Watch This Before Starting Your Corporate Career (what I wish I knew)

Summary

In this video, Emily shares invaluable career advice for those starting their first corporate job or transitioning to a new role. She highlights lessons learned from over seven years in the workforce, covering mentorship, office dynamics, and social interactions. Emily addresses common workplace challenges such as burnout, gossip, and work-life balance, while emphasizing the importance of building relationships, advocating for raises, and mastering basic technical skills like Excel. She encourages viewers to take lunch breaks, engage in after-work socials, and be confident in voicing opinions. This practical guide helps newcomers navigate the corporate world with confidence.

Takeaways

• 💡 Seek out the top performer in your new role and learn from them as a mentor, rather than relying only on assigned buddies or peers.
• 😔 Office gossip and cliques can be worse than in high school. Stay out of toxic conversations and always respond with kindness.
• 🍽️ Take your lunch breaks to avoid burnout and build relationships with coworkers. Socializing during lunch is key to team bonding.
• 💰 Be mindful of spending money on lunches and commuting costs, especially if you're on a starting salary.
• 👟 Wear comfortable shoes during your commute and change into work attire at the office to avoid ruining your nicer clothes.
• 🧺 Keep essential items like tampons, snacks, hand sanitizer, and tissues at your desk—you or someone nearby will always need them.
• 🚫 Avoid bringing strong-smelling foods like fish to the office for lunch, as it can be unpleasant for others.
• 🍻 Attend after-work social events to build strong relationships with your colleagues, as many promotions and opportunities come from networking.
• 💼 Don't drink the company Kool-Aid. Every company will try to sell you on their unique culture, but always advocate for yourself, especially when negotiating raises.
• 📊 Invest in learning basic technical skills like Excel and PowerPoint early on, as they are crucial in many entry-level roles.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to provide advice and tips for people starting their first corporate job or changing positions, based on lessons the speaker, Emily, learned the hard way in her seven years of work experience.

What is Emily's first piece of advice for someone starting a new job?

Emily advises that on your first day, you should identify the top performer in your role and make it your mission to learn from them, either by shadowing them or setting up formal mentoring conversations.

How does Emily suggest handling gossip in the workplace?

Emily suggests that if you're caught in a gossipy or catty work environment, you should counter negative gossip with positive comments and avoid aligning yourself with people who spread negativity.

What lesson did Emily learn about taking lunch breaks in her early career?

Emily learned the hard way that skipping lunch breaks to appear hardworking can lead to burnout and missed opportunities for social connections with colleagues. She encourages taking lunch breaks to build relationships and avoid burnout.

What are some items Emily recommends keeping at your desk?

Emily recommends keeping essentials like tampons or feminine hygiene products, hand sanitizer, floss, mouthwash, eyeglass cleaner, protein bars, and tissues at your desk for personal use or to help out coworkers.

What is Emily's advice regarding company culture and career longevity?

Emily advises not to 'drink the company's Kool-Aid,' meaning don't get too attached to a company's promises of long-term career growth. She warns against staying too long at one company, especially if you’re underpaid, and stresses the importance of negotiating raises annually.

Why does Emily emphasize learning basic technical skills like Excel early in your career?

Emily emphasizes the importance of learning basic technical skills like Excel because many entry-level roles require data analysis and reporting. Being proficient in tools like Excel and PowerPoint can make your job easier and increase your productivity.

What is Emily’s take on mistakes at work?

Emily explains that making mistakes at work is normal and that everyone makes them, even if they don’t talk about it. She advises letting go of the pressure to be perfect, as it's part of the learning process.

What is Emily's strategy for getting promoted or recognized at work?

Emily’s strategy is to regularly share her achievements with her leadership team through emails. She believes that people are too focused on themselves to notice your accomplishments unless you actively communicate them.

What final tip does Emily give about office life and work relationships?

Emily advises that your coworkers are not necessarily your friends unless you socialize with them outside of work without talking about work. She also stresses the importance of after-work socials for building relationships and career opportunities.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Starting Your Corporate Journey

In this paragraph, Emily introduces herself and shares the purpose of her video: to provide essential career advice for those starting or switching corporate jobs. She reflects on her experience working in HR for over seven years and wishes to offer tips she learned the hard way. Emily emphasizes the importance of finding a mentor who excels at your job role and building relationships with top performers for professional growth.

