How to Stand Out and Get Noticed on the Job

If you want to get ahead on the job, you will have to do more than hard work. To be honest, working hard is an expectation of employers – it’s a given. If you want to get noticed for a promotion or more challenging work, then there are other steps you can take that will move you forward and get the notice you desire.

If you’ve been in your job a while, you might feel like you’ve become part of the furniture, feeling like one in a crowd of not being acknowledged for your contributions. You might see others getting other opportunities but you are passed over.
There are a many ways, big and small, that you can do to get noticed in the office and put the “zing” back in your career:

1. Volunteer

Don’t sit back and wait to be allocated work. Volunteer for projects and become known as someone who won’t shirk responsibility.

Take the initiative and do what needs to be done, without waiting to be asked to do it. This can include serving on committees or helping out at events the company puts on/participates in. Being visible will get you noticed, not to mention showing off your skills.

2. Connect

Building relationships goes a long way in making you a familiar and likable person in the office. Make an effort to talk to people and find points of connection, whether it’s sport, pets or kids. Greet colleagues when you arrive and leave the office. Talk to people in the lunch room. Chat before meetings.

Work relationships are an important part of job satisfaction and engagement; they make coming to work more enjoyable and feeling like part of the team, both in your department and in the organization overall.

3. Be positive

Don’t be the person who always sees problems. Be the person who focuses on solutions. There will always be people who see faults or be critical. No one wants to be around a ‘Debbie-downer,’ or one others don’t want to be around.

The more positive in your outlook, which includes times when challenges arise, you will stand out by being one of the cheerleaders and a team player.

4. Steer your career

You can take control and be proactive in setting and achieving your career goals. Have a defined idea of where you want to go and when. Set your timetable for promotion and not someone else’s. You can build in skills development, networking and project positioning around your requirements as needed.
Learn all you can about the job you want so you know if your skills match and where you need to up-level them, or if any certifications are needed. Setting stretch goals for where you want to go will lead to getting them.

5. Be a good teammate

Make sure you do your best to help the team operate as one and do what needs to be done to get the job done. Help set up the room for the product launch or presentation, offer to proofread reports, and don’t talk about them behind their back. Be open and public in your support for your colleagues and your manager. Including staying late or taking over someone’s work when needed.
Think of the team’s needs – we don’t work in silos so looking at the end-result of the work will result in goal achievement and unite the team.

6. Network in good faith

Good networking is not a ruthless process of collecting people who will advance your career. Enjoy your networking by grounding it in kindness. Be nice to people because it feels good and oils the wheels of working together. Think of connecting laterally as well as upwards. You never know where colleagues or contacts will end up. They may be in a position one day to remember that you were the person who helped them clean up after a meeting or got the audiovisual equipment to work or called them a cab when they were in a hurry.

If you’re looking to transfer to a different department or move up into another role, start networking with employees in those areas, including the managers. You will not only make good connections but will be fresh on their minds when opportunities arise – you never know if you might be seeing them on the other side of an interview desk.

 

 

Make 2020 Your Year

Now that Christmas celebrations are behind us, it is now time to move forward as we head into this last week of the year.  No matter where you are in your career, either with or without a job, you can begin this year with a new outlook.

 

We hear from the world of positive psychology that our attitude can lead us to achieve bigger and better things in our life; it’s how we view our obstacles that give us the drive to work on reaching or overcoming them.

 

With that in mind, how do you want this year to look for your career? Now is the time to reflect on where your career is going: want a new job, to move into a higher role, or have you been out of work and want to return to the workforce  – this is a great time to plan and make a move.

 

If you are looking for a job:

review your activities from the past year for what daily action you took: how much time did you spend daily in the job search? how many contacts did you make and connect with? how many resumes did you send out?  how many follow-up calls did you make?

 

If you have been looking to change jobs, or want a promotion:

what job-search strategies have you been using? what type of position do you want and do you match the skill-set needed?  do you have a networking strategy, both in-person and via social media to connect with hiring managers? have you done research on your targeted organizations? is your resume current and speaks of your skills and outcomes?

 

With this new year can come a new outlook but you have to make the commitment to the process.  By reviewing what has not worked can help you to stop bad habits, or where you lost your momentum along the way, and will help you to keep achieving and will bring you closer to getting that dream job. Being committed to the process will help you make 2020 your year!

 

Your Action Plan

 

Take time to decide if you’re ready for your next best career; use the questions above to assess your readiness to begin to find and fall in love with the work you do. Even if you’re not ready yet to change jobs, doing these steps will get and keep you in ‘ready mode’ for when you are.

 

If you need help gaining clarity on your business or career goals, or in developing your action plan, why not get some help – stop the struggle and call today to get started. I’d love to help you build the career and business of your dreams!

 

 

 

 

 

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