Contributed by Korina Rossi, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Being hired for your first job is one of the great milestones of life, but for most young workers it breeds an unsettling question: could you also be fired?

Don’t let the etiquette and unspoken rules of office life stump you. Following these simple guidelines will help keep you on the ladder of success.

Here are my top ten ways to avoid a pink slip:

10. Be on time

Arriving at your office on time or with a few minutes to spare will not only brandish your reputation as a professional, it will also give you the serenity to settle into your day instead of being rushed.

9. Avoid liquid lunches

When out with clients or co-workers for lunch at the local watering hole, it’s always a good idea to limit yourself to one adult beverage. Showing up legless at the jobsite is only excusable if you work on a ship.

8. Perk up

Falling asleep at work is a common folly, but repeat performances can see you canned. If you sense yourself starting to drift, quaffing a few cups of dark coffee will usually do the trick.

7. Kibosh on the gossip

Gossiping about the head honcho is one of the quickest ways to be pink slipped. If you see the office gossip approaching your desk for a venting session, usually busying up will keep him at bay: pick up the phone, write an email, or organize your files.

6. Turn in assignments on time

Procrastinating, cooking up excuses, and hemming and hawing at meetings will put you in the fast lane towards dismissal.

5. Smile

Popular employees are usually the last to get sacked, so consider your happy face your first line of defense. If you’re having a particularly inclement day, a sounds of nature CD, with subliminal messages of peace, can let the sunshine in again.

4. Filter personal calls

Remember to keep your personal calls succinct and infrequent. Quick calls from the kids when they get home are fine, but relegate the long gabs to friends to your lunch break.

3. Keep mum

Resist the temptation to comment negatively about your company, its products, or your boss on your Facebook website. This blunder has landed dozens of people in the unemployment office. If you really have to express yourself, trust your gripes to the safety of a work-life diary that you leave at home.

2. Leave office supplies at home

We all unintentionally bring home the occasion pen and notepad from work, but walking off with a pricey computer can dunk you in hot water. On the other hand, if you suspect that your co-workers are filching from your desk, a spy cam hidden in a pen will give you the evidence you need to apprehend the thief.

1. Quit

Whether you’re retiring or moving to a more fetching company, every job eventually ends. When yours does, go out with a little panache with festive confetti and a group lunch at a festive restaurant with your favorite colleagues.