05:02

👥 The Reality of Corporate Gossip

Emily discusses the surprising presence of gossip in corporate environments, comparing it to high school drama. She recalls feeling excluded by cliquish coworkers, especially among women, which made her uncomfortable. Her advice is to avoid participating in gossip and respond with kindness to steer away from negative conversations. She emphasizes that aligning with gossipers could harm your professional reputation and encourages maintaining a positive attitude.

10:03

🍽️ The Importance of Taking Lunch Breaks

Emily reflects on her early days in corporate work when she avoided taking lunch breaks to appear dedicated, which led to burnout and missed social connections. She encourages taking your legally entitled breaks, as they are factored into your pay and help build relationships with colleagues. Emily also warns against overspending on lunches, sharing her experience of spending too much on food and coffee when she was on a limited salary.

👟 Smart Commuting and Office Essentials

Here, Emily shares practical tips for commuting, like wearing comfortable sneakers and carrying work shoes in a bag, especially in bad weather. She also suggests keeping a desk basket stocked with essentials like feminine hygiene products, hand moisturizer, snacks, and tissues to avoid inconvenient situations. These items can be helpful to yourself and others, fostering goodwill in the office.

🍺 The Value of After-Work Socials

Emily explains the significance of after-work social events, noting that she initially avoided them to head home early. However, she realized that important relationships and networking opportunities often happen during these gatherings. Emily shares that attending these events helped her connect with a manager, leading to her first promotion. She also warns that colleagues are not true friends unless you build connections outside of work, reminding viewers to be cautious with workplace relationships.

🤯 It's Just a Job, Don't Stress Too Much

Emily reflects on her early career anxiety, where she would stress over every mistake, thinking she was the only one messing up. Her mom advised her that work isn’t life or death, and everyone makes mistakes—even experienced professionals. Emily emphasizes that putting less pressure on yourself will lead to a healthier mindset, reminding viewers that making mistakes is normal and part of the learning process in any career.

💼 Don’t Drink the Company Kool-Aid

Emily warns against getting too attached to a company’s culture and believing the notion that you can spend your whole career there. She shares a personal experience where she stayed at a company despite being underpaid because she bought into the company’s values. Her advice is to negotiate your salary regularly and avoid being taken advantage of. She stresses that advocating for a raise annually is crucial to match the rising cost of living.

📊 Master Basic Skills Like Excel

Emily advises that having a strong foundation in essential tools, like Excel and PowerPoint, is critical for entry-level jobs, especially those involving data and reports. She confesses her dislike for Excel but stresses the importance of learning it early on. She recommends investing time in learning technical skills before starting a job to avoid being overwhelmed later.

👀 No One's Paying Attention—Promote Yourself

Emily highlights that most people are too focused on their own work to notice others’ successes or mistakes. She learned that self-promotion is key to being recognized for her achievements. Emily shares that she sends regular emails updating leadership on her accomplishments, which helps her during promotion and raise evaluations. She advises viewers to do the same to ensure their work is seen and valued.

📸 Be Ready for Your First Day Photo and More

Emily wraps up with practical tips for starting a new job. She reminds viewers to prepare for their ID photo on the first day, look good, and expect lots of company-specific acronyms. She also encourages asking questions in meetings and sharing your opinions early, as your input is valuable even if you're new. This helps you show up authentically and learn faster. Lastly, she offers to expand the video into a series if viewers want more detailed advice on starting a new job.

Keywords

💡Mentorship

Mentorship is the act of seeking guidance from someone more experienced in a particular field. In the video, the speaker advises newcomers to identify the top performer at their new job and establish a mentor-mentee relationship. This aligns with the video's overall theme of career development by emphasizing the importance of learning from the best to grow professionally.

