10 Winning Attitudes for a Successful Career Kick-StartAre you starting a new job? How do you think your managers will react to your attitudes? Look in your attitude mirror? No... no.. look really hard? Not just a peek. Are you Mr. Big Head or Miss Snooty Nose?
In surveys of employers across the world, many have been very strong in their accusation that the majority of applicants have really messed up attitudes towards work. 
Attitudes Employers Look For. Source: pixabay
Employers keep emphasising the need for schools to teach employability skills as well as technical and business skills.
Many of these employers don't really care about the tech skills of their new hires. They want them to have the right attitudes towards the job, the company, the other employees, their managers, and their customers or clients. 
Winning Attitudes at Work. Source: Pixabay
What are these right attitudes identified by employers? Here are the big 10 that Employers and managers demand in new recruits, and HR departments are searching for:
1. Readiness to Listen You are the new one. You are the one with no experience or very little in the job. The best for you to do is listen to those who have been there before you. You are not in school showing off to your teacher what you know. Your managers and the other employees in your job do not care about what you know. They want you to listen to how it is done in the company and what you need to know. Ask questions but not to show off but to learn. Remember, it is hard to listen when your mouth is open! 2. Have an open mind
Forget about the behaviors and attitudes you learned in school. Maybe what you learned was the latest, the most innovative, the most effective, but show-boating is not your goal. Your goal is to find out how the organisation works, how it thinks, what its expectations are, what it rewards and what it considers a no-no. Perhaps most important, what are the politics? This is a new environment. Start learning day one. 3. Readiness to Learn from others You are not the only one who will be adjusting. The others who had been there will need to make adjustments, too. They may not show it but they, too, may be apprehensive with a new kid around. Observe the go-to gals and guys in the company. What do they have and what do they do? Observe the managers. How did they get their promotion? Identify people who can be mentors to you. 
Winning Work Attitudes. Source: Pixabay
4. Readiness to Change
Yes, try to be one of the guys. When they come in smart casual, don't insist on your coat and tie even if your Dad wants you to do so and your Mom bought you a very sharp suit. Drop the habits people don't appreciate and start developing habits that you see in those who are successful in the office, unless of course, those habits defy your core values like gossiping or reporting others to the Boss. Remember, do NOT be a fake! Folks will see it immediately. Be who you are, but polish that diamond every day so it takes on a bit of a corporate shine. 5. Give flirting a 10 day holiday Don't become the latest office tart. Keep covered up. Let them see your smile and your brains. Watch how you sit. No posing. The other women are watching and if you mess up, you are totally TOAST! 
Accepting Direction. Source: aesta1
6. Accept direction or in other words, humility
This is especially true with your relationship to your managers. Acknowledge that they came into those positions in the company because they know and do what the company rewards. If you want to have a positive experience in your first job, take direction from your managers or other senior employees. It's not your Mom telling you to eat breakfast. It's the gal or guy responsible for the efficient/effective operation of the area you work in. No silliness or smart answers. Take the direction. 7. Take Initiative
Taking direction does not mean just blindly following all the time. You have a task to do and take the steps needed to make it happen. No excuses. Take responsibility and you will earn the respect of others. This is where you show new things you may have learned in school that can add value. 8. Respect Others
One-upping other people's stories is a really bad strategy to follow on your first weeks in the job. Listen to their stories and marvel at their success or their fun. Laugh at their jokes. Acknowledge their presence when you come in. Do not slam on their ideas in meetings even if you know better. Pick up their ideas, support it and give yours as addition or a twist they may consider. Find your place, fit in, and then, when comfortable, open up and perform. Here are 5 key steps to top performance. 9. Positive disposition In school, students mostly complain about everything. It's part of the student culture. Students criticize, grump, whine and whinge. To bitterly complain of an unfair world is a student privilege and heaven given right. However, at work, it is a different story. Bring sunshine in when you arrive at work. People appreciate that very much. A smile, a greeting, a recognition or acknowledgement of their contribution or help or their personality. Be interested in what they share. 
Work Ethic. Source: aesta1
10. Develop a Good Work Ethic
Be prompt. Don't come to the office looking like you've just gotten out of bed even if you have. That was fine, even expected, when you were a student. Maybe, it gave the teacher the impression you studied late or really don't care. But don't show up shabby in your job. Observe the accepted attire in the office and do as they do. Don't spend much time on your phone calling your friends or tweeting or responding to social media posts. Be on time when you get back after lunch break or coffee break. Be ready to help others when the company needs to respond to clients or customers. No slouching like you're in front of your television at home. No bragging about your escapades either. Listen to others brag about theirs. Even if you are a total doofus, everyone loves a good listener!
This is your first experience after school. It will be an exciting adventure in new responsibilities. Do not think of it as torture. Think of it as another learning adventure. Now that you've finished with school, drop the attitudes that made you a successful student and master the attitudes of career winners. Other tips on kickstarting a career:
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