Monday, April 4, 2016

Things NOT to do at work, #1

Be prepared to answer the phone, even when you've just started a new job.  Answering questions with things like, 'I don't know; I just started working here' or 'This is my first day, so, um, if you can hold on I'll see if I can find out' are terrible responses, both for you and for your new company.  It's important to realize that when you talk in a professional capacity to other people you are directly influencing your brand and your employer's brand.  When you use the just-started-working-here excuse up front you come across as trying to lower expectations to accommodate a subpar performance.  That's not the direction you want to go.

The direction you want to go is either, 1] anticipate and prepare for questions by doing some research in advance so you will actually know the answer, or 2] simply say something like, "Of course.  Give me a minute and I'll be right back to you," and then move heaven and earth to find out the answer asap.

No comments:

Post a Comment