Hindsight

At the office

At Poynter, they cared about how we thought things should be done. School largely taught us to become leaders.

Your first job isn't that way.

You need to be a good follower and keep your mouth shut a lot of the time. If you come in suggesting changes and questioning the way things are done, your boss and co-workers will likely find it insulting.

Often there's a logic to how things are done; sometimes there isn't. Either way, spend at least six months getting to know the paper before you try to change it. "Those people who have been at your newspaper for 20+ years aren't going to listen to you no matter what you know," wrote Adam Cairns. You have to earn their respect first, he wrote.

Be a low-maintenance employee. "Your motto should be, 'Tell me once and I won't forget," wrote Rebekah Monson.
Ask questions, but not too many after the first couple months. It annoys people. See if you can figure it out first.
Remember everyone's name and be nice. Your friends will save your ass. Some people will be offended if you forget who they are. Who you know and who likes you is often more important than how well you work.
Some gossip is OK. You need people to feel like they can tell you how things really work and it can give you some useful information. But keep it to a minimum and try say mostly positive things about other people.
Notice little things bug others. Something dumb, like talking too loud on the phone, can drive others nuts.
Do your job well, no matter how lame the assignment is. Companies are not democracies. What the boss says goes, at least most of the time.
If the boss says "Do you think you should talk to Mr. Jones?" it usually means "Talk to Mr. Jones."
Don't experiment too much at first. Build your boss' confidence in you first by doing things the way they want them done. Do background work and have a good pitch prepared before you present a "crazy" idea.
Staying organized, manage your time and getting things done as you've been told to is often more impressive to your boss than writing, designing, and photographing well.
Archive your work, especially your best stuff. It'll make it easier to respond when a cool opportunity comes knocking. Be aware that editorial systems purge items that are more than a couple weeks past their publication dates. Printed clips are okay to keep, but electronic files like Microsoft Word format are best. When somebody asks for your work, it's nice to be able to e-mail them a bunch of stuff as attachments.