Why You Really Shouldn't be Jerk in College
"Go to college, a university,
Get a real job, that's what they said to me.
But I could never live the way they want,
I'm gonna get by and just do my time."
— Good Charlotte, The Anthem
Story Time
A few years ago, I worked with a group of students. And there are no two ways about it, the guy who was leading the project was a jerk — not humble, dismissive, and combative. Let’s call him Snowy (that’s not his real name — it’s my cat’s name, who, too, can be a jerk — but only sometimes).
Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t fun to work with him for anyone. Most people left the group during the project. And over the past two years, I also forgot about it.
Last week though, a friend of mine, who works at a Venture Capital (VC) firm, reached out saying that they’re looking to speak to former colleagues of Snowy. Apparently, Snowy had started a company and was looking for funds. As part of their due diligence, VCs were reaching out to Snow’s current and former colleagues to understand his leadership and interpersonal skills.
(Uh-oh)
While it would’ve been warranted to completely destroy his reputation given how he treated people, it’s also important to keep in mind that it’s been two years — and people can improve. So, that’s what I tried to do.
From what I know, the other colleagues didn’t attempt to paint such a balanced picture of Snowy.
Why this matters
But this speaks to the larger point: People remember how you make them feel. And this applies to college also.
Principally, you should not be a jerk to people. Full stop. But let’s say you don’t care about other people’s feelings. You’re competitive, and you want to “get ahead” in life. Even then, even for selfish reasons, you shouldn’t be a jerk.
Because as the above story shows, it matters how you are as a person, and it might come haunt you in professional life if you’ve treated people disposably.