Stop! Yes, a major burden has been lifted from your shoulders. You did great. But the game isn't over by any stretch of the imagination just because you landed a job. Maybe in the 1960s and 1970s you could have folded up and gotten comfortable and never thought about finding another job. Not in the frenetic 1990s.
For the moment everything feels and looks right. Maybe you think you've found job nirvana. It's possible, but I wouldn't put money on it. It's normal to get excited about starting a job. After all, it's all spanking new-the work, people, and place. You feel like a kid with a new toy. For the first week or so, the toy is your favorite.
After that, it's on to bigger and better ones.
Naturally, your interest level will be longer than a child's. But the point is important. You may lose interest after 6 months or a year. Maybe the job wasn't what you expected. The people weren't high-energy motivators who turned you on. Or maybe it was just the opposite. Unknowingly, you walked into a cutthroat kill-or-be-killed fast-track company whose pace could be likened to the Indianapolis 500. Every day is like riding on an out-of-control roller coaster and you can't wait to climb out. Or your boss, who seemed perfectly normal when you met her, turned into a screaming virago who ought to be caged and exiled to a deserted island.
Alternatively, you may love your new job, but the company suddenly experiences rough waters and is close to capsizing. Whether the cause is incompetent management, a pending merger, or bankruptcy, it looks like you'll have to grab your life jacket and bail out.
The final scenario is you may wind up finishing out your career there.
I'm not being negative or pessimistic, just cautious and pragmatic. I urge you to adopt the same attitude. Look at the facts. What is better evidence than the business world of the past decade? I don't have to tell you what's happened. You lived it. And it wasn't pleas ant. The days of blindly trusting an organization are over. Hopefully, you've learned that the only person you can trust is yourself. Again, I'll scream it from the rafters: There's no such thing as job certainty.
Lifetime employment is a myth. Today, you're happily employed. But only God knows what tomorrow will bring. And don't expect road signs warning of bumps and potholes in the distance. You must anticipate them.
Advice: Don't get too comfortable. Do the best work you can, yet have your bags packed so you can split if things turn bad.
TAKE AN ORGANIZATIONAL READING
Once you get past the "Welcome aboard, we're all one big happy family, let's work together as a team to create something special" stuff and all the rah-rah slogans many companies enjoy shoveling at new staffers, get down to brass tacks and check out the place-from the loading dock to the executive suite.
Keep your antenna up at all times and be street-smart. Waste no time creating alliances. Build a wall of support by making friends in the right places. Learn how the political structure works and identify the power brokers. These are the folks you ought to befriend and, if nothing else, respect. Protect yourself by having allies at all organizational levels. Uppermost, plug into the company grapevine so you find out information as it's happening, rather than after the fact. That way, you'll always be current.
I'm a great believer in back-scratching-"You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." As Michael Mercer points out in How Winners Do It: High-Impact Skills for Your Career Success? It's one of the oldest techniques, virtually assuring win-win outcomes. Favors must be returned. True power brokers can be likened to loan sharks.
Unselfishly, they go out of their way to help everyone, especially those in influential positions. At the right moment, they knock on doors asking for payback-plus interest.
The more people owing you favors, the stronger your position. Only a fool doesn't ask for payback. "Remember when I helped you meet that deadline last month, Hortense? Well, I need you to run interference and help me persuade Larry to okay that budget request on my new project." What do you think her answer will be? A rhetorical question for sure.
BE VISIBLE
Even though it s great building plenty of support at all levels, it*s also important to be visible and distinguish yourself early in the game. Companies want to see a "take charge" attitude. If you con vey the impression you're ready and willing to put your heart and soul into your work, even if you have to throw yourself in front of a speeding freight train, you've earned star-studded points. It's the equivalent of capturing Boardwalk and Park Place in a Monopoly game. You've won respect and power at the same time, giving you strategic leverage.
Trust earns you the privilege of schmoozing with secretaries and back-office folks during coffee breaks and sipping martinis with their bosses after working hours.
