If like me you are a huge Friends fan chances are you have watched all 236 episodes more than once, have the opening theme tune well rehearsed in your mind and can probably top any quiz with your knowledge of the show! One thing you can definitely take away is that over the 10 series we learnt a lot of career lessons (often what not to do) from our favourite New Yorkers. Here we round up 6 Career lessons from the characters in Friends:
Rachel Green Lesson: Proofread your CV
If you remember “The one with all the poker” in series 1 you may recall Rachel Green sending off dozens of CV’s with the help of her plans only to find there was a huge spelling mistake on all of them. Luckily we can spell check our CV’s before emailing them across but it is so important to check your spelling and grammar at least twice before pressing that submit button as your CV will almost definitely be discounted if you fail to get this right!
Phoebe Buffay Lesson: Have a hobby
We all strive to find a job that encompasses what we enjoy in life with getting paid but that isn’t always possible. Phoebe taught us that you can enjoy your hobbies outside of the 9-5 by playing guitar and singing (often badly) at the Central Perk café in the evenings.
Ross Gellar Lesson: Keep a cool head
Who can forget “The one with Ross’s sandwich” where he famously yelled at his boss for eating the turkey sandwich he left in the work’s fridge. No matter how angry a matter in work makes you it is always important to keep a cool head and deal with it professionally.
Chandler Bing Lesson: Don’t stay in a job you hate
For the majority of the show Chandler Bing works as an IT Procurement Manager – specialising in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration – which as IT recruiters we think is a FANTASTIC job! However Chandler famously despised his job and it took him until Season 9 to say enough is enough and pursue a job he enjoys. The moral of the story is, find a job you enjoy!
Monica Gellar Lesson: Toughen up your management skills
Remember when Monica gets the job as Head Chef in series 4? Her staff walked all over her locking her in the fridge, setting her chef’s uniform on fire and generally not doing as they were told. Of course in reality you wouldn’t have to put up with bullying behaviours in work but we did learn that if you want to be a strong manager / leader you need to toughen up and be firm with staff when they aren’t performing!
Joey Tribbiani Lesson: Don’t lie on your CV
If you remember “The one where Joey speaks French” from Series 10 you may recall the reason he was attempting to learn French was due to listing it as one of his many false skills on his CV (other fake skills he listed included tap-dancing, archery and horseback riding)! You don’t want to get to a job interview having claimed you have the relevant skills and experience only to fall flat so be honest and clear when listing these on your CV!
So there you have it, a mini trip down the Friends memory lane and a few nuggets advice for your career and job hunt!
Sophie Heaton (Digital Campaign Manager)