💡Office Gossip

Office gossip refers to informal and often negative conversations about colleagues behind their backs. The speaker discusses how gossip can be rampant in corporate environments, often creating a toxic and exclusionary atmosphere. By advising the audience to avoid engaging in gossip and to counter negativity with kindness, the video highlights how to maintain professionalism and protect one's reputation at work.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, particularly in work environments. The speaker mentions experiencing burnout after skipping lunch breaks in an effort to appear hardworking. This ties into the theme of work-life balance, reminding viewers that taking breaks and pacing oneself is crucial for long-term career success and well-being.

💡Lunch Breaks

Lunch breaks refer to the time employees are allowed to take away from work to eat and recharge. The speaker stresses the importance of taking lunch breaks not only to avoid burnout but also to build social connections with coworkers. By skipping lunch, the speaker missed out on networking opportunities, underscoring the significance of these breaks in fostering workplace relationships.

💡After-Work Socials

After-work socials are informal gatherings outside of work hours, often involving drinks or meals, where coworkers can socialize and build relationships. The speaker regrets not attending these events early in their career, as they later realized how crucial they were for networking, building camaraderie, and even landing promotions. This concept supports the video's message about the importance of workplace relationships for career advancement.

💡Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is the equilibrium between professional responsibilities and personal well-being. The speaker touches on this by describing their early career habit of overworking, which led to burnout and missed social connections. The video advocates for a healthier approach, encouraging viewers to take breaks and prioritize both work and personal life.

💡Corporate Culture

Corporate culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, and behaviors within a company. The speaker advises not to get too attached to any one company’s culture or values, warning that companies often oversell their uniqueness and can exploit employees who 'drink the Kool-Aid.' This aligns with the broader theme of being aware of one's worth and advocating for oneself in the workplace.

💡Negotiating Salaries

Negotiating salaries is the process of discussing and agreeing on compensation between an employee and an employer. The speaker emphasizes the importance of asking for a raise annually to match the rising cost of living, warning that failing to negotiate can lead to being underpaid. This advice is crucial to the video's theme of personal advocacy and professional growth.

💡Technical Skills

Technical skills refer to the abilities and knowledge needed to perform specific tasks, often related to software or tools like Excel. The speaker regrets not learning these skills earlier in their career, as they found them essential in many entry-level positions. This concept ties into the video's emphasis on being proactive in learning and self-improvement.

💡Self-Promotion

Self-promotion is the act of highlighting one's own achievements and contributions to ensure they are recognized by others. The speaker points out that simply doing good work is not enough; one must also communicate their successes to leadership in order to be considered for promotions and raises. This ties into the video’s advice on career advancement and standing out in the workplace.

Highlights

On your first day at a new job, find the best performer in your field and make them your mentor to learn how they work effectively.

Corporate jobs can sometimes be more 'catty' and gossipy than expected. Be prepared for this, and avoid engaging in gossip.

If coworkers gossip, counter their negativity with kindness to avoid being roped into uncomfortable conversations.

Always take lunch breaks. It's essential for avoiding burnout and helps build social connections with your team.

Avoid spending too much money on lunch. Preparing meals from home can save you a lot in the long run.

Wear comfortable shoes like sneakers during your commute and change into work shoes at the office to stay comfortable and practical.

Keep a basket of essentials like hygiene products, snacks, and hand sanitizer at your desk for convenience and preparedness.

Never microwave smelly foods like fish at the office. It creates an unpleasant environment for others.

After-work social events are critical for networking and career advancement. Participate in them even if you’re tired.

Remember, your coworkers are just that—coworkers. Don't confuse professional relationships with friendships.

It’s normal to make mistakes at work, and everyone makes them. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Don't 'drink the company's Kool-Aid'—meaning don’t let a company’s culture or values cause you to overlook being underpaid or mistreated.

Ask for a raise every year to keep up with the cost of living, and don’t be shy about negotiating for fair pay.

Learning basic technical skills like Excel and PowerPoint is crucial for efficiency in most entry-level roles.

Share your accomplishments frequently to ensure that your contributions are recognized and you’re considered for promotions.

