I Work For a Large Corporation.  Now What?

Five Things I Wish I Had Done When I Worked for a Large Corporation

I worked for a corporation (a Fortune 500 company, mind you) for 25 years.  Its employees have gone through a multitude of changes – mergers, acquisitions – as large corporations do…and I survived them all.  Until recently.  I should have seen the writing on the wall, but rather than taking my head out of the sand rather than keeping it down to get the work done, I really didn’t see it coming until it was too late.  Just know this, people:  When you’re asked to train other people to do the tasks you currently perform, you might want to start asking some questions.  I didn’t ask a thing.  I simply blew it off as cross-training.  After all, in order for any business to survive, employees must now know how to do more than what they were actually hired, for, right?  Hindsight is always 20/20 as they say.  There’s a whole slew of reasons why I believe my position was not spared, but that’s a whole different article.  I won’t dwell on that aspect.  I just look back at the top five things I wish I had done or avoided.  I hope my blunders don’t become yours.    

1.                Join Your Corporation’s 401(k) Plan Immediately. Like, right NOW!   

I mean, right away without thinking.  When you begin working for a large corporation, Human Resources gives you a huge stack of papers to read.  I read the ones that I thought were important like medical and dental insurance for my family.  This corporation had a 401(k), but I didn’t read through the material because frankly, I had never heard of it and didn’t think it was important.  After all, it’s not like my family ever had enough money to invest, so how could they pass their knowledge on to me?  So when I received the 401(k) papers, I simply disregarded them.  Besides, I was quite young when I began with this Corporation.  I didn’t realize the importance of this plan until I had been there for nearly five years!  Here is a plan that will take some of your money before it is even taxed, invest it for you, and your employer will even match the amount or percentage of the amount you put in.  After I got into the plan and learned how to read my statements, I realized how much money I could have been saving for my retirement. 

Lesson:  Age is no excuse for ignorance.  Whether you’re young and uninformed, or older and think you know everything, you should read and understand all that your corporation has to offer.  If you don’t understand something, ask your co-workers.  Better yet, ask your Human Resources Representative.

2.                Think About Long-Term Goals.

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with going to work every day, keeping your head down, and getting the work done.  I went along day-to-day doing my job, and doing it very well, might I add.  The problem was that I never considered the fact that I might not want to be doing the same thing five or ten years later.  By the time I knew what I really wanted to do in the corporation, it was too late.  I had more years behind me than in front of me, and I had not really done enough to prepare for a future position.  Get out of your cubicle and stick your nose in other co-workers’ business.  Find out what they do.  Besides, the one constant thing about businesses is that they change.

Lesson:  When you get to know people in your corporation, you’ll find out that you’re not just a little cog in the wheel after all.  Your job plays an important role in the big scheme of things.  If not, they wouldn’t have hired you - which brings me to the next point:

3.                Network and Find a Mentor. 

There were plenty of groups within my corporation that I had an opportunity to join.  It prided itself on its diverse employees and customers, and it had groups to represent them all.  No employee was excluded from joining any of the groups.  There were other networking opportunities such as volunteering.  I waited too long to get involved.  Once I did, I enjoyed it immensely, but it was too little, too late.  Being active in a large corporation can help your name get around.  If you’re a hard worker, that’s a good thing.  I didn’t actually know how to find a mentor.  I mean, should I have just gone up to someone I admired and said, “Hey, can you be my mentor?”  ABSOLUTELY.  How do you find out something without asking?  The worst that could happen is that the person could say no.  Details about how and when the mentoring can actually take place could be worked out later. 

Lesson:  Even though you might not know who could mentor you, again, get involved in some of the Corporation’s activities, ask questions, and volunteer.  If you’re not a people person or shy, it’s ok.  Get involved in something that makes you feel comfortable.  Offer to take your prospective mentor to lunch.  Approach the subject in a calm, relaxed atmosphere.   

4.                Ask Questions.

I was a task master.   If my manager gave me a task, I took it and ran.  I felt that if I understood how to do it, I didn’t need to ask any questions.  Some questions I should have asked myself or my manager are: How is this important to the corporation?  Who else needs it and why?  How does what I’m doing fit into the bigger picture? Is there a better way to do it? Has someone else done it before?   Is there someone else in a different department who is doing something similar?  Don’t ask questions because you’re trying to sound interesting.  Ask because you want to make sure you’re doing the task the best possible way. 

Lesson:  I wouldn’t recommend asking your manager everything, but your co-workers can be valuable.  If your product goes to a co-worker for processing or handling, ask him or her what is done with it once it leaves your hands. 

5.                Seek Training/Get Educated

My corporation offered many resources including a tuition reimbursement program for its employees.  The IT department offered training on everything from new software to later versions of software the corporation was currently using.  I had many opportunities to receive training on something new.  When you learn something new, ask for an opportunity to use your new skill, otherwise, you might not remember how to do it later down the road.   The tuition reimbursement program was instrumental in my decision to go back to school.  I obtained a Bachelors Degree, but wish I had gone even further.    

Lesson:  If your corporation offers tuition reimbursement or training, take advantage and look for opportunities within the corporation to use your new skills.