Top 10 career gaffes
careers,your life,happiness,embarrassment,work
Top 10 career gaffes: Help button on keyboard
By Jane Smith
Ever woken up after the office party and spent the weekend dreading facing your work colleagues on Monday? We take a look at the top 10 career blunders, and how to overcome them.
1. Hitting the wrong button
careers,your life,happiness,embarrassment,work
Top 10 career gaffes: Work colleagues shocked at e-mail
The humble email causes more red faces than almost any other form of communication. A private joke can quickly become a public embarrassment if you select \'reply all\' instead of just \'reply\'. You could suddenly become internationally famous after accidentally sending an intimate email to someone with a name similar to your boyfriend\'s!
Humiliation could be only the start of the problem. Stories abound of what happens when hapless employees mistakenly send bitchy, jokey or bad-taste emails to their bosses or clients. You could harm your company\'s image, you could lose business - you could get the sack.
One of the best ways of limiting the damage is to send an apology straight away entitled "We all make mistakes... and I just made a big one!" Failing that, you could follow the example of the employee who sent the whole company\'s salary details to all staff. He immediately set off the fire alarm to give himself time to manually delete the email from everyone\'s desktops!
But to avoid committing all sorts of horrendous faux pas, take time to think about what you\'ve written. The best advice is to think twice before you send anything - easier said than done!
2. Not prepared for a meeting
careers,your life,happiness,embarrassment,work
Top 10 career gaffes: Man and woman in meeting
It could be a team briefing or an important meeting with a valuable client. You meant to prepare thoroughly, but somehow time ran out and in the end you went along completely unprepared. When that happens there are only two options - keep quiet or bluff your way through and hope for the best.
The first law of bluff is not to get found out. So it\'s not a good idea to waffle on about cash flow to the company accountant. But it may be OK to discuss budgets with members of the HR department, who may not be so quick to see through your ignorance of the facts.
It\'s all right - sometimes - to admit your lack of knowledge. People will respect the occasional dash of honesty. There are also innumerable ploys of replying without answering the question - politicians do this all the time.
Usually the best solution is to talk straight and listen to what others have to say. On the whole you are likely to impress far more than those who try to pretend they know.
3. Overheard gossiping
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Top 10 career gaffes: Two ladies whispering
You\'re standing by the water cooler. You\'ve heard something mind-blowing and just can\'t wait to share it with your best mate. Out it comes. "Have you heard?" "You\'ll never guess!" "Do you know what the b**** did?" Suddenly, horror - you realise that the subject of your gossip is close at hand and she has almost certainly overheard every word.
We all love chit-chat; it\'s normally a harmless way of social bonding, of developing our values and of learning about others\' lives. Betraying confidences or indulging in malicious gossip can be very hurtful and dangerous. And being overheard by the subject of our gossip is almost as embarrassing as sending a private email to the wrong person.
If the worst happens and you know that you\'ve been overheard, you do have choices. It may not be necessary to catch the first plane to Rio if the person will accept a sincere apology. Another option is to turn away and pretend you don\'t realise that you\'ve been overheard. But that\'s the coward\'s way out.
So how best to avoid such clangers? One top tip is to avoid malicious gossip or insulting people in the workplace. If you value your career, you\'ll just have to keep that delicious snippet of gossip for the pub!
4. Smashed at the office party
careers,your life,happiness,embarrassment,work
Top 10 career gaffes: Drunk at the office party, woman singing karaoke
If all you did was get drunk and talk rubbish, don\'t worry - chances are everyone else got smashed, too. The same goes for minor incidents like falling over or dancing with the Christmas tree. The other guests will probably have been so busy having a good time that they won\'t even have noticed. You can apologise if you have to, but there\'s no need to go overboard - it\'s far better just to make a joke at your own expense. At least it shows you know how to let your hair down and have a good time.
More serious action is called for if you insulted someone or tried to seduce the managing director. It doesn\'t matter whether or not you meant every word you said, seek the person out as soon as possible and apologise unreservedly for your behaviour. Say you\'re sorry - it was the booze talking. Everyone gets drunk and acts like an idiot at some time and few will bear a grudge if you apologise afterwards. You have to work together, after all.
5. Forgetting names
careers,your life,happiness,embarrassment,work
Top 10 career gaffes: Forgetting names, woman thinking
Being poor at remembering names leads to many an awkward moment: you forget someone\'s name seconds after meeting them; you want to introduce colleagues to each other, but can\'t remember one of their names; an acquaintance greets you warmly, but you can\'t put a name to her face.
The problem is that forgetting people\'s names implies that you don\'t care about them. Not a good idea if the people concerned are close colleagues or important customers. Sometimes it\'s possible to hide the memory lapse - but don\'t flick an eyelid, or the game will be up. If you really have to admit your fault, do so openly and with a sincere apology. Most people will understand the problem all too well.
Usually the problem isn\'t memory at all - it\'s concentration. You\'ll only succeed in recalling names if you make a conscious effort to memorise them in the first place. Make sure you examine a person\'s face carefully - but discreetly! - when you\'re introduced. Try to find an unusual feature - hair, nose, ears, eyebrows, eyes, mouth, complexion. Then create a visual association between that characteristic, the face and the name. For example, if she\'s a blonde Angela, create a mind-picture of her as an angel.
