Work mistakes we can all learn from

Jenny

If you’ve been with us from the very beginning, 1) you’re a real one and 2) you might remember our very first email had a little oops. I pressed send on our very first edition of WorkDaze before remembering to delete “[TEST 2]” from the email subject line. I was mortified, and I thought for sure that was the last time I’d be sending a WorkDaze email. 

Lesson learned: Slow down. It’s hard to take a beat when life seems like it’s moving a mile a minute, but pausing and checking off a list before pressing send has become a part of my routine. And I’m happy to report that a subject line snafu hasn’t been made since. Knock on wood. 

Ali

I forgot to record a webinar for a client that was absolutely supposed to be recorded. My life flashed before my eyes when I realized more than halfway through that I hadn’t hit record. I took full responsibility and immediately went to my manager (hey Jenny!) and let her know. She was super chill about it, and the client ended up never asking for the recording anyway. 

Lesson learned: Be honest and admit when you make a mistake. Most of the time it’s a lot bigger issue in your head than it is IRL. 

Gabi

At an old job, Cameron Diaz came in for an interview and it was a big deal for us! Part of my role was managing the interns and making sure they didn’t take photos of her. While they were more than well-behaved, another coworker and I thought we’d get away with snapping a quick photo from the back of the room.

Just as I took the pic, the Cameron Diaz stops the interview, points to us, and says, “Ladybugs in the back over there, could you not take any photos right now? I don’t know how flattering that angle is.” The entire room turned around and stared at us. Of course Cameron continued the interview like a pro.

Lesson learned: Practice what you preach and set a good example if you’re in charge. To this day I can’t see anything with Cameron Diaz (or ladybugs, for that matter) without cringing. A truly humbling experience. 🥴

Kinsey

Once upon a time in a corporate world far away from the cool stuff I do with WorkDaze now, I worked at a media company that participated in the time-honored tradition of paying entry-level journalists next to nothing. In my final interview, my soon-to-be manager asked me what I planned to do to “supplement my income” since the job he was hiring me for was paying so little and required me to live in NYC. I missed that ginormous red flag and ended up barely scraping by my first year in New York…and making way less than I could have had I simply said “I’d like to talk about compensation.” Oh, and I said I’d babysit to make ends meet. WTF?

Lesson learned: The biggest room is for improvement, but the second biggest room is for negotiation. It was my first big job, and I was afraid that negotiating would suggest I was ungrateful for the opportunity. But now I know—negotiating is just doing the footwork to get paid what you’re worth. And if a company expects you to work full-time? They better pay like it. You’re interviewing them just as much as they’re interviewing you.

K.

When I was applying to my first job, I lied on my résumé about having a pretty advanced skill. The joke was on me though, because I ended up having to use the skill often…and eventually had to confess to my manager.

Lesson learned: There’s a difference between saying you’re an expert in Excel when you’re really just proficient and flat-out lying on your résumé. I won’t lie like that again about my skillset. It wasn’t worth the stress, the learning curve, or the embarrassment of admitting my mistake. 

T.

I once sent a new product launch email that had a typo in the product name! We ended up sending a funny “Whoops! Our bad!” email…and we didn’t have one single complaint.

Lesson(s) learned: 1) More often than not, these mistakes and issues we think are literally the end of the world are not nearly as big as we think. 2) Always have someone else proofread the important stuff. That way, if there’s an issue, you won’t be the only one to blame! :)

O.

A friend accidentally sent a message to our manager instead of me, calling him a “pompous pr*ck.” 

Lesson learned: Never talk sh*t in a work chat. Like ever.