Receptionist at a finance institution gets ignored by coworkers with more power who can even respond when she says “hello” or say thank you: ” The people who do reply are usually the ones who aren’t trying to act like they’re gods of finance or whatever.’ – FAIL Blog

You have to be nice to everyone, not only the people who have more power than you.

Being in the lowest position in a company can be really bad. You think you are starting to build your career and putting effort into bettering yourself, and you are, but you also occupy a space that most employees will deem as invisible. You have a job at the company, but you will soon notice that people with higher positions won’t know that, or care. You will say hi or do something for them, and some won’t even look into your face. As if they were some kind of god that you don’t deserve to speak to. Not everyone will act like this, but some will, and it’s going to hurt. You will start to feel like you are less than them, but you aren’t. You need to use this kind of situation as an opportunity to build your confidence and stop taking things personally. If someone who has already climbed the career ladder and is so successful can’t even say thank you when you bring them coffee, then they are nothing but entitled.

When you have an entry position as the one in this story, it is important to watch and learn. You are in the front row watching your future, and you need to take advantage of that. Not only learn how to do your job, but also how to act. Once you climb that ladder, you need to remember where you were before, and how people treated you. Don’t be like the ones that couldn’t even talk to you. Be the ones that said thank you, the ones that cared enough to learn your name. The ones that actually inspire you to not only build your career but also to stay grounded.

Use your current entry job, grow a thicker skin, learn to take what everyone has to offer, and don’t let it affect you. Use all that mistreatment so that when you are on top, you aren’t like them. You are better. Use your experience in your favor, and everything will get better in time. If more people do it like this, then maybe in the future we won’t have so many finance dudes thinking it’s fine to not acknowledge a colleague just because she’s the receptionist.