Now that you have hopefully started your Rosetta Stone Swahili speaking course, we can continue our look at Career Limiting Moves (CLMs). Last week we looked at Culture, Late-coming, Whining and Weekend Sick days, and if you missed it, the Rosetta Stone reference above will hopefully entice you to go back and read part 1.

This week lets’ start with…

5. BOOZE

This one can get really tricky as you often end up in the horrible middle ground between all or nothing, but as usual, the answer is balance. If your colleagues and bosses are having a beer after work, you have an opportunity to spend an hour or two after a long day’s work getting to know your colleagues in a more relaxed setting. Outside of work, we are all almost equal, so here’s your chance to develop common ground, particularly with your superiors. Once you develop friendships with higher ups, your survival rate shoots through the roof.

In terms of your Clients, it only takes a one-hour lunch to significantly improve a relationship, especially if you pay. Your clients will respond to your e-mails and calls quicker, and business gets that much easier.

BUT, in either situation DON’T GET DRUNK! Nobody ever gets promoted because of a great party. There is only downside if you get hammered and start blabbering on about how you find Y colleague hot, and how you find X boss annoying. An ex-colleague of mine got sloshed at a Managing Director’s house and was fired two months later. Coincidence? Of course not. He was a potential blight to the firm.

6. OFFICE ROMANCE

Dating a colleague is risky business, and you both need to seriously consider the realities associated with it. There are often strict HR policies that either forbids interoffice dating entirely, or that if a relationship occurs, it must be reported for liability and other reasons. If you can’t deny love, make sure you are aware of your company’s stance and policies, and if they don’t have any, or there is any uncertainty, discuss the situation with your immediate superior to ensure that you do not cross any boundaries unknowingly. And if it’s not the real thing, don’t do it. Extra marital liaisons may be perceived as cool by your drinking buddies, but your bosses will often see only the deceit and breakdown of trust that is always associated with these situations, and that will not reflect well on you.

And if none of those points deter you, consider the statistics – sadly, nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce, and even more relationships don’t even get to the mariage point. The chances are more than even that eventually the relationship will backfire, and the fall-out in the office has the potential to cause all kinds of repercussions.

7. FIND THE ROCKETSHIPS

There is always a star in your office that is going places fast, and they won’t always be senior to you. Marissa Mayer is the CEO of Yahoo at age 37, and she’s hiring plenty of her old colleagues from Google to be her lieutenants. It’s important to identify the rocketship in your company so you can also go along for the ride. If your friends ascend to powerful places, they will make sure they take care of the people who helped to get them there.

8. DON’T JUMP SHIP

There’s an inherent desire for all of us to want more now, if not sooner! If you are underappreciated and a genuinely better opportunity comes along, then absolutely make the transition. But if you are on track but simply lack patience, then you are shooting yourself in the foot because you will have to redevelop all your existing relationships in your new environment, and that could end up slowing your progress down significantly. Make sure you make, and carefully weigh up, a list of the things to consider before quitting your current job. Everything always seems greener on the other side, but that is often because of the amount of manure on the other side.

So there you have the second bite at this subject, and I have kept the most important CLM for last. Next week we will unpack holidays, volunteering for extra work, overestimating your abilities, and the most important CLM of them all ……….

I had such an amazing response to last week’s offer that I’ve decided to repeat it! If you need some help with career planning, or would just like an objective look at your existing plans, I’m offering 5 FREE 45 minute Career Path Tune Ups to the first 5 people who use our Contact Form on our website to ask for one of them. These will help you assess where you are now, where you want to get to, and how to go about getting there as smoothly as possible. The sessions would normally cost AU$ 150.00 each, so grab a free one while it is available.