I had the opportunity to attend the Rose Cafe with Mary Opperman, Vice President of Human Resources at Cornell University, to learn more about supervisors’ pet peeves and how to avoid them. Initially, many of the tips Mary shared seemed to be obvious to me already, almost like common sense. One, for an example, was to figure out how your boss wants to give and receive information. An intern should always ask for clarity, parameters, and provide choices for the method of delivery (e-mail or physical deliverable) or level of information (main takeaways or detailed materials). Another was to avoid delegating work back by clearing up objectives up front and micro-checking with quick updates throughout the progression of an object.

Reflecting on my experiences, I realize how I could have improved my internships by putting these tips to use right from the start. I think I can speak for most students introduced to the corporate environment for the first time that we all share a lack of confidence at the start of an internship. I was afraid of messing up this opportunity and would go out of my way to not bother my supervisor with more work, even if I wasn’t sure how to finish a project. While doing this meant I ended up learning how to code in basic VBA in 2 hours, I could have been clear up front about what I could not do and worked on more priority projects. Even though it’ll be hard to overcome those first feelings of uncertainty and nervousness, asking questions and being proactive will allow a better learning experience.

I’m also thankful for the advice Mary provided about negotiating pay. This was an obstacle I recently faced, and had no clue how to handle at the time. The best way to approach the situation is to tiptoe carefully around the topic, come prepared with research on other work environments, and act respectfully but firm. Ask yourself about what new responsibilities you’re facing, and if you’re being compensated fairly. Furthermore, I found that in large companies, you may be able to ask for a confidential equity review. The overall takeaway linked back to understanding your own priorities, because nobody advocates for you better than you do. I’m looking forward to my own professional growth in the future and being able to apply these tips.

I really enjoyed the Rose Cafe with Mary Opperman even though I already knew some of the tips she gave us. I haven’t really had a serious job and when I do get one I am afraid that I will do something wrong or do something that annoys my supervisors without even realizing it. I know some things that drive superiors crazy can be just common sense things of what not to do like don’t be late for work and don’t miss deadlines. But there are some things are not so obvious. Some of the things that Ms. Opperman mentioned that I thought were really important included saying something if you don’t understand an assignment you were given, figuring out how your boss wants to receive information and how they give information, and taking accountability for your mistakes. Before this cafe I had never realized that how your boss wants to receive information is very important. Giving and receiving information is an aspect of communication and if it is not clear how to give information to your boss it is likely that miscommunications will occur. As someone who struggles sometimes with communication I found this reminder very useful. She also gave great advice on how to approach touchy subjects like having your compensation reviewed. In addition to advice on how not to annoy your supervisor, Ms. Opperman gave us good general work advice. She reminded us that nobody advocates for you better than you do and to not stay in a job where you are not learning anything and/or where you are being taken advantage of. I am always being told these last to bits of advice but it is always good to hear it again. I can definitely say that these are all tips that I will probably use in the future.

I attended Mary Opperman’s Rose Cafe on how to not annoy my supervisors. Luckily, I never had any problems in my past internships. My supervisors/the people I worked for were relatively young and relatable. But as I start to look for more internships, I knew that I should learn more about how to communicate effectively with my supervisors since it is not guaranteed that I will get along with them. Her most interesting point was to ask “How do you like to receive information?” It’s something that seemed pretty obvious but not something we actively think about or actually consider. With that in mind, thinking back to my past supervisors, I did notice that they did have different preferences on how they wanted to receive information. One preferred that I ask him any questions over the office chat system because it was more convenient. Another preferred to have group meetings with all the interns at the beginning and end of the day to discuss what we accomplished and our plans for the next day. I’m glad her talk helped me realize this small but important detail that will help me in the future determine how different supervisors work.

I recently went to a Rose Cafe hosted by Mary Opperman about succeeding in the workplace. She listed a many pet peeves that supervisors have about the people who work under them, as well as the ways we could avoid or solve those problems. One of the topics that she recommended that we do was to check up with our supervisors if we had a project in order to make sure that were going in the correct direction. These tips were really informative as I begin applying to internships this year.

