Students learn ABC's of job success
The Monroe Evening News

Some high school students in Ida and Erie got an eye-opening lesson in their ABCs Thursday -an alphabet of skills designed to spell "career success."

Nick Synko, a corporate trainer and consultant, spoke to students in careers and work skills classes at Ida High School and Mason High School in Erie. A former Tenneco Inc. trainer, the Saline resident is the author of "Future@Work - An Employee Survival Guide for the 21st Century."

The 180-page soft cover book is meant for workers and students and was compiled from Mr. Synko's knowledge of the skills and traits employers seek when they hire workers.

It covers the alphabet from "Attitude" to "Zero Defects," and Mr. Synko used anecdotes, examples and cartoon panels contained in the book to get his message across to students Thursday.

"Attitude is absolutely a job skill that is more important than almost anything else," he said. "Employers hire positive attitudes just as much or more as they hire the skill."

"People can't hide attitudes, and (job) interviewers notice attitudes," he said.

He called attitude the great multiplier. "Whatever you do is always multiplied by your attitude," he said. As in any multiplication formula, those with a negative attitude will generate a negative result.

He also shattered some definitions of excellence. Getting 99 percent on a test in school usually results in an A, he said, "but when you get into world-class organizations, you will find that 99 percent is an F." That goes for any number of other professions, he continued. For example, he said, an electrician can wire 100 new homes. If he wires 99 correctly and one burns down, he's failed. The same goes for cosmetologists, caterers, medical personnel and others.

Mr. Synko also stressed that students shouldn't expect rewards without work, "It's only in the dictionary that 'pay' comes before 'work'," he said. He said many employees fall into the trap of being unwilling to make any extra effort unless they are paid more first. He compared that to a farmer expecting to reap a bountiful harvest before tilling the soil and planting seeds.

He discussed organizational skills effective employees use. Chapter "K," for example, stresses the need to "keep" a pencil and paper handy. One of his past bosses once told him, "I will fire you on the spot if I ever catch you without a pencil and paper," he said. The idea is that employees will jot down information that they can't afford to forget. "I forgot," doesn't cut it as an excuse in the work world, he said. "Do you want a doctor who says, 'Oh, I forgot?'"

Communication skills are important in the work world, he said, and one of those skills is "listening."
"People who are excellent listeners have a skill that is highly valued."

The Monroe County Intermediate School District's Career-Technical Education Services organized Mr. Synko's appearance.