A recent edition of The Wall Street Journal had an excellent column by Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal.
Under the headline, “‘Follow Your Dreams’ and Other Terrible Career Advice,” she began with these hard-hitting assertions:
“Ever since the last millennials and the first Gen-Z’s entered the workplace, those of us from earlier generations have been warned that we need to remake the modern work world to keep our younger workers happy, engaged and on the job.
“And the Gallup organization has even identified 12 key elements of young employee engagement, which include ‘feeling cared about by someone at work’ and ‘feeling that their opinions count.’
“The real problem is that too many of us, young and not so young, have been told too many lies about what it takes to succeed at work — and not nearly enough truths.”
She continued: “All those bright, shiny aphorisms that are spoon-fed to young employees, like ‘follow your dreams’ and ‘know your worth’ and many more? Well, the truth is that they don’t really work at work.”
Hammer could’ve added, “You can be anything you want to be,” because professional dreams can be both motivating and inhibiting, particularly at the start of our work lives.
We all benefit from setting goals, but the key is knowing the difference between possessing dreams and allowing our dreams to possess us.
Trying to convince job seekers
The workplace pendulum has clearly swung back to reality, and the days of being hired if you have a pulse, and interviewers trying to persuade job seekers to accept an offer, are over.
When we enter the workplace convinced that we already know what we want to do in a specific field, we lose the wonder of being flexible and curious. We don’t ask for projects that may seem mundane and boring, but just might actually teach us a lot.
Often, it’s these projects that form the building blocks of knowledge and expertise.
The times aren’t changing; they’ve already changed. Companies are still hiring, adding hundreds of thousands of new hires a month. What has changed is employers’ selectivity.
Yes, my mantra continues to be, “Wake up excited to go to work.”
But that excitement has to be earned, not served on a silver platter. For the past several years, young job seekers have been told, “Know your worth” and “Don’t settle for anything less than you deserve.”
Yet early in their careers, most new hires, especially if it’s a first job, are somewhat clueless. And they need to acknowledge that upfront. Early-career employees trip up when their enviable self-worth manifests as entitlement.
Instead of wanting to be treated with decency and fairness, they expect coddling.
Based not on potential or promise
All employees, especially newcomers, need to earn their on-the-job value. Doing that takes time, effort, and consistency, based not on potential or promise, but on results.
If you want to be a valuable asset to your colleagues and bosses, add concrete value to your job. And know that your worth is determined not by how you feel, but by what you learn quickly and produce.
If you want someone to care about you at work, care about them first. Prove by your actions and accomplishments that you are someone worth paying attention to, and listening to.
Whether you’re just starting out or starting over, be aware of these workplace basics.
Even if you have great talents, training, and experience you’re expected to be productive pretty much immediately.
Telling your boss, “This task is beneath me” or “I want to work totally remote” or “These are the hours I feel most productive” are no longer options. In this market, you need to prove your current and especially future value every day.
Stay excited about your dreams. Stay confident about your abilities. Be aware of the value you bring to the job. Have an attitude of how you might do more or better.
Ask for more projects. Complete tasks faster.
Prove your value to the company’s goals and you will be the one who makes your dreams come true, and worth the compensation you deserve.
Blair is co-founder of Manpower Staffing and can be reached at [email protected].
