A job for life

People often say there is no such thing as a job for life any more: complete and utter codswallop I say! If you get bogged down working at the same company day after day, month after month, year after year it is actually quite easy to quash your ambitions and settle for less.

What is less anyhow? As long as you can look yourself in the eye every morning (with a lump in your throat and the words of Dolly Parton’s ’9-5′ ringing in your ears) you have nothing to move onwards and upwards for.

There is certainly the air of a new Britain coming into force, with nobody wanting to work hard but still reap the rewards of the golden generation from back when there was something worth fighting for. I say just enjoy yourself and thank your lucky stars you still have your job (for life) and haven’t been sacked yet.

Take business cards with you wherever you go

You may have just graduated and are looking for your first major job role, or you may be considering a fresh start. Either way it is important to take business cards with you to interviews, job fairs and anywhere else as you never know when they might come in handy.

Some people think that business cards are only there to be exchanged at trade shows and exhibitions for networking functions and that’s it. And while they are a great way of gaining new business by keeping your name (and company) in the minds of the recipient, they can prove to be much more than that.

There is no restriction to the types of situations where business cards can be useful. Even if you do not have an employment position at present, business cards can still make you look more professional in the eyes of potential employers who will be impressed by your forward thinking.

Business cards can be taken with you on opportunistic visits to companies that you wouldn’t mind working for and they make for an effective compliment to your C.V. Business cards can be personalised to the exact specifications of how you want them to look and will reflect you as an individual.

Addressing the boss

Communication skills are key in the workplace. Knowing how to address different people will go a long way towards keeping you in that junior administrative position for the rest of your life.

When addressing the boss, never so much as allude to the fact that the menial, repetitive tasks that you have to carry out corrode your soul. Soul corrosion is an occupational hazard in the modern workplace and to complain about it would make you seem like a whinger.

Also, never go overboard and refer to the boss as being an emperor or king. While they might act like this is the case, they won’t believe that you feel the same way.

Dressing for your junior administrative position

Once you’ve landed that junior administrative position of which you’d always dreamt, there’s still much to be done. As well as not smashing things, you also have to dress appropriately. The following dress is considered inappropriate:

• Full pirate regalia – piracy in all its forms is frowned upon in most workplaces
• A Spider-man outfit – it is difficult for people to know whether they are dreaming or not if you’re wandering around dressed as Spider-man. Many people consider the appearance of Spider-man to be a sure sign that they are asleep
• Filing cabinet camouflage – you want people to be able to find you at work and you don’t want people stuffing stuff in you

How to keep your junior administrative position

Having got the job, there are a number of things you should avoid doing while at work if you want to keep your job. Steer clear of the following:

• Smashing your monitor because you were looking at adult images and were worried that you would get caught
• Smashing your phone because you had dialled an adult entertainment premium rate phone number and were worried that you might get caught
• Smashing a filing cabinet where you had stashed all your adult literature because you were worried you might get caught
• Smashing the VCR in the conference room because you were watching an adult video and were worried that you might get caught
• Smashing Helen from accounts because you were worried that the two of you might get caught