in IT. As an example, as one of two who were responsible for the corporation's Exchange email systems world wide we noticed the system was failing. We passed our concerns up the chain (CIO/CEO) and were ignored. After a month or two we again passed our serious concerns about the odds of upcoming failure via email to the bosses which was again ignored.
One morning (at about 2am) the Exchange system failed and about 10 GB of email was "lost" as were communications world wide. Needless to say the CEO was apoplectic and was demanding it be fixed NOW and an explanation of how this could be allowed to happen along with the heads of those that allowed it.
Needless to say we produced the "cya" emails telling them we saw this coming and had asked for the resources to fix it before it failed.
It was amazing how fast we got the ok for new servers and the OT needed to bring email back online then a nice bonus for doing it so fast (3-4 20 hour days).
To add to this, I can't tell you how many times I've had a user or superior ask me/tell me to do something then after I've sent a conformation email found either I misunderstood or they'd changed their mind or didn't express it right to begin with.
As to dress, we in IT were not expected to wear a suit and tie, we could wear casual clothes as we pretty much were in the company of servers and other IT people for the majority of the time. There were a few who started wearing a suit and tie and guess what? They eventually got promoted to manager positions even though they were no more qualified than the rest of us and probably less so than many of us.
I guess clothes do (sort of) make the man/women.
One other thing, always,always under promise and over deliver. It's better to come in with a project a few days early then 1 minute late or 1 penny over budget. Most times the bosses have little idea about the nitty gritty of what you are doing, they are big picture people who depend on YOU to make them look good so if a project looks like it will take 5 days promise them 8 days and get it done in 5. Nobody has ever been fired for being ahead of time or under budget.
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