Transcripts

if you're starting your first corporate

job we're looking to change positions

this is basically a laundry list of

things that I wish somebody would have

told me frankly to make my life a whole

lot easier because I learned this ish

the hard way hey what's up it's Emily

and welcome back to my channel if you

don't know me my goal is to help you

thrive in your nine to five and Beyond I

make all kinds of content helping you

level up your personal and professional

life so if that's the kind of content

you like you're in the right place so

please consider subscribing despite me

looking not a day over the age of 17 I

have actually been in the workforce for

over seven years and trust me I have

learned some and I've seen some

especially given that I work in HR

moment of silence for my coffee I think

she looks really I look real Canadian

right now and we are in the middle of a

snowstorm so I'm just feeling like extra

cozy on your first day in a new job make

your number one task figuring out who

the very best is at what you do and make

it your mission for that person to be

your Mentor usually when you're on

boarded at most companies you're going

to get assigned a buddy or you'll rely

on your manager or your peers and that's

great but that person might not be the

best at what they do I'm talking figure

out who the top performer is Shadow them

figure out how they work understand what

makes them so good at what they do

whether it's asking to go for lunch with

them once a week or more formally

setting up mentoring conversations which

I have a whole playlist on how you can

do that up here basically attach

yourself and align yourself to how this

person operates because clearly

something is working um and there's

nothing worse than learning from people

who aren't good at their job that could

be a whole story time cheers to that I

wish I knew that a lot of office and

corporate jobs are actually going to be

a little bit more catty than High School

ever was I thought the days of gossiping

behind each other's backs and making

people feel excluded were like out the

window once you hit puberty absolutely

not you know who loves to gossip

everybody the problem is everybody loves

to gossip I remember when I first

started out my career there were some

people at work who were just like

straight up mean they'd exclude some

people especially girls like I hate to

say it but they would exclude some girls

there was kind of like a cool girl mean

girl Vibe happening in the office and it

made me extremely uncomfortable because

a I was being excluded and B that's not

the energy that I operate best in I want

to feel like I'm welcomed and that I'm

myself and frankly I don't think there's

anything you can do to make other people

nicer but if I would have known this was

a thing maybe I could have mentally

prepared myself more because at first I

was like is something wrong with me why

don't these people want to get lunch

with me

um it's because I was in a size zero

um yeah and actually wasn't an

so but if you are caught in a corporate

situation and people are gossiping

they're catty there's bad energy and you

don't want to get involved and trust me

you don't want to get involved if they

gossip with you they're gossiping about

you also you don't want to align

yourself to people who optically are

just not very nice you know that's not

the brand we're creating for ourselves

and also finally and most importantly

that's just not who we are as people

like we are not those people so every

time people would gossip negatively with

me like about someone else that say they

were talking about Susie from accounting

and wanted to talk about how bad her

haircut was I would respond with

something really nice about Susie they'd

be like oh my God Susie's haircut is so

I'd be like oh really I think it's great

and you know what I love about Susie

she's just so upbeat so I feel like she

could pull anything off I would counter

everything they said with kindness so

they looked like the and frankly

so that I was never roped into these

conversations that made me very

uncomfortable why are you being rude

it's just not fun let's talk lunch okay

you and I need to talk lunch when I

first started working in Corporate

America just kidding I'm Canadian I

never took lunch breaks because I wanted

to be seen as a hard worker who was

always heads down I was always at my

laptop I was the first in the office the

last one to leave and guess what within

six months I was so burnt out and

miserable and I also missed out on

making social connections with people on

my team because lunch is a social thing

like you all get up you go get your food

you chit chat you get to know each other

I missed out on all of that because I

wanted to be perceived as a hard worker

I literally did that stuff even when I

didn't have a lot of work to do

diabolical crazy and not good it leads

to burnout also it's really inhibiting

your ability to build relationships with

your team so start taking lunches you

are legally entitled to them in fact you

taking a 30-minute break throughout the

day is factored into your pay yeah

you're getting paid for 40 hours of work

a week right that's factoring in your

breaks as part of your compensation so

make sure you're taking it in addition

to that when I started taking lunch I

noticed that most of the people I was

