500强副总裁给职场新人的18条建议

“透视《财富》500强”是一个互动社区，将有《财富》500强公司的高管们在此与读者们交流思想和提供领导建议。本期，富国银行财富与投资管理高级执行副总裁戴维·M·卡罗尔回答了下列问题：你希望在初入职场时提早知道哪件事？

坦白地说，对于这个问题，我的答案是我希望初入职场的时候，能早知道许多事情。时间和经历是优秀的老师，在职业发展的过程中，我有过许多分享经验教训的机会。

今天，当我有机会与初入职场的年轻人们交流时，我发现，我从他们身上学到的，远比他们从我身上学到的东西多。在他们向我征求意见时，我会以我目前的观点告诉他们：只要他们做好下面几件事，他们便可以在职业当中获得优势：

1、制定日程：决定你想要做什么、学习什么和成就什么。

2、学习如何决策和继续前进。

3、愿意去其他人可能不愿意去的地方。

4、不要安于现状。

5、了解“因为所做的事情而得到认可”与“对自己的成功保持谦逊”，这两者之间的细微区别。

6、与技术行业的人成为朋友（如果你有这样的朋友，你会很高兴）。

7、爽快地说“我不知道”。

8、找时间让自己开心，欢笑。

9、当你遇到或看到问题时，举手提问。

10、知道自己擅长和不擅长什么，培养那些不会自然而然产生的技能。

11、记住，你能控制自己的士气。

12、最后，在疲劳、生气或饥饿的时候，不要做出任何重要的决定，因为你的判断力会受到影响。

在职业生涯当中，我曾与几位优秀的领导者有过共事机会。我也分享过自己犯过的错误。这些经历让我知道了下面这些重要的事情：

13、寻求反馈，听取反馈，采取行动。

14、优秀的领导者都有自知之明。他们会寻求直接、私人的反馈，包括正式的和非正式的反馈。询问身边的人对你的感受。你有哪些优点和缺点？你可以在哪些方面做出改进？听取他们的意见，然后根据这些意见采取行动。

15、磨练沟通技能。

16、在商界，我们做的每一件事都离不开沟通。你必须能够以令人信服的方式，清楚传达自己的观点，兜售自己的理念，激励身边的人，实现自己的目标。沟通很大程度上是在讲话的时候，了解和解读你的听众，以满足他们的需求。

17、做好自我改造的准备。

18、当今世界的变化速度之快，令人目不暇接。若想始终保持相关性和竞争力，你必须愿意从头开始，选择不同的道路，尝试新事物。当你擅长自我改造之后，你所遇到的死胡同，可能只是整个探险旅程中的一个拐弯而已。

如果将我的这些建议总结成一条，应该是：教育很重要，但你在学校里所学的科目，在工作中没有太大用处。你能够从教育中得到、并真正用于职场的最重要事情，是批判性、创造性思维的能力，以及在压力下工作的能力。进入职场之后，真正的教育才刚刚开始。睁开双眼，保持专注，随着时间推移，你会学到更多。(财富中文网)

本文作者戴维于1979年加入瓦乔维亚银行信托公司（Wachovia Bank & Trust Company），1981年加入第一联合国家银行（First Union National Bank）（瓦乔维亚的前身）。从2005年至与富国银行（ Wells Fargo）合并，戴维一直在瓦乔维亚资本管理集团担任高级执行副总裁和负责人，该公司业务包括零售经纪（瓦乔维亚证券）、资产管理（常青投资公司（Evergreen Investments））和退休与投资产品。卡罗尔先生拥有北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校（University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill）工商管理学士学位。

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

The Fortune 500 Insider Network is an online community where top executives from the Fortune 500 share ideas and offer leadership advice with Fortune’s global audience. David M. Carroll, senior executive vice president of wealth and investment management at Wells Fargo, has answered the question: What’s something you wish you knew before your first day of work?

The honest answer to this question is that there are a lot of things I wish I had known when I walked in the door for my first day of work years ago. Time and experience are great teachers, and I’ve certainly had my share of learning opportunities along the way.

Today, when I have a chance to talk with young people who are just starting out in their careers, I find I often learn more from them than they do from me. When they ask for advice, though, I tell them that—from my current vantage point—I think they’ll have an edge in their careers if they do these things:

Have an agenda: Decide what you want to do, learn, and accomplish.

Learn how to make a decision and move on.

Be willing to go where others may not.

Be impatient with the status quo.

Learn the fine line between being recognized for what you do and being humble about your success.

Make friends with someone in technology (you’ll be glad you did).

Say, “I don’t know” readily.

Find time to have fun and laugh.

Raise your hand when you have—or see—a problem.

Know what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, and develop the skills that don’t come as naturally to you.

Remember that you are in charge of your morale.

And, finally, don’t make any important decisions when you are tired, angry, or hungry, because your judgment will be clouded.

Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with some great leaders. I’ve also made my share of mistakes. These experiences have shown me that it’s important to:

Ask for feedback, listen to it, and act on it


Great leaders are self-aware. They seek out direct, personal feedback, both formal and informal. Ask the people around you how they experience you. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Where can you improve? Listen to what they say, and then act on what you learn.

Sharpen your communication skills


Everything we do in business involves communicating. You need to be able to convey an idea clearly, crisply, and in a compelling way to sell concepts, motivate people, and accomplish things. Part of communicating effectively is knowing—and reading—your audience as you speak so you can meet them where they are.

Be ready to reinvent yourself


The pace of change in our world today can make your head spin. If you want to stay relevant and competitive over time, you have to be willing to start over, take a different path, and try something new. If you are adept at reinventing yourself, that dead end you think you’ve hit may turn out to be just a bend in the road on your way to a whole new adventure.

If I had to boil all of the advice I have down to one thought, it would be this: While education is important, the details of the subjects you studied in school won’t be that much use on the job. The most important things you can take away from your education and bring with you to the working world are an ability to think critically and creatively and work well under pressure. Once you are in the workforce, your real education begins. Keep your eyes open and pay attention, and you’ll learn a great deal over the long haul.

David joined Wachovia Bank & Trust Company in 1979 and then First Union National Bank (Wachovia’s predecessor) in 1981. From 2005 until the merger with Wells Fargo, David served as senior executive vice president and head of Wachovia’s Capital Management Group, which included retail brokerage (Wachovia Securities), asset management (Evergreen Investments), and Retirement and Investment Products. Mr. Carroll earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.