12 Rules for New Grads

Charlie Endicott-NBCC, MCCAssociate Director , Career

ServicesSalisbury University

1. What you learned in college is a foundation for future learning, nothing more.

Do not view your degree as a destination.

Remember what you learned is important.

What you learned about how to learn is essential; it's the foundation for your life-long success.

2. Be someone that your colleagues want to work with.

No one wants to work with someone who is unpleasant or unreliable or self-serving.

Position yourself to be the colleague-of-choice and bring a positive attitude to everything you do.

Keep the commitments you make and help others advance their (legitimate) agendas. If you do, others will want to work with you and help you to succeed.

3. You're not as smart as you think you are, even if you are as smart as you

think you are.

Err on the side of humility. Arrogance breeds resistance; even if you

really do have all the right answers, you need to bring people along with you.

Recognize when to stand by your beliefs and when to flex in the face of good advice.

4. From the very first moment, remember you are creating an

impression.

The American humorist Will Rogers said, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." This observation is backed up by much good research on the astonishing speed at which people form first impressions of others, often in seconds.

Opinions can be difficult or impossible to change.

People tend to seek out information that confirms their pre-existing impressions and block out information that doesn't.

6. The harder and smarter you work, the luckier you'll get. Good work discipline matters as much

or more than talent. Know how to prioritize, focus, and

produce on a consistent basis. Strive to develop strong work ethic and

good work habits, or prepare yourself for mediocrity.

5. Do what's required, from the menial to the extraordinary, to get the job

done.

No one achieves great things without first paying their dues.

Be prepared to do a lot of work early on that may seem beneath your abilities.

Keep in mind it's more important to work in a good organization than to start with a good position.

Demonstrate your energy, dedication and ability - advancement will surely follow.

7. Learn to listen, listen to learn.

The act of listening, actively and thoroughly, is the most powerful influence technique there is.

Epictetus, the Greek philosopher said, "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak."

The ability to demonstrate understanding of others' points of view will open their minds.

8. Always do your homework.

The discipline of being prepared is indispensable.

Preparation is an essential prerequisite for innovation. For, as Blaise Pascal said, "Chance favors the prepared mind."

9. Don't learn the tricks of the trade, learn the

trade. There are no shortcuts to becoming

excellent. Find your vocation and figure out what it

will take to be outstanding in doing it. Keep in mind that few people mistake

appearances for reality for very long.

10. Embrace your weaknesses.

Strive too to recognize and compensate for your weaknesses.

Take advantage of every opportunity you get to engage in self-assessment and embrace good coaching wherever you find it.

11. Network your brains out.

Think hard about the relationships you need to build, because they require substantial investment.

There is an old career maxim: "It's not who you know, it's who knows you.” Reality - neither is sufficient!

You need to cultivate relationships that are founded in mutual benefit, whatever the relevant currencies are.

12. Don't lose yourself trying to be what you think others

want you to be.

Finally, learn to appreciate the power of authenticity, especially your own.

Reflect on what you feel when you are in the presence of someone who is being inauthentic: pity, disgust, but never respect.

Keep in mind this is what others will feel, sooner or later, if you try to be something you fundamentally are not. This is true even — in fact especially — if you are trying to be what you think others want you to be.

For as the poet e.e. cummings put it so powerfully, "To be nobody but myself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me somebody else — means to fight the hardest battle any human can fight."