I’ve learned more about ExxonMobil’s policies and the unwritten, dirtier rules outside the office than inside it. I’m sharing what I’ve picked up so far. If this helps even one person who walks blind. Feel free to add to it and keep it a live threat:
- Be friendly, but don’t trust anyone. EM is not the place to build deep friendships. Surface level professionalism is safer.
- Keep your academic network alive. You never know when you might need an adjunct role, consulting, or a fallback path.
- Don’t share your goals. People we-ponize information here. Your ambitions become someone else’s leverage.
- Don’t share anything personal. Many people cannot tolerate seeing someone else happy or progressing. Protect your privacy.
- If you’re underutilized, speak up formally. Do your best, document it, and clearly inform management you need a project. Silence gets interpreted as complacency.
- If you’re paired with a senior person in your area of the same skill, set boundaries immediately. Define your tasks, your ownership, and how credit will be split. Otherwise, your work becomes “their contribution.”
- In team meetings, don’t rush to speak first. Read the room, understand the tone, then contribute. But don’t stay silent. You don’t want to leave labeled as “the one who didn’t participate.”
- Document every idea in writing. Don’t let anyone “zoom call” your idea away and then repackage it as theirs. Put things in email, timestamp them, and confirm ownership clearly.
- Don’t over acknowledge or admire people. The moment you over praise someone, they start acting like you owe them something. You don’t. Keep compliments minimal and neutral.
- Never let them think you’re desperate for the job — even if you are. Desperation is blood in the water. If they sense it, you become the easiest person to throw under the bus.