Every high school has them - the mean girl clique. That Lindsay Lohan movie was pretty spot on.

Until the end, that is. At the end of Mean Girls, all the characters decide that their shenanigans aren’t worth it, that they need to stop gossiping about one another and being so petty and just enjoy life. The mean girls club dissolves and everyone is happy.

Life doesn’t really work that way. In real life, there are still a lot of gossiping, petty mean girls (and boys) in the world. I imagine there are mean girls in nursing homes. It certainly doesn’t end in high school. Mean girls are everywhere.

One of my number one career tips is this: don’t be one of them.

You’re going to have opinions about your coworkers, your friends, your neighbors, your mailman…everyone. I’m not proposing that you be fake-nice to everyone. If you don’t like someone, you don’t like them. But being a mean girl can eat at your soul…and in career terms, it can eat at your opportunities.

If you don’t like someone, keep them out of your life as much as possible.

If you disagree with someone, debate the issue respectfully.

If someone is mean to you, ignore it or attempt to resolve the issue amicably.

If you’re a member of the mean girl’s club, you’ll burn bridges, which could really hurt your career down the road. Worse yet, you’ll start to get a reputation. People who aren’t even really in your life will start to avoid you because they don’t want to deal with the drama they’ve heard you cause.

Don’t be the person that people avoid. Being feared isn’t good for your career. Trust me on that one.