working with were purchasing lunch like

we'd go walk to cup fruit and Kim which

is this little vegan Bowl place or we'd

go get a Subway sandwich we'd go get

whatever and then I ended up spending so

much money on lunch I'm talking twenty

dollars a day 20 bucks plus the five

bucks for my cup of coffee okay because

that was a non-negotiable that was part

of my morning routine plus the cost of

my commute which at the time I think was

eight dollars one way and then eight

dollars back

I was spending

editing me will put in that much that

much money that's a lot of money

especially when you're making a starting

salary I remember my first salary my

first job right out of school I was

getting paid

nothing literally nothing and I had no

benefits like the salary was horrible on

the note of commuting I very much wish

that I knew you don't have to commute in

your work heels you wear sneakers on the

way to the office and you put your fancy

shoes in your backpack you get changed

at the office there's a blizzard outside

don't wear your nice dress pants wear

track pants fold up the pants that you

want to wear at the office put them in

your backpack get changed in the lobby

of your office building you will thank

me later everybody's doing it it's not

just you I also wish that when I first

started working my corporate job I had a

basket of these things at my desk

because eventually I ended up having to

go out and purchase all of them number

one is tampons your feminine hygiene

products even if you're someone who

doesn't menstruate it's just nice to

have in case there are people in your

vicinity who might eat them hand

moisturizer hand sanitizer floss

mouthwash I wear glasses so eyeglass

cleaner or replacement contacts a couple

of like protein snack bars and Kleenex

or tissues because Kleenex is a brand

not the actual product put that in like

a little bag it inside of your desk and

I promise you will need them or someone

in your area will need them and that

will either make you a new friend or

it's going to save you from having a

panic like oh crap I just got my period

moment at the office on to office

etiquette my friends I don't care how

much you like Halibut or salmon you are

not bringing that to the office and

microwaving it it smells bad fish is one

of those Foods the smell is pungent it

smells like good when you're cooking it

live but microwaving the next day in the

office me thinks the not so you're

gonna pack your salmon and eat that

cold or you're having it for dinner

sorry I also wish I knew at the

beginning of my career how important the

after work socials were going to be I

always used to avoid going to them

honestly because I just wanted to get

home I used to have an hour and a half

commute from my office to my parents

place where I lived when I first started

working and I was like I don't want to

grab a beer with this team I want to get

my ass home and get on with my life and

let me tell you that held me back

because a lot of the great relationships

are built in the after hours so once I

started to realize oh I feel like

everyone's getting close and I'm kind of

on the outskirts I kind of started to up

my game and it really did help I built

amazing relationships I identified new

mentors and events like that is actually

how I landed my first promotion at the

company because I met a manager for a

team I wanted to work for we hit it off

connected boom she hired me with an ear

I got news for you too even the people

you think are your friends at the office

are still just your co-workers unless

you hang out outside of work and when

you do hang out outside of work you

don't talk about work at all that is

just your colleague that is not your

friend they will happily throw you under

the bus if it means they're going to get

ahead in their career so act accordingly

so this one I can't even tell you that

nobody told me because my mom fully told

me this every single day while I lived

in her home and then commuted to work

was that it's not that serious I would

come home after making a mistake at the

office and I would cry like all night I

would be so stressed it would consume

all of my thoughts I would have so much

anxiety I was convinced literally that I

was the only person on the Planet who

actually makes mistakes everyone around

me is perfect everyone around me knows

what they're doing but not me me I'm a

idiot that's what I am no

everybody around you is making mistakes

they're just not talking about it

they're feeling the exact same way that

you are right now in this moment you are

not special I'm not special we are both

going to up royally and that's just

kind of part of the plan so stop putting

pressure on yourself to be perfect you

are never going to have it all figured

out I've been a recruiter for seven

years okay guess how many times a day I

make a mistake minimum one minimum one

time a day for an average of seven

mistakes a week okay so you just have to

release that pressure you're putting on

yourself and let go because at the end

of the day this is just a job it took me

a long time to realize that it is not

healthy to drink your company's Kool-Aid

oh I'm gonna say it every company you're

at is going to tell you that you can

have a full career at that company that

they're special that their values are

different that the way they operate is

