Book Review: Ditch the Dusty Ol’ Corporate Ladder
Start low and work your way up the corporate ladder.
Your hard work will get you noticed.
Pay your dues and work long hours and it will pay off.
Sounds like pretty sound advice, just like your dad gave you when you set out into the world of work, right? The problem, says Penelope Trunk in her new book, “Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success,” is that such thinking applies to yesterday’s ‘old school’ workforce. “Today, there are new rules, new expectations, and new standards for success,” she writes.
For one thing, she stresses, people are not going to come and throw money at you or necessarily notice the great job you’re doing. That might sound obvious, but it took me years to find out from a manager that I need to “play the game” more if I want to get ahead. I’m a self-professed quiet type, always buried in my laptop, listening to my iTunes, typing away. I had always equated the “game” with office politics, schmoozing, and brown-nosing, all of which I wanted no part — or had time to do! But I’ve learned, it’s sometimes a necessary and even fulfilling part of the job, like sharing news with colleagues and higher-ups about my latest initiatives, like this blog. Had I not sent around a staff email, none of my co-workers would have a clue it even existed.
“Brazen Careerist” solidified for me some of the lessons that I learned the hard way throughout the years. For anyone making their way through corporate struggles, deciding if they should go for an advanced degree or launch a new business, or discovering a completely new line of work, Trunk’s renegade advice is right on. Some other highlights (you’ll have to pick up a copy yourself for the rest!):
- Break job-hunting rules. “Even though the advertisement says no calls, a call is a great way to get someone to pay attention to you when there’s a huge pile of resumes.”
- A messy desk portrays you as unorganized, not busy. “Use your workspace to control how people perceive you.”
- Forget dollars and cents. “Learning new skills is worth a lot more to you, in the long run, than some ridiculous 4 percent raise.”
Add Trunk’s book to your wishlist for her complete 45 rules for success. (And don’t believe everything Dad tells you.)