KEEP YOUR NETWORK ALIVE
Outside of work, keep in touch with your network. Sadly, this is the time it s often neglected. Once you're comfortably employed, don't mistakenly let down your guard. The best time to beef up your net work is when you're safe (temporarily at least) and pulling down a steady paycheck. Frequent telephone conversations, lunches, or after-work drinks with industry contacts could reveal incredible leads. Keep the networking lines open 24 hours a day and you may stumble on an even better job. What then? It's your decision. Weigh your options and go with your gut. One of the thrills of piloting a career is taking calculated risks.
Sure your new boss wouldn't be very happy if you jumped ship only a month after you started. But then again, what would she do in the same situation?
The irony is it s amazing how job offers suddenly surface once you're employed. Where were they when you needed them 3 months ago? It's not worth having a temper tantrum over it. The good news is you're in the power seat. You can evaluate potential job offers from a position of strength. You can be totally objective and pick the cream of the crop. Don't tell me it's not an incredible feeling. Uppermost, you've got the luxury of time to map a contingency plan.
ALWAYS HAVE ONE FOOT OUT THE DOOR
Give yourself 3 months to settle in at your new employer. Then, it's time to start working out a contingency plan.
Why so soon? Like I said, you don't know what tomorrow may bring. You'd be surprised how fast things can turn. The sooner you start making alternative plans, the better you'll feel. I guarantee you'll sleep better-not to mention, do a better job. Having other irons in the fire gives you a wonderful feeling of control. Even if you never exercise these plans, it's nice to know they're in place and ready to activate on a moment s notice. The more elaborate they are, the better. They could identify several potential employers or maybe a business you've been thinking about starting for years. There are no rules or restrictions. You can design the plan any way you like, as long as it's action-oriented and puts you back in the game so you don't skip a beat.
And don't just think and talk it. Put everything down on paper so it's real and you can expand upon it.
The message is to keep on moving. As the saying goes, "Always be a moving target." Whatever you do, don't get so comfortable you're lulled into a false sense of security. Be careful, it happens every day. Hardly a few months into the job, you may swear you've found a permanent home. You say to yourself, "Wow, this is like the old days." As soon as that occurs, you've taken a step backward.
You've been bought. You think you've found the perfect job. Your coworkers are great and your boss has promised you the world. You've gone out for drinks with him, and you and your spouse have been invited to his house for dinner.
All well and good. It's great being appreciated, but don't make the mistake of believing every promise made. Maybe the promises were true for the moment, but who can predict the future? If the business suffers one bad quarter, a disastrous season, or a recession, all bets are off. Remember, this is business, a game with no rules.
Like they say, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be appreciative, do your best work, but remain cynical. If you want to come out ahead, keep your eyes on the players.
Years ago, I learned to think of myself as a kind of traveling salesman whose bags are always packed. It's a healthy survival attitude that keeps you on your toes, ready to move on down that career highway.
STAY CURRENT
Finally, consider taking some courses at a local college or university. Who knows? You may get a second wind and decide to enroll in a degree program. It's happening more and more. Thankfully, the higher-learning environment has changed. There are many more learning options; more important, the nation s college population is no longer solely 18 to 21-year-olds. Today, almost half of college students are over age 24 and more than 63,000 are over 65. It's not like the old days when "mature" students were intimidated by a sea of young faces. Expect to find plenty of graying heads in the crowd.
More people are returning to school late in life for all kinds of reasons. Some do it for career purposes, such as to stay current with their industry. Others do so to fill gaps in their education, and still others return out of curiosity. Think about how great it could be to take any course you want without the pressure of piling up credits for graduation. That's right-doing it for sheer pleasure. It's no wonder people in their fifties and sixties discover talents they never knew they had. A course in writing, painting, sculpture, film making, or computer programming opens a trap door in your mind. And you may say to yourself, "Why didn't I do this earlier?" Whatever the reason, don't beat yourself up over it. Be thankful you discovered a new found passion.
It doesn't really matter where a course or two leads. Whatever you take and whatever your motives, I guarantee you'll profit from the experience. Like being primed and ready to jump on new opportunities or bail out of your job when things get rough, feeding the brain with new information is as important as fueling your body with food. It's yet another thing to do to keep in shape. As I said, the battle is won, but the war ain't over.
