(ThyBlackMan.com) Because I’ve been fired several times, I personally advocate this as a means of moving a person into their greatness. Don’t look at me sideways. I say this because, people get comfortable and complacent. Generally, it’s not until a person gets the boot, and they’re snatched from their comfort zone, that they finally decide to pursue all that they’ve ever dreamed of being.
But, I also gave the disclaimer that not all employers are looking for the opportunity to capitalize on your hard work without giving you your due credit. There are some great companies out there and if you are employed with one of those “great companies,” I want to use this post to talk about how to keep yourself there and grow.
The following rules are the errors that I committed – unspoken rules that I failed to follow during my corporate trajectory that led me right out the door. I would like to share these with you in the hope that you don’t make the same mistakes:
1. Do discover your company’s corporate culture.
Discover your company’s/department’s corporate culture to see if you’re a fit. A job embodies an array of personalities, lifestyles and interests. The corporate culture is where all of these things mesh together to create a set of norms and values that give identity to your company. 
For example, everyone at your job may wear shorts but you like to wear pants. No one at your job smokes but you do, or all your coworkers like to get together and gossip but, you’d prefer to be alone. Not “fitting in” may affect your advancement.
2. Do try to find a common ground with the people you work with.
People like to be around people that they can relate to. Besides the home, work is the second place where you’ll spend the majority of your time. So it’s essential to find similar interests that you and your coworkers share as to pass your time there more smoothly. For example, did you and any of your coworkers graduate from the same school? Do you and any of your coworkers have mutual friends? Or do your children attend the same schools?
3. Don’t spend all your waking hours working. No one will care.
You take on every project that’s handed to you. You rush to finish your work and offer to assist everyone else’s with theirs. You shorten your lunch or skip it all together to respond to phone calls and emails with the hope that your boss will notice. HE WON’T! WORK SMART! NOT HARD. Take on only those things that will help to showcase your talents and your added value to the company.
4. Do make your boss look good.
You do it all the time. You rant and rave about your boss’ incompetence and about how much of an imbecile he is. How much smarter you are and, how you can do his job 100 times better than he can – BLINDFOLDED. Ok, that may be true but, trying to outshine him will not get you that promotion. So join forces and help your boss look good by assisting him with his projects and by helping him to become more efficient and organized.
5. Do discover the chains of commands.
Know the people that have seniority in your company and work to create an alliance. Be aware though, that the key players may not be the CEO, the Director of Operations or the Senior Executive. They make take the form of Receptionist, Janitor or Administrative Assistant or someone who’s been with the company for years.
6. Do promote the Brand of “You“.
We, women are especially guilty of this. We hide our accomplishments. We keep to ourselves. We fail at self promotion. We think this is evil thing. Too self righteous. Guys have no problem letting the whole know what they do. Don’t get overlooked because you’re afraid to get noticed.
7. Don’t forget to network.
Your promotion doesn’t start or stop at your desk. I’m not sure if you read # 3 carefully enough, but it bears repeating, or perhaps said in another way that you can understand. Get away from your desk and go outside of work and start building some relationships! When projects get handed down, they’ll go to the people in the office, who weren’t in the office – people with whom they’re familiar, and like.
I can go on and on with this, but I won’t. I’d like to hear from you. Throughout your career have you discovered any “unspoken rules” that have helped advance your career?
Staff Writer; Veronica Young
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