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10 things you might be doing that could hurt your career

I was pretty good at finding ways to damage my career. If you are like me, you find some of these like Item 8, Not using/improperly using social networking, difficult to follow.

Item 2: Asking when you should have been silent - Reminds me of this song.

Item 6: Being unprepared - It's not easy giving a demonstration or presentation in a foreign facility. You may have to use someone else's computer to give a PowerPoint slideshow or use a different system to demonstrate your new software. Eliminate as many unknowns as possible. Arrive early to do a walk-through if possible and always carry hard copies of your presentation - just in case.

As always, I will be participating when I have something intelligent to say and to answer any questions.

People use personal resources (phone, computer, office supplies, TIME) for company business all the time. Its hardly unethical to print a tax form after-hours on the company printer.

Most of the time my bosses have given permission for limited and reasonable use of company copiers etc.

If you have permission then it shouldn't be an issue.

The costs can add up. If in a company of 20,000 employees the average employee makes $1.00 worth of copies per month the company cost over one fiscal year is $240,000!

This reads like the handbook of "How to become a Worker Ant" or "Resistance is Futile-Be assimilated into the Borg". No thanks! I act in a courteous and professional manner to those both superior and subordinate to me in my work but am not subservient. Here in the UK we do treasure our individuality and most of us keep our work and our life as separate as we can, we work to live and not live to work.

I am like you. I don't like social mixers after work but I also believe that those who do participate have an advantage when promotions are handed out.

I, too, like individualism and there are plenty of ways to do that with your clothes, hair, shoes etc. My attire was always what I would call eccentric.

There is a certain amount of Borg-like behavior in those who successfully climb the career ladder.

Great article, you bring up some points i never even considered. Thanks for sharing Alan!

So, USERS and EXECUTIVES expect us to be professional, but can yell down the phone at us and curse at us on a regular basis when an electronic device fails?

Devices, just like humans, have a life expectancy...

(Some humans' lives are most likely shortened b/c they pissed off the wrong admin)

I kid, I kid!

Anyway, the minute computer users understand that their computers don't work by using the FM (F$CKING MAGIC) method and that we admins keep things running on a constant basis, and that they don't need to yell, or type messages in ALL CAPS to get their point across.....THEN I will listen.

In most cases, the only time unprofessionalism comes out is when it is provoked!

By the way, I LOVE #10, because the same management-types that bitch and moan about us "admin-types" are the ones who store all their crap on my networks! (And they ask why things are so slow!)

There is a certain amount of venting that occurs at whoever is handiest. The amount of venting is directly proportional to the number of days since a full backup. (No backup = infinity) That doesn't make it right - just human nature in action.

Defecating is human nature, defecating on a professional for the shallow purpose of gratifying one's ego when faced with impotence is psychotic, especially when one considers the overarching message delivered to said professional.

I refuse to be held liable for the mundane failings of technology, while having my greater works viewed as trivial. This situation is untenable whereby the "Human Nature" excuse would lead a prudent manager to consider all such workers as a potential psychological liability.

However, this is the problem of working the helpdesk for too long.

I do like almost all of what was said here, but I have some reservations about this comment ".. opting out of weekend duty when asked..". I worked for a high-pressure electronic engineering firm in the early 90's, and I almost always was available on evenings and weekends, but in the end, it just caused me to be taken advantage of. There are circumstances when it is prudent to offer to help after hours, but it must be done cautiously, especially in this economy.

Hi Dave.

It's a fair comment and only you can decide if you are being taken advantage of. Personally, I would be concerned if others were doing weekend duty and I wasn't.

I did some weekend duty during my career but then again I was a single bachelor at the time. I had the type of managers who were appreciative and personally thanked me for giving up part of my weekend to help with an important project.

Weekend duty, if consented to often enough, leads to an expectation that you are always available. Which robs you of the very thing ??rest and recuperation ? that you need to perform at your best. If you have a family it also send a subtle message that they are not as important as whoever signs the paycheck.

This is simply a sign of a tight labour market.
If you don't ask - you don't get. If employees did all of the above they would get taken advantage of by the 1% sociopaths.
If a manager says 'Please work the weekend' he is saying
'Sorry, I'm a schmuck and I can't be bothered to employ enough people to get the job done. Would you mind suffering, so that I get more credit?'

Asking worked for the small things but not the big ones. Perhaps my arguments weren't persuasive enough.

You are right. The labor market has changed dramatically since the go-go days of the Internet bubble.

Copy/Pasting myself:
Pretty much anywhere I've ever worked have known that I am 90% likely to be available for weekend work, evening work and general overtime.
At time-and-a-half of course.

If you're asked to work and you don't get paid for it, then IMO you're a fool.

I like folding my arms and crossing my legs when sitting at a meeting but this is regarded as bad body talk, also when giving a speach get your hands and arms to talk, my self I like to feal at ease and give undivided attention when talking to the other person or persons thy do not understand why I am so calm about things it drives them mad but when I leave work it is my time and forget about work that is why I look about 45 years old.

For years I lost out on interdepartmental transfers because I was seen as a "loose cannon". This was mainly due to my focus on customer problem resolution (as opposed to following the company line).

