Mod Note: Throwback Thursday: this post originally went up on 8/1/13.
For a lot of you, the very title of this article probably has you choking on your silver spoon. Shame on you. One of the most important realizations I have come upon since I began my career is it is the people that can’t help further your career in any way that actually have the ability to make your day to day life easier.
While a lot of you are laughing at shitty and unfunny “jokes” by some 60 year old guy that runs the place, I have been busy learning the names of the janitors and people in similar positions to them. Here are a few ideas of some individuals you should seek out and befriend in your office that can make your life a hell of a lot easier.
1) The Janitor
These guys are the real ones running the show.
They can get you whatever you need – new office furniture, badass ergonomic chairs, air fresheners, whatever types of lights you want in your office. They run the whole damn place. I have seen guys treat them like shit, have their office chair “break” and then have to use that broken chair for three months while they “order a new one”.
The sweetest perk I have gotten from these guys? They will come in and dust/clean my entire office, top to bottom, every week. Simply because I pop into their station and talk football, know their names, and don’t look down on them for emptying trashcans for a living. Have some respect.
2) Admins
You get in good with the admins and you just took a ton of bullshit work off of your plate. These people are the ones that can do all of your paperwork, travel expenses, travel arrangements, putting together presentation binders, you name it, they can do it. Often times it is in their job description for them to do this anyway, but if they like you, they will do a lot of this stuff faster and with better quality.
There is a guy in my office that always talks down to them – he is constantly scheduled on the 5am flight when he travels and booked in a hotel that is 40 minutes from his actual destination. Not to mention, sweating bullets when he is giving a presentation because his presentation documents always show up 15 minutes before show time.
3) IT
The shadowy big brother. These are the guys that decide whether or not they will report to your boss about how much time you have spent on WSO and arranging lineups in your fantasy league. They aren’t going to rat on people they are friends with. They are the ones that can get you access to the unmonitored wifi network so you can connect your phone to it.
In addition to all of that, they can hook up all of the sweet tech equipment you need to do your job. A wireless keyboard and mouse, 24 inch LED monitors, new laptops, extended laptop batteries, phones, etc.
There are guys still walking around my office with old school blackberries and some piece of crap 14 inch single monitor to go with their Dell running Windows XP because they don’t even know where IT is located.
So there you have it, a quick rundown of people and groups you need to get in with to make your life easier. Like I said, they may not be able to give you a raise or get you a promotion (you won’t get that by brown nosing and being on your knees all day anyway) but they can make sure you are comfortable and happy.
Mod Note (Andy): If you haven't already, check out Nefarious's great two-part interview series, part 1, part 2
Helpful, SB'd.
Agreed, and I feel the sentiment goes beyond those 3.
As a former IT support person, I can verify that being nice to your IT people will get you things others don't have. We also won't make fun of you when your computer is broken (not plugged in)
I think this is an interesting post but I'd just like to add that it is easier to be pleasant to these people than not just by nature of being a good person not because it will benefit you somewhere down the road.
Layer Cake- Badass movie
Yes! thank god there are others out there
Totally agree. Also, this extends to doormen, the coffee stand, local dry cleaners, pretty much everyone around you. With admins you're dealing with a nebulous set of associations comprised of mostly women who all know each other, and nothing unites them like having an asshole to hate and then passive aggressively mess with.
Frankly, your CEO is worthless to your career 99% of the time at a big company, and the best he can do for you is not steer the company off a cliff. Even the COO/CFOs get thrown under the bus when things go south, and it's unlikely the CEO will ever even hear your name let alone know you. If you happen to be Jamie Dimon's long lost grandson or something, well good for you. But for the most part these guys don't even want to take the same elevator as you, eat near you, live near you, or want anyone in your situation associated with them in any way.
So, as Sonny said in "A Bronx Tale", he doesn't care about you, you shouldn't care about him.
To put things in perspective, at my last company the CEO was within 200 feet of me and I saw him exactly twice. I made eye contact and said hello, they kept walking. This will never change.
So don't waste your time. Focus on the people who actually matter. Also: don't be that wannabe social climber that only is cool to superiors, they never get help when they need it.
iAgree with everything you said....Especially the first paragraph -Gold.
Gonna have to go with the Cafe's grill guys for me. They are by far the best. I don't even have to order, I just stand in line and when I'm next my food is ready.
Why not just follow the Golden Rule, and not be a douche? There will always be enough negative people in this world, no need for another one.
Nice post. I would take it a bit further and suggest giving these people small gifts around the holiday season. My group, for example, always gets our admins gift cards, and I get our janitors and IT buddy Starbucks. The $100-ish I spend on that a year is well worth it. I have a larger monitor, nicer chair, and cleaner office than my MD. I also receive reimbursements, presentations, etc. before anyone else. I always get the latest Blackberry and monitors from IT as well.
Exactly - with the exclusion of IT, a lot of these departments barely make enough to get by. You have no idea how much something like a VISA gift card means to them.
Admins in banking/S&T usually do pretty well, at least at the big banks. The difference that an exceptional admin can make is significant.
Back in the day, the partner on my desk at a BB bought our admin a house for her wedding present when she got married...don't think he would have done that for any of the analysts or associates!
