Acting your age
RAEGAN HEDLEY, LIFESTYLE COLUMNIST
Millennials have this idea that you don’t grow or age into adulthood. Instead, you prove your adultness through your actions.
How many times have you heard someone who was born between 1980 and 1995 say, “because I’m an adult” sarcastically? I bet quite a bit, but I’m guilty of this mentality, too.
Trying to make your way as a professional person and an adult is hard. Don’t even try to tell me you’ve never gone into work hungover or exhausted from staying up watching Netflix all night. Or perhaps you’ve worn clothes from off your floor to work, ate cold Alpha-Getti for breakfast and forgot to brush your teeth afterward. Either way, the struggle to start a career while still grappling with adulthood is real.
The good news is, the qualities you need to succeed in a workplace have very little to do with what type of cold pasta you ate for breakfast.
Don’t be flaky.
It’s so easy now to just message someone last minute and back out on something. Never do this in the workplace. Being late without letting people know when you will show up falls under this category, too.
Be consistent with following up.
Being good at seeing something through to the end counts for something. If you find yourself in the shower remembering you were supposed to email HR six days ago, something’s gotta give. Memory is fallible. Having a system will save you.
Even if you feel like garbage, don’t look like garbage.
If you look good, you’ll feel more confident in your abilities to show your “adult” traits. If you’re wearing sweatpants, it’s much easier to convince yourself you won’t be productive.
Have spoons in your freezer for when your eyes are really puffy and apply the backs of the spoons to your eye area.
Keep some secrets.
Don’t let it slip that your hair is 90 per cent dry shampoo and that you pulled an all-nighter last night. Your friends might laugh, but your boss and coworkers probably won’t find it funny. You’ve managed to make the people at work believe you’re a full-on adult — don’t blow it.
Raegan Hedley is a sassy millennial who aspires to
someday become a kick-ass business professional.
In the meantime, she writes on her blog at raegjules.com
and tweets way too much (@raegjules).
