We’ve all watched those scenes in movies – the ones where the lovable, but in-over-her-head heroine messes up at work. Of course, immediately admitting the error to her boss is out of the question. Cue the snowball effect. Our poor protagonist’s hapless attempts to fix the problem lead to another mistake, which leads to another, which leads to – well, you get the picture. Meanwhile, we laugh, cringe, and, ultimately, feel relieved, thinking, “Thank god that isn’t me.” Trouble is, for many collegiettes, missteps in the workplace don’t just happen on the television screen. For some of us, they’re our worst nightmares come true. For others, they’re laughable stories to share with friends. Either way, they teach some valuable lessons about how to bounce back from the trickiest situations and ensure that they won’t happen again.
Keep the gossip far from the water cooler — and the rest of the workplace
“I work in retail and sometimes the other employees and I talk about people on the headsets. One time I didn’t realize a customer was right by me and I was still talking and laughing about something she was wearing…pretty sure she heard me too. Oops!” — Erica, University of Michigan ’13
Think about what it’s like when a friend hears you say something behind her back. Now think how mortifying the same situation could be in a professional setting. “Customers can be sneaky sometimes,” says Laura Baugh, Virginia Tech ’13, who has witnessed the negative effects of workplace gossip firsthand. “They may not say anything to your face, but one look at your name tag and all they have to do is call up your manager and complain.”
To do some immediate damage control, apologize at once to the customer. It can be tempting to try to defend yourself with excuses, but that can only hurt your cause. Any kind of gossip in the workplace is unjustifiable, says Tammy Tibbetts, who deals with employees and workplace relationships every day as the President and Founder of She’s the First. “Hopefully it’s a wake up call to get their act together! They should be prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty at work now, because they need to make a comeback!” adds Tibbetts.
Going above and beyond does not mean sucking up to your boss, but it does mean being careful about what you say when you’re on the job. Even if you think you’re alone, know that anyone could be listening. In the event that you find yourself bursting at the seams with juicy info, jot it down so you can share it later with friends outside of work — just make sure it’s far outside of work!
Keep those fingers — not your forehead — on the keyboard
“I had gone out ‘til pretty late the night before and ended up getting very few hours of sleep. I got a Venti Iced Mocha on my way to work and was able to get myself through lunch. However, after 3pm hit, I could not keep it together. I ended up falling asleep in my cubicle. It was for only about fifteen minutes, but I’m still unsure if anyone saw.” — Katie*, Harvard University
You might not be held accountable for falling asleep during a lecture, but taking a nap during work hours is a different story. Had this collegiette been caught sleeping, her best option would have been to apologize right away and get back to work. Everyone understands being tired, especially a boss who works long hours year-round — just make sure it’s not a recurring problem.
“Slackers and lazy employees/interns are held at a much lower standard than their hard-working counterparts, and will have a hard time growing both within the company and in the industry,” says Caroline Orlando, who has dealt with her fair share of office mishaps as the CEO of the jewelry company Lady Vanderbilt and Editor-in-Chief of CocoKouture Magazine. So if you’re looking to turn that summer internship into a full-time position, keep those fingers (not your forehead) on the keyboard.
It’s called work for a reason — leave Internet surfing for downtime at home
“A few summers ago I worked for a small non-profit organization. My boss was fantastic and the workload was fairly decent. However, as most of my friends know, I am a huge soccer fan. Since it was the World Cup 2010, I couldn’t help but watch, especially since we could load soccer commentary on our computers. Usually I was pretty quick at minimizing my window when he came into my office. One time, however, I was too engrossed in the game to hear him coming. Thankfully he is also a large soccer fan as all his kids play soccer. He laughed, asked me the score, and then reminded me that my project was due by the end of the day. Later he asked me who won and then seriously asked if I was too bored with my workload and said he could always give me more.”— Kayla, Yale University ’12
Not every boss will be as understanding as Kayla’s boss, but if you’re looking to stay in good standing at work, offer a sincere apology and get back to the task at hand immediately — and stick to it.
