A netizen asked me quite anxiously: "I've changed two jobs in two years, and both managers fired me. They said I was hardworking but learned too slowly and moved too slowly. Since I learn slowly, I don't last long in jobs. How can I improve?"

I recalled my own innocent days at my first part-time job, back when I had just graduated high school. I applied at a restaurant, and my manager described me as a blank slate—so blank you couldn't get blanker. Easy to teach in some ways, but not so easy in others.

One day, my manager asked me to sweep the floor in Area A and tidy up the chairs. So I very obediently swept Area A spotlessly clean and went downstairs. When my manager came up to check and then came back down, he asked me, "Didn't you see the garbage in Area B?" I said, "Yes, I did!" He asked again, "So why didn't you sweep that clean too?" That's when I naively replied, "But you only asked me to sweep Area A, didn't you!?"

My manager was stunned on the spot, smacked his own head, and said "You really are a total blank slate!" Even now when I think back on it, I can't believe how foolish I was!

I shared this story with the person asking the question, and I said, "I think you haven't yet grasped the difference between school and the workplace." Because the workplace usually requires employees to take initiative. It might not be part of your assigned duties, but if you see something that needs doing, you can proactively help solve it. Fresh graduates tend to just dutifully complete what they've been assigned to do, so when something else comes up, they don't help out. Even if it's a small thing, a manager might think that employee is slow.

Actually, in giving this answer, I was just speculating about her situation. I first asked her whether she felt her pace was slow. She didn't think so. I also asked whether she had worked during university—she said she only had internship experience, so it didn't really count as work experience. For fresh graduates with absolutely no work experience like her, it's very easy not to know whether to proactively help or how to help. This causes managers and colleagues to perceive them as inefficient, unable to contribute, lacking value—not worth keeping.

This netizen then told me that I'd hit on the key point: "Because I actually thought that as long as I did my job well, that was enough. But I overlooked that my manager wants everyone to work as a team." Using her example, I also offered some advice to friends just entering the workplace. When you're a blank slate, you have the privilege of asking questions and pretending not to know things—because most people will choose to be understanding. But this kind of naivety is easily misinterpreted as "passivity" or "inefficiency." Over time, your work attitude, work style, manner, and personality all get typecast. It does you more harm than good.

As a newcomer, we should be eager to learn and take initiative, but without overstepping boundaries. Show a proactive side, and others will be willing to teach you. If you only "follow your own thinking" and "naively complete assigned tasks" without pitching in when the team needs help, you're the one who loses out.

How do you improve and learn? I suggest that students should look for opportunities to work part-time during university. But don't work for a small company, and don't let your job be just doing chores—like pouring tea or cleaning. The industry should be related to the type of career you want to pursue after graduation. This way, you accumulate workplace experience while also actually observing and experiencing whether you genuinely enjoy this kind of work. But don't let your part-time job take up most of your time—your studies are still very important.