It was a treat to be in a room full of young people again. Many are in the middle of interviewing for job placements, so your advice was particularly helpful. I walked through my own career path and experiences, but this collective group of thoughts is far more powerful!

And if any students are out there reading this — remember that we’re all on your side! The workforce is eager to have you. Work hard, stay humble — success will come!

Don’t be afraid to try a new challenge or new responsibility – don’t stay inside the job description box all the time.

You will make mistakes, and that’s ok – as long as you learn from them and grow with them. It’s not going to be the end of your career (hopefully but if you ignore it or don’t learn from it, then history will repeat.

A good note on this point is the Farm Boy/Facebook kerfuffle circa 2007. There was a part-time employee who made some highly disparaging remarks on FB about his employer, and he was promptly fired because of it. At the time, there was some discussion of whether FB is a private conversation or not. Seems almost a quaint idea now!

Another example is a boss I know who found his employee’s personal twitter acct when she tweeted about work and he had a google alert set up to catch all references to that employer. She was rather bold about tweeting some pretty wild details about her personal life — and I’m sure she never imagined her boss read each one.

When I spoke to a group of CEGEP students at the time, the large majority of them never considered the possibility that *everything* they put onto the ‘net is not only public, but more or less permanent.

Saw this on twitter, though, and was just curious — what does this have to do with “creepy thesis”? Very little if any of my professional life got tangled up in that.

At work, listen much more than you talk. Keep personal sharing to a minimum until you make one or two true friends, then still do it privately. Nobody needs to follow your personal soap opera.

Odds are you know the least about what’s going on, so don’t try to show off. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out” and “I don’t understand, can you explain it again?” are two useful sentences that make everyone’s lives much easier. Never pretend you know what’s going on when you don’t.

@OttawaDonC: U have a great list of advice there. Already put in my 2 cents, but would like to add: Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

@LiteMochaMom: The ability to spell (I kid you not!) React to situations with maturity. Actually be able write a news release. There is also a sense of entitlement that prevents kids from wanting to start at the bottom.

This might seem very basic but I would stress the importance of dressing well at an interview. I was on the hiring end for awhile and couldn’t believe how many people didn’t arrive for the interview ironed and polished. First impressions are critical.

What would I like to know now that I didn’t know then? It’s okay to ask questions. Knowledge is power! And act brave, even when you’re not, because no one can tell the difference. And most importantly, never ever burn your bridges. I learned this later. (Of course I never burned any bridges, but I could tell you some stories that would curl your hair.)