How to be a Professional (by trying really rather hard actually...)
In a new direction for Mixing Messages, I am looking at the area of life this blog has really shied away from in the past: the workplace. What I want to create is something I have sorely missed in the early stages of my career as a lawyer: a safe space to learn and be supported. Going from a student to a trainee to an associate (or intern to director or whatever the particular terms are in your profession) often feels like stepping into a parallel universe, one where everyone looks, speaks and acts the same; where there is no room for individuality or fun. I believe that a lot of this stems from the over-complication of the whole endeavour; there is, in fact, very little mystery to becoming “a professional”, so let’s get to de-mystifying.
It goes without saying, but perhaps it shouldn’t, that corporate jobs are not easy.
They are hard to get and they are hard to keep, but even harder sometimes is wanting to keep them. They take a lot of hard work and dedication (and a hell of a lot of not saying what is actually on the tip of your tongue) but they pay well (let’s be real) and they usually represent decades of hard work. As a general rule, the people who these companies let through the door have quite a few things in common. Beyond the characteristics you read about in depressing articles about the relative lack of diversity in banks, law firms and other similar professions (which I’m just going to leave for now), successful applicants to corporate jobs tend to be hard-working, dedicated and, let’s be honest, people-pleasing. It doesn’t take a lot of deductive reasoning to work out why people fitting that description are ideal employees for these places. They want people who are going to through themselves into their work, who will work hard, long hours and will be grateful to do it. They want what we’d all want as bosses, self-starters who will keep going and provide a good product while they’re at it.
Even Duchesses can be type-a…
It’s important to remember that this is not a blame-worthy position to take. The idea is not to make you miserable, to depress you in to thinking that you’ve walked blindly into a trap from which there is no mistake (although, don’t get me wrong, it will feel like that sometimes), the idea is to give you (to give us all) the tools we need to succeed in a high stress workplace. To do that, you don’t need to put yourself in opposition with your place of employment, boss(es) or colleagues, you need to be aware and knowledgeable enough to know what’s normal and what isn’t so you can do your best without being taken advantage of (or underperforming out of avoidable ignorance).
No one wants to work at the Figgis Agency…
As I’ve been spending more and more time at work training and guiding new members of my team through the earliest stages of their careers, I’ve been inspired to start gathering all the guidance and pearls of wisdom I’ve given, been given and witnessed into one place in the hope that there’s even one person out there it might help. And, most importantly, I’ll try and keep it snappy!
At the end of the day, we all are.
Ciao!