Fathers offer up tips for today’s employees
If your dad is in the advice-giving mode, he may drop some wisdom about grilling steaks, avoiding credit card debt and getting along with your spouse. But work? Not so much. At least not advice you might follow. Let’s face it, today’s fathers have witnessed a workplace that has evolved at an unforeseeable speed, even before COVID-19. Forget about work-from-home policies and your standing desk. And if your dad — OK, grandfather — is old enough, he began working pre-email and pre-text. Go ahead and ask him about the giant, odorous, curled-up pieces of paper he’d find on the floor near the company fax machine when he poured himself a cup of no-name, industrial-strength coffee each morning. What’s a fax machine? Never mind.
Dad’s advice on spending a portion of that first paycheck on a couple of nice suits you can wear to the office? No longer relevant. His suggestions on an ashtray for your desk? Not really a thing these days. His tips on mastering the three-martini lunch? Not so important. But that doesn’t mean that your father doesn’t have a vault of advice that can come in useful if you’re just beginning your career. And don’t stop with your dad. Ask your mom and your grandparents and your aunts and uncles about the things they learned while working the past few decades. You might begin that new job with a better understanding of what’s to come.
We checked with several fathers for some general advice they would offer to not only their own children but to any recent college graduate who is entering the workforce for the first time. Here’s what they had to say:
“Don’t be too loyal to a company. I think a lot of people my age, and I’m 54, made the mistake of thinking the company would look out for them and do what was best for them. It wasn’t the case back then and it certainly isn’t the case now. I have three sons and one daughter in their 20s and I tell them that they have to look out for themselves first. If a better opportunity comes along, take it. The long game used to be staying with the company to eventually get a great promotion. Today the long game is continually moving to work at places and in positions that will benefit you in the short and long run.”
– David Ronetta, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
“People always talk about loving what you do. I think that we get a little carried
away with it sometimes. I have been a mechanic for 27 years. Do I love it? I
can’t say that I do, at least not every day. But I like it enough that I can go back to it every day and I certainly like the stable life it has provided for me and my family. I hear so many people who advise people in their 20s to follow their passion and do what they love. It sounds good on
paper but it’s not always doable. I would say live the life that you love. Work is a part of that life. Keep it all in perspective.” – S.D., Chicago
“I would say to be aware of how you present yourself at all times. One of the things my first boss told me was
that I needed to be ready to meet with a million-dollar client every day. Even when we were business casual, it was an expectation that you would wear a shirt that wasn’t wrinkled and that you would shave each day. It was expected that you’d look professional. I know there are various degrees of work attire these days but if you work with people who are doing business with your company, you can’t look like a slob.”
– Aaron Hoffman, Oakland, California “Be early. I’m not just talking about in the morning when you show up at
the office, I’m talking about being there a few minutes early for meetings. I don’t want to generalize the younger
generation but I am amazed at the callousness people take toward punctuality.”
– Andrew Koch, Barrington, Illinois “Be conscious about what you do after work. It’s one thing to have good friends at work but it is another to put yourself in situations that can hurt the company, your own standing and your family. I’ve been pretty lucky in that I fell in love with a coworker from my first job and have been married to her for 24 years but I worked with plenty of people who have entered into relationships with their coworkers under compromised circumstances and to a man, those situations never ended well. There are guys who had it all and blew it because they couldn’t think beyond the next two hours. It sounds kind of bleak but really, I think it’s really important advice.”
– Derrick Moran, Syracuse, New York
– Marco Buscaglia