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PAGE www.lawcrossing.com 1. 800.973.1177 LAWCROSSING THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LEGAL JOBS ON EARTH continued on back What Did You Say? Six Things You Should Never Say to Your Boss [By Mary Waldron] You’ve dreamt about it at one time or another. Telling off that supervisor or manager who really makes your blood boil would be satisfying, wouldn’t it? Well, keep fantasizing all you want because you should never go through with it. Don’t even save it for your last day. It’s just not worth it. In addition to those tell-it-like-it-is moments that you’d love to let loose at the office, there are a few specific phrases that you really should keep to yourself. Read on to find out some of the most annoying and damaging comments you can make to your boss. 1. “I know what I’m doing.” In a successful business relationship, especially if you are lower on the food chain than the other person, there should be some level of humility and a willingness to grow and improve as a professional. So when your superior criticizes how you approached a project or a situation, you really should take heed. Usually there are some good reasons that person is above you, and you should take his or her advice seriously. Even if what your superior says is illogical, unethical, or just plain wrong, you should accept the words with open arms and attempt to find some sort of use for them. Besides, an ego-driven comment like “I know what I’m doing,” no matter how much you think you know, sounds uncooperative, closed-minded, ignorant, and rude. Even the most seasoned professionals admit that they learn new things every day in their careers, and that really is the truth. So don’t shoot yourself in the foot by making such a bold and arrogant statement. 2. “We need to talk. It’s important.” This one is a killer. I wish more professionals realized what a nuisance this is. Bothering your boss about an insignificant matter is bad enough, but trying to trap him or her into a meeting or call with this line, with no explanation, is disrespectful and tacky. Any time you want to talk to your boss about something, whatever it may be, give him or her a quick synopsis in a phone call, email, or message. That way, if it’s a matter that can be cleared up without meeting or at a more appropriate time, his or her time can be saved. The one thing you never want to waste or disrespect is your boss’s time. I used to work with an employee who would do this sort of thing to our boss almost on a daily basis; it was out of control. She would march to his office, knock on his open door, say, “I need to talk to you about a couple things,” walk in, and sit down before he could even say anything. Although my former boss should have stood up for himself and sent her away, this employee’s behavior was incredibly disrespectful and annoying. She would demand our boss’s attention for matters that he had no time for—he had more important things to worry about. She usually would vent about her problems with completing her tasks and duties, which voiced a more serious problem, I think. But the point is you need to value your boss’s time and try to solve your job’s problems and issues without cornering him or her in an office. 3. “That’s not part of my job description.” If your boss asks you to put on a chicken suit and do the Macarena, you do it. Okay, I guess that’s a bit degrading, but my point is you should do whatever your boss asks of you. Many times, unless your firm is in the top tier, projects that do not directly relate to your job will get assigned to you. It actually happens more often than not. Don’t look at these assignments as time- consuming, mindless tasks. These are actually little jewels that you can leverage to get your next raise. When it’s time to be reviewed for a raise, you will have a neat collection of extra completed tasks that will hopefully boost your chances of getting more money. Taking on additional responsibilities also helps establish your reliability, trust, and team-player attitude in the eyes of your boss. This is priceless in terms of your current job, as well as your career’s future. 4. “I didn’t have time to do it.” I’m not asking you to lie to your boss. Yes, sometimes you won’t have enough time to complete everything on time, but this should not happen when your boss is waiting for something. If your boss assigns you a task, get it done as soon as possible—even before he or she needs it. This will help build your credibility with him or her. If you have a boss who assigns you five to 0 gigantic extra tasks per week, all with the same due date, okay, yes, you have an issue. My point is you should take action on every single task assigned by your boss as soon as you can. Prioritize your tasks and strive to complete those which must be done on time. If you cannot complete a task by its due date, do all that you can for the time being so that RESUME MAVEN SPONSORED BY ATTORNEY RESUME

What Did You Say? Six Things You Should Never Say to Your Boss

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You've dreamt about it at one time or another. Telling off that supervisor or manager who really makes your blood boil would be satisfying, wouldn't it? Well, keep fantasizing all you want because you should never go through with it.

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Page 1: What Did You Say? Six Things You Should Never Say to Your Boss

PAGE �

www.lawcrossing.com 1. 800.973.1177

LAWCROSSINGTHE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LEGAL JOBS ON EARTH

continued on back

What Did You Say? Six Things You Should Never Say to Your Boss[By Mary Waldron]

You’ve dreamt about it at one time or another. Telling off that supervisor or manager who really makes your blood boil would be

satisfying, wouldn’t it? Well, keep fantasizing all you want because you should never go through with it. Don’t even save it for

your last day. It’s just not worth it.

In addition to those tell-it-like-it-is moments

that you’d love to let loose at the office, there

are a few specific phrases that you really

should keep to yourself. Read on to find out

some of the most annoying and damaging

comments you can make to your boss.

1. “I know what I’m doing.”

