They Hand You a Job Description but Never Show you the Rulebooks

They hand you a job description but never show you the rulebook

They hand you a job description but never show you the rulebook and still expect you to play the game perfectly. After 25 years of climbing the corporate ladder, I finally saw the truth they never wanted me to figure out. 

There are unspoken rules in corporate America and if you don't know them, you lose.

Rule number 1, your salary is based on how hard you are to replace, not how hard you work. 

Rule number 2, the meeting after the meeting is where the real decisions happen. If you're not invited to coffee after, you're not in the inner circle.

Rule number 3, never be the first to leave or the last to arrive. Optics matter more than output in most companies. 

Rule number 4, your boss's problems become your problems, but your problems, they stay yours.

Rule number 5, the person who asks the fewest questions in meetings is usually the most secure in their position. Rule number six, base time with executives is worth more than overtime with your direct reports. Corporate will hand you a playbook for compliance, but they never offer you the playbook for power.

That's the difference between surviving and winning in this corporate game. 

I'm Deepali Vyas, your elite recruiter, doing the research for you so you don't have to, and I tell you what they wont.