I’ve been interviewing a number of alums over the past few weeks for the Career Center’s podcast, LUCareerTalk. One of the questions I’ve been asking is “what is a mistake that new professionals make and what suggestions do you have for avoiding that mistake?” I have been hearing similar responses from various alums and I tend to agree with the suggestions given.
Young professionals and interns alike tend to have great zeal and excitement for their new jobs – this is a good thing! Their fresh perspectives and ideas are often highly sought-after by organizations. The challenge for the new employee, be they young professional or intern, is how to present those perspectives and ideas without coming across as arrogant.
If you’re a new employee at an organization and have a ton of brilliant ideas for how the organization can be improved, consider the following few tips:
* take a few weeks or even months to observe the work environment carefully. You may find yourself revising that great idea you had on your first day of work after a few more weeks of experience under your belt.
* do your research. There may be a very good reason your employer uses a particular process or is not pursuing a particular strategy. Find out if your ideas have been attempted in the past and what the results of those attempts had been.
* when you do share your ideas, do so tactfully. For example, don’t say, “This is the most backward system I’ve ever seen. I would do it this way…” Instead, ask a question, such as, “I was wondering, do you think _____ process would work?”
* don’t be a know-it-all. While you may think you know how to run the organization better than your supervisor, (and perhaps you’re right), you will likely need to earn the respect of your supervisor and colleagues before they will trust your professional opinion – and it may take some time to earn that respect.
* do the job that’s been assigned to you to the best of your ability. Don’t allow yourself to get caught up trying to fix the problems in another department when your own work piles up on your desk. Over time, as your supervisor and colleagues see you consistently completing your responsibilities in a timely, professional and high-quality manner, they will likely turn to you for your opinions on other matters.
New employees are a valuable resource to any organization. If you are new to an organization, hopefully the above tips will help you to present your ideas in a careful, professional and tactful way so that your ideas can be properly valued rather than resented.
