1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,760 Speaker 1: tip is to ask people what surprised them about their 4 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: jobs or about anything in life really, so you don't 5 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: face the same surprises yourself. Today's tip comes from Tessa 6 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,319 Speaker 1: West's book Job Therapy, Finding Work that Works for You. 7 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: West is a psychology professor at New York University and 8 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: an expert on social relationships and communication at work. In 9 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: Job Therapy, West helps readers figure out why they're not 10 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: happy at work and find a job where they will thrive. Now, 11 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: I'm sure that many people listening to this are quite 12 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: happy with their jobs, but even if you plan on 13 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: staying where you are, it can be worth analyzing the 14 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: situation and figuring out ways that you can do your best. 15 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: In her book, West advises that when you are exploring 16 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: a job, ask those working in that job to finish 17 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: this sentence before I started this job, nobody told me 18 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: that dot dot dot. She explains that this will help 19 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: you learn the hidden curriculum before you start the new 20 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: job and be better able to figure out whether the 21 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: workplace and the role would be a good fit. I 22 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: think this is a good question to ask in lots 23 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: of contexts beyond new jobs. There are all sorts of 24 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: things in life that aren't publicly advertised, but that people 25 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: learn over time sometimes the hard way. West writes about 26 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 1: a national public radio project called I was absent that 27 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: day about things people had to learn as an adult. 28 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: I'm sure we have all got things that we've learned 29 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: quite belatedly in life. Asking people what nobody told them 30 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: will help reveal some of the hidden curriculum in any situation. So, 31 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: for instance, before you start a new project, you might 32 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: ask people who've worked with a particular client what nobody 33 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: told them about that client. If you are transferring to 34 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: a new location, you can ask people there what nobody 35 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: told them about that place. And you can ask this 36 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: in context beyond work too. If your kids are going 37 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: to a new school, ask other parents what nobody told 38 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: them about the school. If you move into a new 39 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: neighborhood or join a new club, this question could be relevant. 40 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: What did nobody tell you about signing up for after 41 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: school activities around here? What did nobody tell you about 42 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: hiring a contractor to renovate your kitchen? What did nobody 43 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: tell you about owning a beach house. Maybe that the 44 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: ocean is beautiful, but you'll be doing constant maintenance because 45 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: being by the ocean is rough on a house. You 46 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: probably need to build that into your budget. At work 47 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: and in many aspects of our life, things we need 48 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: to know often go unspoken. But with a well chosen 49 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: question posed to helpful people, you may not have to 50 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: figure out everything the hard way. Somebody may tell you 51 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: the things you need to know, and then maybe you 52 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: can repay the favor by passing that knowledge along to 53 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: someone else. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, 54 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks 55 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 56 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura 57 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 58 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, 59 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: Apple po Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.