When you ask a question, you have to listen to the answer. You also need to learn to listen to what's being said between the lines. Our friend Michael Swenson demonstrates this way - he says one sentence seven ways:

You can never ask too many questions, as long as you're listening and implementing the answers. It gets irritating for a manager to be asked the same question over and over again. If you ask different questions of different people and are clearly trying to put things together, you can ask as many questions as you want.

Some questions have straightforward answers. For example, where do we keep the architect's drawings and how do we organize them?

One habit you'll want to carry over from school to your new career is taking a LOT of notes. Take notes on everything, even the things you think you'll remember. It's a very different experience to watch someone do a task, than it is to do it yourself - and if you didn't take enough notes, you may have to ask to be shown again. That's a serious black mark for you.

On your first day, you'll want to wear your interview suit. Don't worry about being overdressed. It's a sign of enthusiasm. Everyone knows the rule 'if in doubt, wear a suit' and they'll understand why you're wearing one.

On your first day look around and see what everyone else is wearing, particularly your boss. If it's a t-shirt and jeans kind of place, your boss probably has nicer jeans and a nicer shirt than everyone else - and perhaps topsiders instead of flip-flops. Work towards building a wardrobe at the same level as your boss if you want his chair someday.

Not being on time is one of the most common complaints we hear from managers about newcomers to the workplace, and one of the most common recommendations they give is to be on time!

Being on time doesn't mean that if you're due to start at 9am, you saunter into the building at 9, arriving at your desk a couple of minutes later, boot up your laptop, get a coffee and start work at 9.15ish.

Welcome to First Job Fundamentals!

We designed this series to give you a primer on the things you need to know when you start your professional career. It's far from everything we know about being an effective professional however.

Over the next 12 weeks, we're going to send you even more information you need to be effective at work and to start your career off well.

Thank you for purchasing a Personal License.

In this email we're going to give you a quick overview of the services you now have access to. In the coming weeks, you'll receive an email from us with more comprehensive information about each product or service. It's our privilege to have you join our Licensee community.

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