Good stuff, Nefarious! Ditto also for being friendly with the guys in the company kitchen/the deli. They're good to you!
Spot on great post. Also to add on, people in front desk at the lobby.
+1 for the admin. I sit right next to my admin, and we talk all day and I have gotten on her good side. I'm always the first one to get a new headset, keyboard, chair or whatever because she always hooks it up. She also helped put me in touch for a dealer for shrooms for Lolla this weekend. Talk about full service!
Frankly, just ignore this post, and treat everyone you meet at work well, and you will have no problems. There is rarely just cause for treating someone like shit, as you never know when in the future you might have to work with or need something from said person.
Truuu. Always feel like a badass in this sich.
I also find that janitors an non-finance peeps are cooler to chill with than lots of the finance folk lol.
Great post
Glad you posted - people don't realize how important getting in with the Admins and IT is. Saves so much time and headaches...
Re admins, I would single out executive assistants (or secretaries as they used to be called) as incredibly important to get on good terms with. Senior executives tend to be very busy with schedules filled up with calls and meetings. The assistants know the MDs daily schedules better than they do and they are the people who decide when/whether you would be having that conference call with the MD next week.
Re gifts, while they are nice gestures I am not sure they are necessary. Also it can be awkward if the person doesn't know you well. I would recommend to simply befriend these folks, acknowledge and talk to them on a regular basis, and not just when you need them for something. Simple gestures like a hello, a handshake and a few sentences each day goes a long way toward developing good relationship with them.
Honestly, while this post may be completely right on its own terms, I think there is one qualifier (at least for me). In any job, I most respect those who do it with a smile. The most admirable people are those who can shovel shit all day and look on the bright side of life. If I go to Mickey D's at 3am on Saturday and the cashier is amiable and lively, it honestly makes me want to be a fucking better person. If they can do that, then why can't I be ecstatic with my marginally better life? (up for debate, but I'm sure you know what I mean so long as you don't work there). Anyone who can be someone who is regarded by society as "bottom 1%", and still be happy with their lives is truly admirable and humbling.
Conversely, if that same person seems spiteful of everyone else and seems to have some sort of chip on their shoulder, I feel no reason to be nice to them. Granted that they may be having a shit day or something; the most admirable people (at whatever level in society), are those who are at least happy with their lives and can do their job with some sense of nobility and candor.
In my current position, the people I respect more than anybody are those in ancillary roles. They are truly amazing and more helpful than those in the FO give them credit for!
Great post! How about you just be a fucking angel to everyone, and everyone will treat you like the big boss you truly are.
Honestly, I'm nice to people even when they're having a bad day, that's kind of when they need it most...yes?
LOL at finance kids trying to put their experience on the same plane of miserable as a McD's career worker
Like they always say....
Be careful of the toes you step on on your way up, because they might belong to the asses you'll have to kiss on your way back down
And everybody likes to get to know the wagon (CEO) but sometimes it's good to now the wheels (admin, etc)
I'll also add the security guards. They're the ones who gonna let in to work on that project on Sunday, when you left your badge at home....#livesaver
Just be nice to everyone. I befriended a few IT people last summer and got hooked up with everything (an extra monitor + wireless keyboard/mouse). They also gave me access to restricted programs (Chrome/Spotify).
retarded. I mean unless you are a complete dick bully to support people they aren't going to vandalize your furniture/technology. That's ridiculous. Are you sure you don't work inside an office comedy?
Also, most of those people will do what they have to do because its their job- not based on whether or not it helps you. I can't imagine that desk dusting to be so crucial.
All that said- the greatest judge of a man's character is how he treats those he can't profit from.
As an IT engineer in a previous life this is really spot on. At numerous places we had "unadvertised" WiFi networks that only a select few were aware of and had the password to access (these networks also were non-monitored). It's really nice to have those so you can FB, WSO, fantasy football, etc. with ease and no tracking of your web time.
Depending on your role in your company, I would have to also say that the customer can be important. If you piss of the right customer, who knows how high they might elevate it. Some people think so much of themselves and their problems that they will go to the C level to get an issue resolved. I've seen many people in hot water or even fired for that. Plus, the other side of it is if they really like what you've done, they might tell the right people. Not saying you should kiss their ass, but people who have been screwed before (in my case, from the person that was in my role previously) by your company will be forever grateful for just a little attention and help. This doesn't necessarily apply to everyone on Wall Street, but I work in real estate where facing the customer is quite common.
This is one of the best posts I've ever seen on WSO. SB for you.
Follow the Golden Rule and trust that karma is a bitch..never know when the next Sidney Weinberg or Li Ka-shing comes along.... things can go from mopping the floor with a mop to being your boss and mopping you the dick of the firm.
In the military, making friends in the commo and supply sections payed off very well.
The opposite can burn you hard as well. We had one senior officer who always treated our commo guys like shit...loudly berating them in meetings, giving them a lot of scut work, etc. When he was reassigned they took their opportunity to get back him. Once he got to his next assignment he found that his enterprise email account had been closed, all of his stored data removed, and his profile deleted.
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