Another point that she discussed was that an individual should enjoy and be interested in what they’re working on. She explained that many people in the workforce are not satisfied with their jobs, as they aren’t doing what they like doing. Through this experience, I have learned a lot about what not do to do annoy my future supervisors, as well as how to resolve conflicts that will inevitably come up as I enter the workforce.

I found last week’s Rose Cafe with Mary Opperman very interesting and useful. She provide tips on how to succeed in the workplace in a way that will not annoy your supervisor and potentially derail your career. In my previous work experience as a whitewater rafting guide, I did not encounter many of the problems that Marry Opperman talked about, as I got along well with my friendly and relatable bosses, However, as I get older and move away from my hometown, I will likely take jobs with a less casual work environment. I highly appreciate the advice offered at the Cafe, so I know what behaviors to avoid in the work place. She also talked about conflict resolution with coworkers and the supervisor, and I think this advice could be helpful in all interpersonal relationships, not just the place of employment. Overall, I am glad I went to Marry Opperman’s Cafe, and I will use her advice to guide how I conduct myself in current and future employment opportunities.

Last Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe led by Mary Opperman on what annoys supervisors in the workplace. Given my limited work experience, the information provided was very useful. One helpful piece of advice provided in the talk was to check with your supervisor periodically when working on a project to make sure that you are heading in the right direction. Supervisors are understandably annoyed when someone turns in work that does not accomplish what the supervisor wanted, but it can sometimes be difficult to know what it is that they want. Sometimes a supervisor may not be completely clear, in which case you should ask for clarification. Also, asking your coworkers, who might have done a similar project at some point, could be helpful. However, I think most people have had those moments where they thought that they understood something, but they actually did not. This is why I think that the idea of periodically checking with your supervisor is a particularly good one, as they can tell you if you are doing what they wanted you to do. This way, if you did misinterpret something, you will learn about it early on, and you can correct it before you have put a lot of time and effort into something that was unneeded.

During our coffee chat last Wednesday, Mary Opperman, VP and Chief Officer of Human Resources at Cornell talked with us about what typically annoys supervisors.One of the things that she touched on was how supervisors don’t like when a worker comes to them with a problem without any suggestions for a solution. Although I had never really thought of it before, it makes sense. It’s almost like dumping more work on your supervisor, rather than demonstrating your own strength as a problem solver and even showing that you’re capable of more responsibility by solving problems around the workplace. Another important thing that she discussed was talking down about other coworkers in front of your supervisors. I thought this was interesting because there have been times where I am concerned about the apathy that I’ve sometimes felt that my fellow coworkers have for their position, but it’s important to note that it’s not on you to make what they are doing wrong known. If they do poor work, then it will show, but don’t “tattletale” on them for minor issues, as this looks bad as if you’re trying to make yourself look better on their behalf or even like you’re not a team player, which doesn’t play in your favor.  I personally found her talk very interesting, as it felt like less of a lecture and more of an open discussion which I enjoyed, and towards the end she opened it up for a Q & A. I learned quite a bit on how not to annoy my supervisors during future internships and jobs and will be following her advice.

I attended last week’s Rose Cafe with Mary Opperman and I learned about the little things employees do that annoy their boss.  During my internship last summer, I was really lucky and had some amazing bosses, but not every job will be like that.  I really liked that she spoke to a bunch of different supervisors and compiled a list of the things employees do that annoy them the most.  Some of the things Mary mentioned, like when employees miss deadlines, I expected, but I was surprised to hear that a common thing supervisors dealt with was employees passing the blame to others.  Sometimes it is actually someone else’s fault, and she discussed how to deal with a situation like that, but most importantly you have to own up to mistakes you make.  It’s the same with making excuses; sometimes there are valid reasons something went wrong, but you have to be willing to take responsibility and learn from those mistakes.  Mary also talked about work relationships from the opposite point of view – what do supervisors do that annoys employees?  As I look for jobs this summer and down the road to future full-time jobs I want, these are important things to keep in mind during the interview – does this feel like someone I would want to work for?  Would I fit into this company’s culture and operating style?  Mary gave me a lot of great things to think about moving forward and I learned a lot!

