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Article from Career, AsiaOne.com.sg, June 2000
Undying Loyalty
Pledging your whole life to one company is passe. Multiple-job careers are increasingly the norm. You owe it to yourself to know when to move on-and if the motivation is right.
In the not- too-distant-past, you would have felt proud to tell others what a loyal and steady employee you are, as you have not changed jobs since you graduated.
Everybody will go: "Well done, your boss must be very proud of you. Keep it up. You will be a very good example for your children to emulate". I did. I was with my first employer for over a decade. I felt a certain degree of achievement for resisting the temptation of making a career move, despite the enhanced responsibilities and pay package promised by the other company. And rightly so, because employee loyalty meant a lot to many, and the year-end bonus and pay adjustment reflected how much the company valued your unstinting support, come good times or bad.
If you were brave enough to do it, you would sleep uneasy at night because your conscience would nag at you, the "ungrateful employee"! Things have changed- and drastically- as one-job careers have gone flying out of the window. Perhaps the title of Bill "Microsoft" Gates' latest book says it all : "Business @ The Speed of Thought".
Now more and more employees have no qualms about leaving and moving on to another job once they have learned enough in one company. The interesting and important thing to note is, the key motivation. A common thread: "I need to continue learning and growing. There is nothing else significant that I can learn from this company. Yes, my boss takes good care of me but I owe it to myself to move on".
As multiple-job careers are here to stay, it's vital you learn how to behave in the new company.
Managing multiple-job careers
Okay, so we acknowledge that multiple-job careers will increasingly be the norm. The next logical step is to see how you, the employee, can better manage your career. For the time(s) you do move to a new company, here is some sound advice.
What am I supposed to do?
Sounds basic, isn't it? You'd be amazed how many recruits fail to last even the first three months, precisely because they do not know what their job is and how their performance will be measured. While you may realize that your duties and responsibilities may not have to be cast in stone, you should nail your boss down on some basic specifics, especially the performance measurement aspect. Otherwise, you may find your probation being extended or you being shown the door!
Culture is important too
Although performance is important, understanding the corporate culture and how things are done in your new company is equally important One of the greatest sins ever committed by recruits is to compare, especially if you do it in front of your boss or an audience.
"In my previous company, we had a flexible lunch time arrangement. I could go out at noon and return at 2 pm so long as I got all the important work for the day done" Since the norm in Shenton Way and most other companies is a one-hour lunch break and especially if your new company practises this too, comply. In everything, from getting approval far your entertainment expense budget to printing of your business cards, follow the new office norms.
The Lunch Bunch
Find out who is who and who goes for lunch with whom. No, we are not saying you should be a busybody. Far from it Like it or not, politics exists in every organization. Learn to manage it, and perhaps use it to your advantage, so long as you do not end up backstabbing your colleagues along the way.
In some organizations, the observance of corporate hierarchy is too strong for you to ignore it. If you are ever in such an organization, watch it. Do not side-step your immediate boss and go a level or, worse still, two levels above him to get a decision.
Get a Mentor
Seek out, identify and secure a mentor. Mentors have their corporate usefulness. Ideally, this could be your boss. However it need not be so as it is sometimes touchy to talk to your own boss too openly. Baring your soul to someone within the new company, preferably someone of the same sex and who is relatively more senior to you in the corporate hierarchy, can be helpful especially if you have certain concerns that are too sensitive to speak of in public or to your own boss. Normally, cultivating a relationship with a mentor is a healthy thing to do anyway.
Watch your image
Watch the image you are projecting. For instance, making a beeline for the prettiest girl or most good-looking hunk in the office can only damage your image and reputation. Unless you do not plan to be in the company for long or do not give two hoots about your reputation, be very careful about how you want others to perceive you, their newest colleague.
Always do a spot check of your conduct each day, especially in the initial two weeks. If you are heading dangerously out of place, get back into line. Be totally professional. Never earn the distrust of your immediate colleagues by openly cultivating your boss. Speak your mind at the appropriate occasions and demonstrate that you have a mind of your own and can add value to the team, not disgrace it
Work hard and smart
Hard work is a virtue. This will never change. At the same time, be alert to what is going on around you, and make friends throughout your new company. At the very least, maintain a harmonious relationship with everybody. Stepping on someone else's toe is suicidal. Be visible, but not loudly so. If you want to move up, you must make yourself known and heard, especially to the ones that can decide on your promotion.
And a final piece of advice, which some may find a little too drastic. Do not bring too many personal things to the office. The day will come when you have to clear out your desk whether at your own initiation or the company's. It can be really tedious to have to cart away, usually without a helping hand, five cartons of personal effects when moving to your next job!
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