KY (A+B+2C) + KY

I joined my current company full of hope and much expectation due to it being a reputable multi-national corporation. Unfortunately though, my hope was crushed didn’t turn out well and I certainly have to lower change my expectation. Have you experienced such thing before?

Joining the wrong company in your first job is a correctable mistake. Joining the wrong company in your second job may plunge one into quarter life crisis. Joining the wrong company in your third job may result in career suicide. Having been through 4 different companies, allow me to share some thoughts in choosing the master of your slavery life.

The first formula is KYA… Know your associate, and I mean your future colleagues. These are the people whom you will spend a minimum of 9 hours a day, a minimum of 5 days a week and as such… trust me, you need to know what kind of people they are. Being amongst people whom you can't even talk to, and yet have to work with them will result in much misery.

How the hell are you going to know the people you’re going to work with? Well… very simple… ASK! If you’re entering the slavery world for the first time, you will realise that ‘asking questions’ must form part of your life in order for you to survive. So ask around… your friends… your parents… your parents’ friends… ask the people within the industry. Very often, the so called ‘I-heard-the-people-there-are-weirdos’ can turn out to be pretty true.

Second on the list… KYB... know your boss. A quick word for graduates, do NOT akin bosses to your lecturers. Lecturers are indirectly paid by you, bosses on the other hand… I hope you know what I mean. Research has shown that bosses are the main reason why people resign without a job and generally, such resignation is an act of desperation. You wouldn’t want to be in such a situation.

Again… ask around… ask your friends… ask your flings… ask your enemies… or ask zewt. Nasty bosses often make a name for themselves in the industry. Trust me, students are not the only group of people in the world who bitch around, modern slaves bitch even more! The company may pay you well… but a nasty boss can give you hell and sometimes, it supersedes your pay.

Thirdly… KYC(1)… know your customer. Yeah yeah yeah… you’re not doing sales. But hey! Don’t think customers only apply to people doing sales. In the real world, everyone is doing sales. Your assignment… your work… that’s your product. Whoever you need to serve those products, they are your customers. It could be your boss, your colleague, people from other department or the actual clients of the company. Know their expectations. You will need to know what kind of expectations and how unreasonable these people can get.

And you will also need to KYC(2)… know your company. Those things that you read in the net, they are probably all lies. Just look at the state of our country and look at the things they publish in the newspaper… get the flow? Again, ask around. Best if you have friends already working in the company. Get to know the culture, the working hours and the level of politics that exist in the company. Yes, office politics, you can't run away from it. Anyone who tells you that there are no politics in his or her office is an idiot.

Last but now least… after knowing all of that above, you must KY… know yourself. A lot of people want to achieve this and achieve that. But just because you can hike doesn’t mean you can climb the mountain, just because you float doesn’t mean you can swim the ocean, just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you can kill the lion, just because you can fly doesn’t mean you can slay the dragon and… just because you got the qualification, doesn’t mean you can make it there.

This does not only apply to corporate people. It applies to very specialise industry too, doctor for example. Just because you can stand blood and all the gross stuff, doesn’t mean you will be able to make it. A story was told a brilliant young doctor never recover after one of the patient under his care died. He has the brain, has the hands, has the energy, has the guts… but doesn’t have a cold enough heart.

So get to know yourself… and choose wisely.