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Tips for working at large companies

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johnnydawg68 said:
Excellent advice. I would add don't take ownership of something you haven't thought through or isn't mainly within your control. Being willing to take in projects is great but make sure you can succeed. Volunteering and failing is worse than just keeping your head down.

Also, "someone else's failure to plan does not constitute an emergency on your part". And vice versa.

Finally, everytime you suggest a change means you are criticizing someone else's idea. Make sure to know who that is.
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Hmm, not sure I agree there.

Ambitious failure in a controlled environment can have massive positive impact on your long term career if you learn the right lessons from it.

Keeping your head down, for me, shows a galling lack of ambition.
 
Thanks for all of the responses and advice - since making the thread I've barely had a chance to look through it until now lol

It seems like every other employee is a manager which is strange, but it's a boss place to work from what I've seen so far.

It's as if they're trying to be more and more Google-esque each year which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing :oops:
 
orly said:
Hmm, not sure I agree there.

Ambitious failure in a controlled environment can have massive positive impact on your long term career if you learn the right lessons from it.

Keeping your head down, for me, shows a galling lack of ambition.
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Depends on the culture: here in Germany it's the introverts with their heads down who tend to get asked if they wanna step up, the thinking is they'll just get on with it and play the game within the confines of the system. In England it's the more extroverted, as the thinking is the more dominant the personality, the more capable of leadership.

Obviously very general points with many exceptions, so the best advice is to know thyself and know thy company, then you'll know what game to play if you wanna step up.
 
I worked in the legal section of one of the financial big boys. Best 2 tips are be be nice to everyone. And crucially, go on any work do you are asked to, listen to every word that is said when the wine kicks in. Use that to find the lay of the land.
 

Has to be said, reading this thread has reminded me why I have avoided being an employee for decades.
It would appear that in order to progress, you have to ingratiate and impress people who have had the same experience, therefore knowing full well what you are doing and negating the chances of success.
 
Deco said:
Evening lads,

Just started at a huge UK brand (after years of working at smaller companies).

It's very different to what I'm used to, and I was interested to see if anyone's had any long term experience in places like these.

What's the best ways to progress in these kinds of environments?

I'm expecting some funny responses as well as serious ones lol
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Pretend to care, you'll be surprised how far you'll get.
 
Seathestars said:
Do not try to get noticed.
Possibly the worst thing one can do.

Keep your head down and get on with it. You will then get noticed.
People can see brown nosers a mile away.
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Hang on, is that a tip for large companies or when being held at her majesty's pleasure..........?
 
Ashtonian said:
In my experience where I am, if you don't know someone higher up or related to someone then young are going to struggle to get anywhere higher.

Easily I am one of the best employees my place has but they choose to ignore it and hand jobs to others.
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Sorry Ash, but that's just an example of a deeply poor organisation with no concept of meritocracy.

If you're as good as you think you are, you should have no problem gaining alternative employment at the level you believe you ought to be at.
 

Tigger said:
This made me chuckle mate, sometimes you have to bang your own drumlol
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Haha yeah if you knew the half of it you wouod understand why.

The Cowboy said:
Sorry Ash, but that's just an example of a deeply poor organisation with no concept of meritocracy.

If you're as good as you think you are, you should have no problem gaining alternative employment at the level you believe you ought to be at.
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Mate I have been for a secondment elsewhere and been blocked by my managers. I have had interviews that lasted less than 5 minutes , about 3 questions as well when they are meant to ask minimum 7 as they knew who they were hiring. I went to one interview where they wrote their own questions and then failed everyone and stopped anyone reapplying.

Sure I have had one or two which I have not interviewed well at, comes with the experience. But yeah, I have tried and tried and when you have so many interviews end up like that in administration so mostly under the same radar then you end up with the same results.

And my place told me I over answered questions once as feedback, when I gave them spot on answers. I had another tm where the job I applied for wasn't available but still interviewed me for a different job which meant my answers didn't relate to it. I even had one where they didn't wait to interview me by 24 hours, when I was in hospital with the baby despite knowing I was coming back the next day.

Does anyone of that relate to being bloody good at your job? lol after Christmas I'm going to start up trying again to get out of where I am, but you can see why work ability alone has kinda got me nowhere.
 
The Esk said:
First of all the skills that got you the job, got you the job, so they're pretty comfortable with who and what you are, so take confidence from that and do what you're there to do to the best of your abilities.

In addition, you might want to consider - being proactive in identifying problems, and inefficiencies plus possible solutions; once bedded in start asking for more challenging work; take any opportunity to develop your skills and breadth of experience; if possible identify a mentor higher in the company who is a long term employee - learn from him or her what works/doesn't work.

Finally support the people around you, including your boss - the above plus being seen as a team player will stand you in good stead.
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roydo said:
Sake, being serious, Esk is spot on.

I would add, retain a sense of humour and perspective. Folk in large organisations can get a bit engrossed/anal about how important an email or spread sheet actually is. They are, of course, but mistakes happen. If someone makes one, shrug, deal with it, and share a coffee or a beer later.

If its your fault, dont hide. Own up, ask for help, and do not let it stress you out.

Thats probably a 60 ish years of combined experience.
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Woolly Blue said:
In a nutshell, the bits above are probably the most important

  • Learn from others
  • Admit your mistakes
  • Help others fix their mistakes
If you live and work with those three in mind, then you'll do OK.
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All great advice....have seen this all applied in my own experience with a few major companies and in those around me.

One smaller thing is just using common sense and questioning the why of everything. In many companies the majority of a team will be filled with those who just do their job and not much more. They follow the same processes without thinking whether they are efficient or make sense. Being the person who thinks this stuff through, questions it and makes new proposals is a very quick way to get attention and move ahead in the queue for whatever comes next...be it promotion or just more money.

Good luck!
 

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