Old-School Career Lessons

Barbara Stanny, author of Overcoming Underearning (HarperCollins), gives four examples:

WRITE THANK-YOU NOTES – not SMSes or e-mails, but proper handwritten notes. Send them to clients as a follow-up to thank them for a great meeting or to a prospective employer who interviewed you. This sets you apart from other candidates and gives professional relationships a personal touch.

STORE PRAISE MAILS from your boss or manager that document feedback on a ‘job well done’. Then, come appraisal time, you’ll have proof of how well you’ve been doing.

HAVE INTEGRITY by being respectful to everyone, from the bottom of the ladder right up to the top, as you never know who your next boss will be. And while you’re at it, leave gossip, plagiarism and tendencies to snitch on others in the playground.

MAKE AN EFFORT – not just in the quality of your work but in the way you look. First impressions are, after all, based on your appearance. So, from your initial interview to the day you leave the company, dress to impress – looking sloppy sends the message that you’re lazy or just can’t get it together.

Author: Lelethu Lumkwana