The ‘hints’ are encapsulated in these first simple sentences – do these and you will succeed!

First, stop worrying about the money; just try to get a job.

…..Then show you can do it.

……….Then work harder to become indispensable to your organisation (by solving new problems).

……………Then make a case for a pay rise.

…………………Then keep working hard. 

Remember, someone is always watching you and your work output. They are forming an opinion – even if they don’t comment there and then.

In slightly more detail:

Try to get a job first. Being employed automatically makes you more valuable: it demonstrates that someone else trusts you; you may well be gaining skills (hopefully learning how to deal with people, including your boss, and possibly customers / clients as well); and you are gaining experience of the, sometimes repetitive, nature of working life.

Then show you can do it. In the medium to long term you likely won’t get paid just for being there; you have to earn the money you are being paid. So learn the job and then do the job as well as you can.

‘Group work’

Please consider not copying what everyone else does in the same role. There is no certainty they are doing it correctly, or that it is what the organisation really wants.

The idea of ‘group work’ and all moving around together in and out of work makes you feel comfortable and safe. It probably does not make your employer feel comfortable! Consider moving beyond this if you possibly can. This is why:

Solve the new problem!

Remember in ‘Hints part 2′ when you were hired to ‘solve a problem’? Well, if that original problem no longer exists there will be a new problem(s) that you could help with. Perhaps your boss hasn’t mentioned it, but it is there – waiting for you or someone else to solve it. If you leave it for someone else then your boss may get to it. And so the problem goes away. But, if it was relatively easy to solve, perhaps requiring a bit of common sense and effort, then your boss is now wondering why it had to be her and not one of the people she hired and pays who fixed it. Now your corporate credit rating declines without you having done anything wrong!

This what you need to avoid at all costs. Stay useful, and be useful to the organisation in new ways. You want to be considered an ‘asset’ to the organisation. You are solving problems. You are becoming indispensable. You merit a pay rise or a new job!

(Alternatively that small ‘new problem’ may escalate and cause a much bigger problem for the organisation – then everyone wonders what happened! Quite a few people look foolish at this point when the questions start coming. Your corporate credit rating may go down.

Once you get that pay rise or new job: it’s ‘well done’ and guess what – it is the same cycle: be useful in new ways and solve bigger problems for the organisation.

A word of warning

Some of you have a disadvantage that you don’t realise. Because you have been told throughout your life that you are special, and have always been put on a pedestal, you are immune to how others perceive you. You cannot ‘read’ others so you plough on regardless because everyone has always listened to you. This makes it very, very difficult for you to absorb and then act on feedback. It does not get you the job in the real workplace. But don’t worry, it will be fine for the other type of workplace where louder is better.

A word of encouragement

Some of you have an advantage that you don’t realise. It is this: you have not been told you are the special one and have had to learn to always read the expressions and body language of those around you, since you were born. This has given you some excellent training for managing your outcome in the real workplace; for sensing the audience, for receiving feedback, and reacting accordingly. This can help you during the telephone interview too. So, don’t hold back, use your superpower.