In a successful business relationship,

especially if you are lower on the food chain

than the other person, there should be some

level of humility and a willingness to grow

and improve as a professional. So when your

superior criticizes how you approached a

project or a situation, you really should take

heed. Usually there are some good reasons

that person is above you, and you should take

his or her advice seriously.

Even if what your superior says is illogical,

unethical, or just plain wrong, you should

accept the words with open arms and

attempt to find some sort of use for them.

Besides, an ego-driven comment like “I

know what I’m doing,” no matter how much

you think you know, sounds uncooperative,

closed-minded, ignorant, and rude. Even the

most seasoned professionals admit that they

learn new things every day in their careers,

and that really is the truth. So don’t shoot

yourself in the foot by making such a bold

and arrogant statement.

2. “We need to talk. It’s important.”

This one is a killer. I wish more professionals

realized what a nuisance this is. Bothering

your boss about an insignificant matter is

bad enough, but trying to trap him or her

into a meeting or call with this line, with no

explanation, is disrespectful and tacky.

Any time you want to talk to your boss about

something, whatever it may be, give him or

her a quick synopsis in a phone call, email,

or message. That way, if it’s a matter that

can be cleared up without meeting or at a

more appropriate time, his or her time can

be saved. The one thing you never want to

waste or disrespect is your boss’s time.

I used to work with an employee who would

do this sort of thing to our boss almost on a

daily basis; it was out of control. She would

march to his office, knock on his open door,

say, “I need to talk to you about a couple

things,” walk in, and sit down before he could

even say anything.

Although my former boss should have

stood up for himself and sent her away,

this employee’s behavior was incredibly

disrespectful and annoying. She would

demand our boss’s attention for matters that

he had no time for—he had more important

things to worry about. She usually would

vent about her problems with completing

her tasks and duties, which voiced a more

serious problem, I think. But the point is you

need to value your boss’s time and try to

solve your job’s problems and issues without

cornering him or her in an office.

3. “That’s not part of my job description.”

If your boss asks you to put on a chicken

suit and do the Macarena, you do it. Okay, I

guess that’s a bit degrading, but my point is

you should do whatever your boss asks of

you. Many times, unless your firm is in the

top tier, projects that do not directly relate to

your job will get assigned to you. It actually

happens more often than not.

Don’t look at these assignments as time-

consuming, mindless tasks. These are actually

little jewels that you can leverage to get your

next raise. When it’s time to be reviewed for a

raise, you will have a neat collection of extra

completed tasks that will hopefully boost your

chances of getting more money.

Taking on additional responsibilities also

helps establish your reliability, trust, and

team-player attitude in the eyes of your boss.

This is priceless in terms of your current job,

as well as your career’s future.

4. “I didn’t have time to do it.”

I’m not asking you to lie to your boss. Yes,

sometimes you won’t have enough time to

complete everything on time, but this should

not happen when your boss is waiting for

something. If your boss assigns you a task,

get it done as soon as possible—even before

he or she needs it. This will help build your

credibility with him or her.

If you have a boss who assigns you five to �0

gigantic extra tasks per week, all with the

same due date, okay, yes, you have an issue.

My point is you should take action on every

single task assigned by your boss as soon as

you can. Prioritize your tasks and strive to

complete those which must be done on time.

If you cannot complete a task by its due date,

do all that you can for the time being so that

RESUME MAVEN SPONSORED BY ATTORNEY RESUME

Page 2: What Did You Say? Six Things You Should Never Say to Your Boss

PAGE �

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LAWCROSSINGTHE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LEGAL JOBS ON EARTH

when you have to answer to your boss about

the task, you can report on its progress and

pinpoint a date when it will be done. We’re

not machines, but if we manage our time

properly, we can at least get the ball rolling

on most tasks, even if we physically don’t

have the time to complete them.

Some bosses don’t even particularly care

whether the task is done; they just like to

test employees or see how well they can

execute the task. So if you walk into your

boss’s office and tell him or her you didn’t

have time to finish your task, you will have

failed the test and lost major credibility

points.

5. “It’s 5:00 p.m. I’m going home.”

Even if your boss schedules a meeting with

you at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, keeping you

from making it to your dinner date on time,

you need to bite your tongue. Sometimes

you need to work late to complete timely

assignments, and sometimes you need to

work late to show your boss that you’re a

superstar in his or her company. It’s just

the way life is. Again, as with doing extra

work, you need to tough it out to work toward

greater rewards.

6. “That was so-and-so’s fault.”

Blame: another ugly thing to see an

employee do. Never lower yourself to

pointing fingers in front of your boss. If you

did screw up, admit it to your boss and take

the heat. If you simply apologize and do

what you can to help fix the problem, your

boss will see that you learned a lesson, and

hopefully he or she will move on from it.

If the issue is really not your fault, you

should still handle the situation carefully

and gracefully. I’m not asking you to create

a façade for your boss. Choose your words

carefully in situations where someone else

is at fault for the failure of a project. Present

how you contributed to the project and

explain everything from your point of view.

Then your boss will see your side of the story

and figure out whose fault it is without you

even mentioning the guilty party.

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