That's fine when the people you work with appreciate the work you do, but you're not going to know that going in. If you work hard from the off, all you can do

That's fine when the people you work with appreciate the work you do, but you're not going to know that going in. If you work hard from the off, all you can do is go down, whereas if you start off slowly then you can look good when you need to. Personally I find it difficult to work like that, but I think the advice is reasonable - I've certainly experienced it when you're only working twice as hard as others and yet you are seen to be underperforming.