While I eventually learned that it was in my favour to adhere to company policy, this didn't fix customer issues - and then it turned into catch-22. When I resolved (and kept or enhanced a corporate customer), I wasn't a "team player". When I adhered to company guidelines, I wasn't "creative" enough in my solutions.

Either way, I was a "loose cannon". And NOBODY wanted anything to do with me - the higher up the manager, the lower their estimation of my ability WRT the company.

I eventually left the company and kept my dignity - and 80+% of customers followed, simply because my solutions worked for them.

There's a fine line there somewhere, but damned if I could find it! Maybe I have "fat feet"?

I think I may have created a new thread with this - my apologies if my cannon shot killed you!

Shoot. My ex-boss would account for just about everything listed in #1. Junk upon junk. Dirty clothing. Doesn't listen to others. He also fits [fully] 4 others listed and partially others.

Thanks for this interesting and useful article. Many of these items are obvious to anyone with much professional experience, but are surely worth repeating for anyone just starting out or in need of a reminder.

Here are some comments for your consideration...

- I suppose they still exist, but when was the last time you telegraphed anyone? I bet a lot of younger people have no idea what you're referring to.

- Maybe it would be useful to include a link to the referenced 10 Things That Define a True Professional article. I found it elsewhere on Tech Republic.

- One rule I try to follow is never bring a problem to your manager unless you have a solution. You shouldn't expect your manager to do all your thinking for you. Put yourself in their shoes before bringing anything negative to their attention, and imagine what their reaction is going to be ahead of time.

Thanks again for the good advice.

Nice article, didn't realize that I was doing half of the mistakes myself.

I don't think that product fail alone during a presentation is a sign of an unprepared professional! I'd agree that not being able to handle the fail professionally fits better in this context. For instance, Bill Gates and Microsoft failed a few times while presenting their new products (including some successful Windows). It's all about how you cope with such situation! Professionals well prepared w'd turn a product fail into a great marketing catch for the company or product, while unprepared professionals can mess up a presentation even when a product works properly!

2) If you don't ask, you don't get. But if you do ask, make sure you are ready with an exit strategy. If you can see that what you do command a higher rate elsewhere, ask for it. And if you don't get it, start looking for the higher rate somewhere else.

3) Gah, I hate those people. I'm currently working for a university, so there are plenty of those around...

5) Something I would never ever do if I can avoid it.

7) Fortunately I'm hardly ever ill, so if I call in sick, they know it's bad.
Overtime and weekend work? If it's paid, sure, if it's not paid, blow me. It's my time off to relax and recharge.
Want me to be available on-call? Pay a fee so I'll stay sober/near a pc.
Hilariously, I worked for a service provider that expected me to have my work blackberry on me at all times. I almost laughed out loud in my manager's face when she told me. It still makes me chuckle to think of that.

8) If I'm not being paid to spend time with my colleagues, then chances are that I won't be there. I like to spend my free time with my friends. The only thing I usually have in common with colleagues is work, and we can talk about that in work.

10) It's a two way street. If they expect me to stay the extra 5-10 minutes (unpaid) to finish something or to help a colleague, then I expect to be able to use company assets for personal use. Otherwise I'm one at 5pm on the dot.

In my opinion, Alan's "on the money" with his 10 points. If you want to climb the ladder, pay heed to this post.

That said, as I read each point, it became clearer and clearer how much time and energy is spent on appearance and perception. Points 1-5, 8, and 9, in particular, are all relative to the perception of your manager and co-workers.

Take point 9, for example. Be ambitious. But don't be too ambitious! I love it! It depends on the whims of your manager as to whether you are achieving the happy medium or not. No, thank you!

I want to focus on being the best that I can be in my areas of expertise. It's exhausting keeping up with office politics. And frankly, the amount of time that you have to spend to navigate these fickle waters effectively is not helping the organization either! That's time that could have been spent furthering your project instead of worrying about whether Mary Ann thinks that you were assigned the project to begin with because you're the manager's pet!

And let's face it. Good managers are in short supply, especially in technical areas. Consequently, you have to spend an inordinate amount of time compensating for your manager's lack of management skills. It takes a lot more effort making sure that your mediocre manager has a good perception of you than it would if you had a great manager.

So, Alan, thank you very much for reminding me why I went out on my own! It's so much simpler than corporate life! The customer hires you for a specific job. You do that job to the best of your ability. You get paid. You move on to the next job.

OK, maybe I'm over-simplifying it a bit! Yes, you have to make sure that the customer has a good perception of you, and there can be a bit of politics from time to time. But it's so much easier and more efficient than functioning in an office environment as an employee!

Anyway, great article!

Reading through the comments, I'm struck by the arrogant attitudes displayed. I understand you're venting in a perceived-safe environment, but really!? ... after THAT article?

Good article.

I am sorry to say so but I think most of the points are not important.
Most careers I have seen are just due to working a lot (or making the impression of) and reaching goals - with whatever means, being very straightforward against others (leader attitude) and have good networking.

All other points are just making you a good employee - but not necessarily a good manager.