markewicken in Starting a New JobTips and Advice

Great Advice for Graduates

You have just graduated from school and now your education begins.

The ‘real world’ education will now teach you what you need to know to be successful. Here are 10 rules you need to know and understand to make it in the ‘real world’.

1. What you learned in school is the foundation of your career. What you will learn in your new work environment is beginning of your career.

2. Winston Churchill said: “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Be positive and the person everyone wants to work with. Doing what you say you will do, on time, with no excuses will get you a long way.

3. You really don’t know as much as you think you do. This does not discount for a second your hard work at school. It means you are now in a world where everyone you work with probably knows more about your new job than you do. Work hard…very hard.

4. Everyone is looking at you. From the time you start your new job, your every move and action will be scrutinized by your peers and superiors. First impressions count.

5. Never say: “It’s not my job.” Do everything that is asked and required of you and more. The person who shows initiative and peer support is the person who grows and moves up in any organization.

6. Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. Golfer Gary Player said, “The harder I work the luckier I get.”

7. Listen, listen, listen. In the first months on your new job you will absorb more information than any other time, but only if you listen.

8. The are no bad questions. In your first months on the job, if you are not asking questions you most probably are not learning. No one expects you to have answers or expects you to understand everything you need to know. Ask questions, it shows you want to learn.

9. There are no shortcuts to success. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”…Colin Powell

10. Your career has started and your real networking just begun. Everyone you meet, could, might or will become a valuable colleague in your future. The people you meet at the beginning of your career are the ones who will know you best. If you align yourself with people that share your goals and values you will be a success.

Next Read: The first question graduates are going to be asked in an interview… »

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markewicken: Mark Wicken is a marketing professional with over 30 years of advertising, communications and strategic planning experience within the retail and packaged goods industries. He has been a senior member of agency management teams with both account and brand management responsibilities. His strengths have always been on innovative thinking, solid organization and strong interpersonal skills. Starting in the advertising agency industry, Mark held senior account management positions at several multinational agencies including Leo Burnett, Foster, Caledon, Vickers & Benson and Saffer Advertising, and has been responsible for the management of accounts like IBM, McDonald’s, Esso and General Motors. Mark moved from his agency roles to the Client side and held the position of Divisional Vice President of Marketing for Domino’s Pizza International and Director of Marketing for KFC, Hardee’s and Sbarro restaurants in the Middle East. In 2002 he established The Mark Wicken Group, a business specializing in executive search, training and consulting within the marketing, advertising and communications industries. In addition to executive search, Mark has devoted much of his lifetime to teaching, education and youth development. He is President of MusicFest Canada ‘The Largest Annual Music Festival in North America’ and has been an instructor at the International Academy of Design and The Toronto Film School since 1998. Mark graduated from The University of Toronto, took post-graduate studies at Northwestern University, and is married with two sons.