Corporate Survival Guide for Your Twenties. Kayla Buell

have to answer e-mails during meetings! Sorry but no, if you’re at a meeting, your focus should be on the meeting, that’s it. And if you’re just too busy and have too much to do, excuse yourself from the meeting, and have someone else fill you in later.

      It’s called manners, people. Whoever’s holding the meeting put time, effort, and energy into making sure that it runs smoothly, so that person really deserves your respect. Think about it. How would you like it if you were holding a meeting, spent all night preparing for it, and all you see is the guy in the backseat with his head down sleeping, the guy in front of him drawing pictures on his notepad, the lady to the right of him scrolling through her Pinterest account and her friend next to her, reading and answering e-mails? You wouldn’t like it, would you? Nope, I didn’t think so. I know you’re dying to know how many people have liked the Instagram picture you just posted, but it can wait a little while longer, I promise.

Give people a chance. Don’t be so quick to judge others.

      I’ll be the first to admit it. I’ve been the QUEEN of judging people. I mean, I’ve been known to look at someone and declare them an absolute jerk within 2.5 seconds of meeting them. I told you! Queen of judgment. If I like your face, you’re cool in my book, but if you just so happened to give me a nasty stare that day, I’ve forever declared my hatred towards you.

      But I’ve definitely learned that you need to give people a chance. I mean, maybe that lady who gave me a nasty stare that day just got some terrible news. Maybe she’s having a rough time at home. You never know what other people are going through, so it’s really not fair to judge them right away.

      I’ll never forget this one lady I worked with. I had never actually spoken to her, but man, I judged her so quickly. I didn’t like her. She was mean. She really didn’t speak much, so she obviously had no people skills, and I was sure she hated me right back. We were enemies in my mind, and she didn’t even know it. But you know what? I actually got around to talking to her months later and I genuinely liked her. She wasn’t scary like I had made her out to be, and there was actually a lot I respected about her. So there I was, talking crap about someone I hardly even knew, when I really could have spent that time getting to know her and building a friendship.

      So give people a chance. People will actually surprise you. Before you decide that you like someone or not, get to know them yourself. Don’t listen to what your co-workers have to say, their experiences could be very different from yours. Give people the benefit of the doubt, and if after you spend some time getting to know them, you still think they’re mean or weird or anti-social, then fine. That can be your opinion of them. But everyone deserves a fair shot. You wouldn’t want people hating you the first day you meet them just because you’re younger or have a different fashion sense. Totally not cool.

Get yourself some business cards.

      Nothing says you’re a legit businessperson like having your own business cards! I remember wanting business cards so badly while at my first couple of jobs. I wanted to be part of the cool-kids club, and having a business card was all it took to get in. To me, it meant that I had made it as a professional, and that I had some kind of authority. AKA: yes, I look like I’m twelve, but you need to take me seriously!

      The problem here lies in the fact that not all employers will provide you with business cards. Especially if you’re just starting out. Oftentimes employers will wait until you’ve been on the job a few months to make sure that either a: you don’t quit, or b: they don’t fire you before actually investing in business cards. Those things cost money, you know?

      But if for whatever reason you’re not given a business card, my suggestion to you is this: get some anyway, even if you have to pay for them yourself. Why? Well, because I already told you, it’s the easiest way for you to seem legit. Not only that, but if you want to have a happy career, you’re going to be doing some networking, and a key part of networking is having a business card to give other people when they meet you. Imagine this. You’re at a networking event talking to someone who could really impact your future. They’re impressed by you, and they ask you for your business card. Now what? You say, “Oh, I’m sorry, I ran out of my cards,” which by the way is code for I don’t actually HAVE business cards. And so that really important person just nods and walks away.

      That would really suck! Bye-bye potential career opportunity! Now you’ll always wonder what could have happened had you been able to provide that person with your card. So be prepared for situations like that. Go out and at the very least get yourself a business card with your name, company, title, phone number, and e-mail address. Not only will it increase your chances of properly networking with others, but it’ll also make you feel a little badass. It’ll be that confidence booster you need when you look in your purse or on your desk. You’ll feel official and important, and you’ll see an increase in your job performance when that’s the attitude you have— when you take yourself seriously.

Set up a 401k. Right now. There’s nothing more beautiful than compound interest.

      The smartest thing you can do the minute you start working is to open up a 401k. Don’t know what a 401k is? That’s fine. Open up Google, and search. Basically, it’s the best kind of savings account you can have. Not only do you put that money away, but based on how stocks are performing, the money grows much faster than it does in a typical savings account.