Another trick is to ask for the name to be repeated and use it as often as possible in the course of conversation. After you have parted, review the name and your associations several times. Sounds like hard work, but it can be done and just think how impressed people will be when you remember their names so quickly!
6. Oops, wrong order
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Top 10 career gaffes: woman gets order wrong
Sometimes you don\'t realise you\'ve made a blunder until the pantechnicon arrives loaded with enough reams of paper to last for the next five years. Or your heart sinks at the sight of 100 cases of banana yoghurt blocking the entrance to the warehouse. Joking aside, over-ordering can cost your company more than just an inflated bill for raw materials. If you order too many items, they may be idle or wasted, and they\'ll certainly take up valuable storage space. What\'s more, because you\'ve spent the budget on things you don\'t need, there isn\'t enough left to buy the things that are required.
The solution, as ever, is not to fake sickness and head for home. If possible, get the delivery driver to take the order back. If someone has already signed for it, phone the supplier and arrange to return the excess goods. One of these should work, because the supplier will want to be helpful in order to keep your contract.
When you drop a clanger like this, either put it right yourself or admit it so others can help out. The quicker you act, the better.
7. Data input mistakes
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Top 10 career gaffes: Inputting data: Woman with laptop
Inputting incorrect data - whether it\'s a barely visible error or an enormous howler - can have quite serious consequences. The fall-out may be felt far outside your own team or even your immediate business unit. An accumulation of incorrect data could result in losing customers, wrong decisions being made or jobs being put at risk.
The major difficulty for businesses is that people often don\'t know they\'re making mistakes. This isn\'t your fault - it just means you\'re not being trained properly. If you think you may be inputting errors, just ask your boss for help. It\'s an important part of his or her responsibility to make sure that data is entered correctly.
Don\'t be too tough on yourself if you\'ve been trained and are still getting it wrong. Everyone makes mistakes and it\'s all part of learning. The important point is to avoid making the same slip-up time after time. If it\'s complicated, write it down in a notebook so you won\'t repeat the error. If there\'s a way to sort it out yourself, write that down as well. That way you\'ll feel more confident and in control.
8. Missed appointments
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Top 10 career gaffes: missed appointments: blonde businesswoman with diary
If we\'re honest, each one of us will admit to forgetting at least one appointment at some time or another. But the sheer embarrassment is usually enough to make us resolve to be extra-careful in future!
Luckily, in these days of instant contact, the inconvenience can often be reduced or eliminated altogether. As soon as you realise that you\'ve committed this blunder, grab the phone and confess your mistake. Don\'t just apologise - acknowledge the trouble you\'ve caused, grovel, if necessary, and do your best to make amends.
Forgetting too many appointments won\'t do your career any favours. So if it\'s a common problem, take action to make sure it doesn\'t happen again. There are several strategies at your disposal - everything from using your diary to better effect - try colour-coding important appointments - to setting up an automated reminder system on your computer or electronic organiser. Don\'t be too hard on yourself. Usually it\'s just a question of eliminating bad habits and getting into a new routine.
9. Late for a meeting
careers,your life,happiness,embarrassment,work
Top 10 career gaffes: Running late for a meeting: woman looking at her watch
The roads are gridlocked, there\'s nowhere to park and the trains are often delayed or don\'t run at all. So, everyone is late for meetings now and again. But it\'s not a good idea to make a habit of sloping into your seat half an hour after the agreed start time. You\'ll give the impression that you\'re disorganised or that you simply don\'t care. The true professional will do some contingency planning - starting off early and allowing for congested roads and poor public transport. If it\'s impossible to get there on time you could:
* Try to negotiate a later start
* Travel the day before
* Apologise in advance for your unavoidable unpunctuality.
But what do you do if, despite all your planning, something happens to delay you unavoidably? Enter red-faced, hair askew and mumbling apologies? No. First use your mobile phone to warn your colleagues that you\'ve been unavoidably delayed. When you arrive, take a few minutes to visit the loo, apply some lippy and catch your breath. Then stand up straight, catch the chairperson\'s eye, apologise clearly and sit down.
10. Pulling a sickie and being found out
careers,your life,happiness,embarrassment,work
Top 10 career gaffes: Pulling a sickie: Woman\'s feet in bed
Everyone is tempted to pull a sickie. The problem is that your job could be on the line if you yield to temptation too often or stray too near your workplace on those days of stolen bliss.
Being caught out taking a sickie is an embarrassing gaffe that could damage not just your reputation but your whole career. But you do have a few options to rescue the situation. Like DJ Chris Evans, who was spotted out on the town while on sick leave from his breakfast show, you could stubbornly maintain that you are genuinely ill. The danger is that your company may decide that the best cure for your sickness is the termination of your contract. Another option is to put your hand up, admit the deception, say you\'re sorry and promise it won\'t happen again. You may well get away with a mild warning.
The best way forward is to turn the situation to your advantage. It could be just the trigger you need to consider what you dislike about your work. Maybe you\'ll decide to talk to your boss, investigate some new jobs or improve your skills. In the end, it could be the best thing that ever happened!
