When Obscurity at Work Is a Good Thing
Most of us strive to go noticed by a boss when we're
first starting out at a new job, but as 37 Signals co-founder and author Jason
Fried point out, sometimes that obscurity inherent when you're at a new job can
actually work in your favor.
When you're straight out of college, the natural
reaction is to go all out and try to get your bosses to notice what you're
doing. The problem is that you probably don't actually know what you're doing.
Fried's suggestion is to embrace the obscurity that comes when you're a nobody
at a new job and use it to your advantage with long term goals:
I think obscurity is your friend when you’re just
starting out. People want to get rid of the obscurity so everyone knows who
they are and what they’re doing, but it’s nice to have that cushion of being
able to mess up without anyone knowing or caring so that you can learn without
the spotlight on you. Once the spotlight is on you, there’s a lot of pressure
and you don’t need that kind of pressure early on. Take it easy, have a
long-term view on things, build on little successes, and learn more before you
try to go out and change the world.
It's solid advice whether you're taking on your
first job or just changing careers. Obviously you don't want to dawdle away in
obscurity for too long, but if you take your time on that first project you'll
be able to impress that new boss a lot more.