different that they have a special sauce

in their culture there are a lot of good

companies out there but you cannot drink

the Kool-Aid otherwise you're going to

stay at that company for the rest of

your career and even worse you're

probably going to let them take absolute

advantage of you every single

opportunity that they can I used to

drink this out of the Kool-Aid at

the last company that I worked at

because they were so great at selling

their value proposition I felt like I

could stay there forever that I was okay

with the fact that I was grossly

underpaid like gross underpaid I could

have made so much more money if I left

or if I negotiated why did I never

negotiate and on that most importantly

if you are not asking for a raise every

single year you are losing money you are

entitled to a raise because the cost of

living keeps on going up why isn't your

salary matching the cost of living don't

be humble don't be shy don't be any of

those things at the end of the day this

shit's a job if you won the lottery I

doubt that you'd be showing up to this

position or to your new position so make

sure you're advocating for the amount of

money you genuinely deserve I grossly

underestimated at the beginning of my

career just how important some of the

basic technical skills were going to be

and I spent a lot of time just getting

up to speed on those when I could have

been learning or investing in higher

value work most especially Excel and

PowerPoint damn it Excel you raggedy

little I absolutely hate Excel but

there were so many things I had to do

early in my career that involved like

data and reports and all of that great

stuff and a lot of entry-level roles do

have a lot of data and Reporting in them

naturally so understanding how to use

Excel like basic VBA being able to use

pivot tables that is really really

important so just take 40 minutes before

you start your new job and get yourself

up to speed take a couple of like

YouTube videos or courses on it it

really does help I honestly just taught

myself via YouTube and it has helped me

immensely and babe babe babe babe babe

nobody is paying attention to you not a

single person is paying attention to you

no one is paying attention to you making

a mistake no one is paying attention

into you for wearing the same dress

pants two days in that week I see you

girl but most importantly nobody's

paying attention to the good things that

you do either and that was a tough pill

to swallow I was convinced that if I did

a good job people would notice I would

get promoted I would get raises baby

everyone is too busy focusing on

themselves so the only way I got

promoted and the only ways that I get

raises even still today in my role is I

share every single win I will literally

send out emails to my leadership team

being like hey everybody here's what I

accomplished this week have a great week

that's it that's the whole email and you

know why no one is going to understand

the volume and the quality of the work I

do unless I am making it easy to

understand and then when it's promotion

season and Race season suddenly everyone

seems to think Emily's really good at

her job you know why because Emily

reminds you that she's good at her job

okay these are like tinier things but I

also just wasn't mentally prepared for

them number one on your first day of

work probably you should be ready to

take a nice photo because they often

have to give you a badge so you can buzz

into the office so make sure you're

looking and feeling good be ready for

that picture and get ready for a lot of

acronyms yeah people especially big

companies love and acronym I wish

somebody told me that it was really

normal to have questions and to be

confident voicing my questions or even

my opinions in meetings you don't need

to be in a position for a long time in

order to be qualified to have thoughts

or opinions or even stop people when

there are questions in meetings I want

you to leverage and use your full voice

I wish that I had sooner because that's

how you can show up as your authentic

self that's how you're learning and when

you are sharing your opinions who knows

your opinion or idea might be the one

that gets taken up or is that

breakthrough opportunity for you

starting your first job or starting a

new job is actually terrifying I could

make this video literally six hours long

because there's so much like you know

what time should you be waking up how

much time should you be budgeting to get

to work how do you socialize how do you

make small talk if you want this to be a

series I am so happy to but I just had

so many things in my brain that I needed

to tell you if you are gearing up for

your first day or thinking of starting a

new role or just graduating because it's

terrifying but you know what else it is

really exciting and you should be really

proud of yourself for being in this new

position starting something new you are

going to be fantastic I already know it

if you do have questions you can always

hit me up in the comments don't forget

to check out my other socials and I do

Post two little videos here every single

week so definitely make sure you're

checking this out and subscribe so you

can be a part of the Familia and thank

you so much for hanging out with me you

know what's coming it's the song I'll

talk to you on my next video

a little spicy