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Can anyone give an opinion about joining Cognizant Bangalore now ? I have 1.8 YoE and they are offering a pretty good hike but I have heard news like there's managerial changes happening rn and many people are leaving the firm. Your opiniors will greatly help me in making a career decision.
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Shut your mouth for a minimum of 4 months. Be a sponge. Also write a note to yourself about why you chose to go there / how happy you are. It’ll help you remember why you do what you do in a few months.
Come from a place of yes, deliver what was asked and plan for what’s next.
Don’t say “I know” even if you know. Just say, “okay, got it/understood/noted”. It seems ridiculous but after running two internship programs I realized how annoying that is when you’re trying to teach someone
Know the job, but also know how to read ppl. Try to pick up who will be a good mentor -- who's the most receptive to questions? Who is eager to teach? Who writes long, detailed emails vs. who keeps things short n' sweet? Who is the office butterfly and seems to know everyone's shit? Who just likes to have their headphones on and crunch thru the work? Team statuses / meetings r the best for this. Just listen. See how pp talk to other pp differently -- who seems to hold everyone's attention when they speak (not necessarily bc of a high title, but bc they r insightful and when they speak they make every word count), who doesn't talk much at all, who asks dumb questions and causes the convo to drift off topic. Invite pp out to lunch too, to pick their brains outside of the team / office environment. Great way to pick up politics and hear wat ur coworkers have to say / complain / rant about each other.
Don’t update your LinkedIn title until you get there...
Always ask for more work. After they run out of the stuff that might be more boring or straightforward and they know you can handle it, you'll start to get invited to bigger projects that require more brainpower.
Also: Yes and.
Complete assignments and bring a bonus thought or idea for fun as long as you got your work done.
Be dependable. It’s an asset people will remember.
Find a mentor and a good group of people and stick with them. They’ll help bring you up and you’ll learn a ton.
Bite off more than you can chew, but don’t be afraid to ask for help. No one expects you to know everything
☝️
It’s ok to say “I don’t know” as long as you follow it with “but I can find out.” That’s much better than bullshitting your way through something. Also you have to follow through on that promise.
Treat everyone equally. The dude below you, the vendor, the cleaning lady/man. Respect goes a long way. (Everyone else had all the other points covered)
Long term goal here, but focus on the strategy over the social. The best social strats I've worked with have a strong foundation in comms planning, strat, or something that structures their thinking.
Ask questions and know that shit runs downhill. Advertising often has politics. Speak up, but you’ll lose credibility if you speak up often with bad ideas.
Sometimes you might be the smartest person in the room but never act like it. Let other people steal your ideas and champion them, better to take partial credit for a successful idea than all the credit for one that never makes it past the first round of approvals
Write down everything and review your notes later. Understand the process and learn how the people on your team best work. Being collaborative is a very important part of being a good strategist, in addition to creating solid briefs.
Pick a few senior folks to tell you their war stories. Those of us who’ve been around a while love to recount crazy/shitty/dumbfounding experiences.
You’ll learn a lot about why this is the best/worst industry — and gain a bit of insight as to what your senior ad people find important/amusing/annoying.
Follow interesting research threads even if no one tells you to. Deliver what’s asked plus whatever extra thinking you think might be helpful, like some light creative thought starters or a presentation on trends in the industry you’re working on. Take people out for coffee and internally “network.” Share interesting articles with your teams.
Also ask questions about people's career track - how did they end up at this company ur workin at? What do they love about their job? What did they study in school, how do they keep up with this fast changing industry, what are the biggest challenges they've faced?
One more thing: depends a bit on where you are but in general creatives rule the agency. Figure out how you can help them do their job better (ask them) and make friends with them. That will open up a lot of doors and give you a lot of exposure.
And like above said take as many notes as possible.
👆 dependable and reliable. Best way to show these two traits right away is to establish that ur always on time, even getting to the office earlier than most folks. If u see pp trickling in at 9:30, be the one who's there at 9. If 9 is when most pp get in, be the 8:45 person. Don't come in at 9:30 one day, 9:45 another, 9 another. Show u follow a routine.