At this week’s Rose Café, I had the opportunity to learn from Mary Opperman, Vice President and Chief Resource Officer at Cornell, about the do’s and don’ts of the workplace. As a junior looking for internships and eventual full-time positions, it was interesting to hear about what irritates supervisors and how to avoid such behaviors. Out of the many lessons Ms. Opperman discussed, two stood out to me the most: never make excuses, and don’t try to bring down your colleagues in order to enhance your own image.

I have only ever had one paid job in my lifetime, but I was fortunate that my boss was friendly and accommodating. But as I begin my internships and job searching, I realize that I will not necessarily have the same relationship with by boss; therefore, it is important for me to learn the norms and behaviors of the workplace. Ms. Opperman’s lesson to “never make excuses” resonated with me, as my teachers and former athletic coaches used to emphasize the importance of accountability. I now know that, in the workplace, being unaccountable for one’s actions can not only upset a supervisor, but can also decrease one’s image in the work environment. Additionally, Ms. Opperman’s lesson to “not bring down your colleagues in order to enhance your own image” also stood out to me, as I feel that this is a common tactic used not only in the workplace, but also in school and on athletic teams. I appreciate how Ms. Opperman stressed that improving one’s image comes from good work and hard work, while also noting that bashing colleagues can lead to a sour company culture, and can actually end up hurting one’s own image. Thus, I hope to take the lessons from Ms. Opperman’s talk and apply them to my future internships and full-time jobs. I will be cautious to avoid the poor workplace behaviors Ms. Opperman discussed while working diligently to ensure that I am not only an effective worker, but also a good colleague.

It was interesting to get Mary Opperman’s perspective in terms of how employees can more effectively communicate with their employers. As a student in ILR, I found that I was personally drawn to this talk because I’m interested in how to better understand the implications of human capital and interpersonal relationships within organizations. Human resources is very undervalued as a field, and these principles can be used by managers today as these skills are valuable in any organization. Employees need to be straightforward with their managers, and employers should try to be transparent with those that work under them. The communication gap between management and its workers often is one of the primary causes of organizational problems, and learning how to bridge that gap is one of the first steps to developing a better functioning organization.

The HR talk was an interesting experience as I was able to learn first hand from an HR representative on how to succeed in the workplace. Getting prestigious jobs and internships is a stressful process for everyone but I could never have imagined the difficulty of maintaining a working relationship in the workplace with your superiors. Through hearing about how bosses want to be interacted with from an actual HR representative’s perspective, I learned how to succeed in the workplace and foster great relationships.

This week, I attended a Rose Cafe hosted by speaker Mary Opperman, the head of HR at Cornell. The talk was largely a discussion of how to navigate the workplace and how to do things that supervisors appreciate and what to avoid doing. Ms. Opperman came in with a list of things that bother supervisors. As she went through the list, a lot of them are things that make sense when hearing them, but did not come to mind when she initially asked for our ideas. For instance, supervisors dislike when a worker does not ask questions when they do not understand something. This sounds very self explanatory, but in the moment I can see why I would make that pitfall. Asking a question could feel embarrassing depending on the supervisor, but it is important to do nonetheless.

As someone who has worked for supervisors in various jobs and who is a supervisor to others on my project team, this discussion was very clarifying for me. Many of the things that bother supervisors in fact bother me when I am working on my project team. For example, I dislike when people fudge results just before a deadline in order to meet it. This is something that drives supervisors crazy. Additionally, it bothers me when a supervisor switches their plan in the middle of a project. This happens to bother a lot of other workers. Reaching a happy middle between worker and supervisor is key when establishing a healthy work environment. This talk was very helpful in realizing what I need to do better as both a worker and supervisor moving forward.

Ever wondered what drives your boss nuts? Well, that’s what we discussed with Mary Opperman, the Chief Human Resources Operator at Cornell. A lot of what we’ve talked about seemed like common sense to me and that it should be intuitive. Though I feel like in the workplace maybe it doesn’t seem like common sense to everyone because no one has ever talked to them about how to deal with conflict or how to negotiate. Perhaps this seemed like common sense to me because I came to Cornell as an ILR student, so I’ve taken courses about the topic of human resources. In ILR classes we talk a lot about the workplace and how to foster a comfortable environment for everyone. So, I guess that if you had never really spoken about this with anyone and didn’t have anyone to guide you this wouldn’t seem like common sense.

