The Unspoken Rules

Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller "Incredibly smart, nuanced, and evidence-based career advice." — Cal Newport, author of Slow Productivity and Deep Work Have you ever started a new job and felt like you missed a memo everyone else received? Do you struggle with impostor syndrome, confidence, or self-doubt? Or have you watched colleagues get promoted over you despite your hard work? Most career advice fails because it ignores the unwritten rules of the workplace. They're the secret handshake that separates those who get ahead—and those who get left behind in today's competitive job market. The Unspoken Rules is the essential career guide for ambitious professionals. It demystifies the hidden currents of the workplace and offers concrete strategies for thriving in any corporate environment. As a Harvard career advisor, UC Berkeley educator, and Fortune 500 consultant, first-generation college graduate Gorick Ng shares wisdom from over 500 professionals across industries and job types. His evidence-based approach translates these insights into practical strategies, empowering professionals of all backgrounds to level up, managers to achieve peak performance, and leaders to create a more inclusive workplace. Inside, you'll discover the secrets to fast-tracking your professional development:- From Onboarding to Promotion: Master the "Three Cs" to decode your boss's evaluation criteria. It is the essential toolkit for those who manage up—helping you stop guessing and start delivering.- Build Strategic Visibility: Go beyond your resume to demonstrate high-level value and navigate workplace politics so your hard work is recognized, rewarded, and reflected in your salary.- Unlock Closed-Door Opportunities: Master effective communication at work to demonstrate an ownership mindset, learn how to find a mentor, and build an inner circle of advocates, even if you do hybrid work or remote work. In today's competitive market, being good at your job isn't enough. You must understand how to onboard quickly, stand out to leadership, demonstrate executive presence, avoid that dreaded Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), and advocate for yourself. Whether you're starting your first corporate role or seeking mid-career growth, The Unspoken Rules equips you to stop guessing and start taking control of your future by strategically owning your career. Hailed as "a perfect graduation gift for any student who could use a boost for success in the working world" by the New York Post, The Unspoken Rules has become a trusted resource for early-career professionals—and a book Harvard Business School has gifted to its MBA students as they prepare to enter the workplace.

Gorick Ng is a career adviser at Harvard College, specializing in coaching first-generation, low-income students. He has managed new employees at Boston Consulting Group, has worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse, and is also a researcher with the Managing the Future of Work project at Harvard Business School. He has been featured in the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the New York Post, World Journal, and on CBC. Gorick Ng, a first-generation college student, is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. You can find the author at: gorick.com linkedin.com/in/gorickng instagram.com/gorick.ng twitter.com/gorickng