Even if you’re doing something that seems harmless (the World Cup only happens every four years!), anything that counts as a distraction from work should be saved for down time at home. “Personally, I think you must put yourself in the mentality that the workplace — whether a casual or formal atmosphere — is a professional setting,” says Laura Keegan, the Internship Program Manager at Pratt Institute. Even if your desk is hidden away in a cubicle, bosses still have ways of checking the Internet server to see when you stream personal media. Thank goodness for those late-night replays on ESPN!
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Fix your mistakes, no matter how big or small they may be
“I was dusting my boss’s office one day last summer and I broke a very valuable original Richard Avedon print that was resting pretty precariously on her windowsill. I had to pay out of my pocket to get it reframed while she was away for the week!”— Cassidy*, Cornell University
Although it might seem easier to ignore a mistake and hope no one will say anything, it is far better to approach an available supervisor and explain the situation (as apologetically as possible!). “No one is expected to be perfect, but failing to take responsibility for something you did could ultimately hurt your career,” says Heather R. Huhman, the founder and president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for businesses that target job seekers and/or employers. “Tell your boss about the mistake you made right away and apologize for the error. Tell them it won’t happen again — and mean it by coming up with a plan to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.”
If you have trouble coming up with a strategy on your own, Keegan suggests asking a supervisor or a trusted coworker for their thoughts. “Chances are, the blunder has happened before and there are easy remedies,” says Keegan. “…Transparent efforts at work build credibility and help to open the lines of communication among peers and superiors.” Just remember, everyone is human. Who knows, maybe your boss will launch into a story about the time they broke an expensive printer or spilled coffee all over the keyboard. We’ve all got skeletons in our closets.
Double-check your work — every time
“I’d been working on this huge project involving a ton of Excel spreadsheets and spiral-bound reports. The project was the biggest assignment I’d been given for the summer, and it was almost all under my control, even though the client I was creating it for was a high-ranking manager at one of the city’s main hotels. I printed out the reports, and another person in the office offered to bind them for me so that I could grab some lunch. I went out without checking the printed copies and just flipped through the bound versions when I came back. Everything looked good…That is, until we were sitting in the meeting, going through the reports, the client having his copy in hand. Which was when I realized that the last line of every single page had been cut off in the printer. This included, mind you, the entire final sentence of the whole report — which was arguably the most important sentence of all.”— Megan*, Yale University
Ruining something that your boss put in your charge of is arguably the most embarrassing situation imaginable. It’s the kind of thing you dream about in your worst nightmares, the ones that make you jump bolt upright in the middle of the night. Even in the scariest of situations, there’s a right way out of it. After the meeting, Megan apologized profusely to her boss and instead of berating her, he told her that her mistake was a valuable lesson in the importance of double-checking. The company even ended up getting hired by the client!
You know how your professors tell you to proofread a paper and have a second set of eyes look it over before you turn in the final copy? Well, the same thing applies off campus. Caroline Orlando recommends reading over an important assignment more than once before turning it in. “It helps to read or show your work to someone, like a good friend or a sister, who has not been working on the project to the extent that you have,” says Orlando. “It’s not uncommon to miss syntax, grammar or spelling errors when proofing your own work product.”
Most of us have already made mistakes in the workplace and even if we haven’t, we’re bound to at some point in the future. The best thing you can do is own up to your faux pas — and don’t let it get out of control!
Sources:
Collegiettes™ from across the country
Tammy Tibbetts, President and Founder of She’s the First
http://www.shesthefirst.org/
Laura Keegan, Internship Program Manager at Pratt Institute
Heather R. Huhman, President and Founder of Come Recommended
http://comerecommended.com/
Caroline Orlando, CEO of Lady Vanderbilt and Editor-in-Chief of CocoKourture Magazine
http://www.ladyvanderbilt.com/
http://www.cocokouture.com/