I feel like there really was one main theme to that event. It was that knowing how to communicate effectively is incredibly important. I feel like in projects a lot of things go wrong because people didn’t understand what they were supposed to do. I don’t think it was because the person is lazy and doesn’t care. It probably has to do with the person just not understanding. Yet, the problem is that people don’t know how to ask for help. For some reason we’re trained to think that asking for help or clarification is a bad thing. Why is it that we think that asking for help makes us look stupid? Is it a societal problem? Or is it just a problem the human race deals with? The interesting thing is that it’s done out of not wanting to look “dumb”. But, the irony of it is that by not asking you do end up looking incompetent to your supervisor because the result isn’t going to be good when your supervisor was under the impression you understood the task.

Learning how to communicate isn’t something we learn once we get in the workplace. I feel like one of the main purposes of school, beyond the academic material, is to socialize us so that we can learn how to work with others, listen, and communicate. For example, in school we learn how to work in teams in group projects. Group projects teach us how to deal with conflict and how to talk to someone who is not holding up their end of the bargain. The situations we face in the workplace may have new details and complexities added to it, but in school we’ve probably been in situations that have taught us how to solve the problem and communicate.

In this weeks Rose Café, Mary Opperman came and spoke about what supervisors like and dislike in employees, and how you can be a more successful member of your organization. The most interesting takeaways from her talk were to be accountable for your own mistakes, do not make excuses, and do not shift the blame onto coworkers. I believe these are all good points, yet in my experience I have seen many of these basic principles violated in the work place. Over the summer, I shadowed a surgeon and his team on a weekly basis, and saw them do a variety of jobs. One thing that the doctor explicitly told me was that in medicine, the chief or head surgeon/doctor is never (rarely) wrong. If you are a resident, and your attending makes an error, they will likely find a way to make it your error. In general, the blame is commonly passed down the medical hierarchy until it ends up at the lowest level, which could even be the instruments, or even the patient (its their fault their sick etc). I found this interesting in light of Mary’s talk, because it shows how many doctors let their ego get in the way of their accountability. On the other hand though, I did see instances where there was a legitimate reason for mistakes, such as an actual faulty instrument. Thus, it is often hard to draw the line between passing the blame and giving a reason for a mistake. On the flip side, this common practice of shifting the blame keeps all the team members alert on focused on their work because they do not want to get blamed for making a mistake. In one sense then, this actually resulted in a better work ethic in the team because if someone makes a mistake, it could easily be passed to each team member, and overall reflect poorly on the unit. To avoid this, all members were very diligent in their work, and put in 100% all the time.

I attended the Rose Cafe with guest speaker Mary Opperman where I was able to gain insightful information on how to avoid issues that may annoy your supervisor. I have had many different work experiences with different types of supervisors. When I worked as a research assistant in a biochemistry lab, I experienced a week of training. During training, the supervisor would teach me how to perform the experiments and use the equipment. However, I found that when he was teaching me that I would often become very confused. I found that he rushed through many of the presentation, but everyone else in the lab seemed to be very experienced, so I was always afraid to speak up. However, after the rose cafe, I found that the best thing to do during this situation is to speak up and tell your supervisor that you are not understanding the given task. This will not only save future frustration from you and the supervisor, but it will also communicate to the supervisor that they may need to describe the information in a better manner. Additionally, if you are intimated by your supervisor, then ask your colleagues for assistance. I found that once I got comfortable in the work environment that talking to my colleagues about any of my problems provided me the assistance that I needed. The reason for this is is that your colleagues probably were in the same situation as you. They had their moments where they did not understand the information presented to them and they understand how that feels. They want to help you through those situations. Also, it is good to talk to colleagues because I found that they often times will present information that is more understandable. The supervisor may have had multiple years of experience, so at times he may present information in a vague manner because they may assume that everyone has the same background information as he does. However, this is not always the case, so talking to colleagues may help to simplify information in a more processable and understandable way. Hence, I believe that the key to maintaining a good relationship with your supervisor is through communication and not being afraid to admit when your are confused or have failed.