Never Start Work Without a Signed Contract — Even with Friends
A signed contract before work begins protects both parties and prevents misunderstandings from turning into conflicts.
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Common Mistakes
Some mistakes are so common they look like the normal way of doing things — until you pay for them. This collection covers errors people repeat for years: in money, relationships, health, and paperwork, and the simple ways to stop making them.
Do Not Normalize Disrespect Because the Pay Is Good
No salary is high enough to justify tolerating consistent disrespect at work.
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Do Not Start a Task Without Fully Understanding What Is Expected
Five minutes of clarifying questions before starting can save days of rework — understand the goal before you start building.
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Do Not Agree to Deadlines You Know You Cannot Meet
Agreeing to a deadline you know is impossible only delays and magnifies the problem — negotiate honestly instead.
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Don't Hide a Problem Hoping It Will Fix Itself — It Won't, and It Gets Worse
Problems at work almost never fix themselves — surface them early while they are still small and manageable.
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Multiply Your Time Estimates by 1.5 — You Will Still Be Optimistic
Pad your time estimates by fifty percent — you will still occasionally run over, but you will miss far fewer deadlines.
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Don't Share Your Current Salary — It Anchors the Conversation Against You
Your current salary has nothing to do with your market value — do not let it set the ceiling for your next offer.
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Don't Be Afraid to Ask "Stupid" Questions During Your Probation
Your probation period is the only time when basic questions are fully expected -- use it to fill every knowledge gap you can.
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Never Badmouth Your Previous Employer in an Interview
Speaking poorly about a former employer reflects more on you than on them -- stay professional and forward-looking.
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Do Not Accept a Vague Role with Vague Success Criteria
A role without clear success criteria is a role where you can never truly win -- clarify expectations before you start.
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Apply Even If You Don't Meet 100% of the Requirements
Most job postings describe an ideal candidate, not a minimum threshold -- don't screen yourself out.
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Negotiating Your First Raise Is Scary — Do It Anyway
Asking for a raise feels uncomfortable, but staying silent guarantees you will be paid less than you are worth for longer than you should.
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Don't Gossip at Work — It Always Gets Back to the Wrong Person
Workplace gossip always travels further than you intend and damages your reputation more than theirs.
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Naming a Bias Does Not Remove It
Knowing about a bias does not protect you from it — you still need active systems to counteract blind spots.
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A Bad Process Can Produce a Good Outcome — That Doesn't Make It a Good Process
Judge decisions by their process, not their outcome — luck is not a strategy.
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If Someone Keeps Moving the Target, They Were Never Planning to Be Convinced
When every answered objection spawns a new one, the person was never open to being convinced.
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"It's Natural" Doesn't Mean It's Good
Natural is a description of origin, not a certificate of quality.
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When a Metric Becomes a Target, It Stops Being a Good Metric
Goodhart's Law: people optimise the number, not the thing the number stood for — pair every metric with a guardrail and treat it as a thermometer, not a steering wheel.
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