The Creative Career

Alexandra Levit said it best when she told new grads They Don’t Teach Corporate in College.

Here are a few things I’ve learned about the corporate world—particularly related to creative communications, in no particular order:

1. “Best,” “Cheers,” “Thanks” and “Thank You” are all good default sign-offs for emails at work.
2. Good ideas can come from anyone, regardless of age.
3. Pay attention to the details (especially when it comes to scheduling conference calls across timezones).
4. Don’t be surprised if you spend hours working on a project just to hear “it’s a good start.”
5. If your company gives you a blackberry, there’s an immediate expectation of availability outside of the office (even on the weekends).
6. On that note, if you go on vacation and leave your cell phone number, there’s a fair chance you’ll be contacted with questions at least once.
7. Recognize that it can be difficult to decipher tone in email—brevity is not always intended to be rude (for example, sometimes messages are kept brief because they are typed out on mobile devices).
8. Kindness will take you far.
9. So will the ability to multitask.
10. You’ll be amazed by what can happen when you just raise your hand to volunteer.

For those of you who have worked in the “corporate” world, what else would you add?

Photo Source: uncultured, Creative Commons