 Okay, you got the job and you just started. You want to make a good impression and do things that will convince the people who hired you that it was a good idea to hire you.
We’ve addressed this topic in the past with blog posts such as “As Soon as You’re Hired, This is Your #1 Priority” and “A ‘Top 10’ List for Confidence When Starting a New Job.” However, we’re going to delve deeper into the topic with this blog post, which underscores the importance of starting your new job well. There are certain things that you can do to stand out, things that don’t take a tremendous amount of effort. As we often do in this blog, we’re going to rank these items from least important to most important. Below are the top five ways to stand out at work (in a good way): #5—Communicate well with co-workers. Communication is the key to just about everything in life, and that certainly includes the employment realm. First, effective communication will help you to learn more about your job and the company, thereby allowing you to enjoy success sooner. Second, it will help you to get to know your co-workers better and hopefully lead to more enjoyable professional relationships. #4—Avoid gossip or negative talk. Gossip exists in just about every work environment. What you don’t want to do is join the ranks of the gossipers as soon as you start your job. In fact, you don’t want to join those ranks at any time during your tenure at the organization. No good can come of it. #3—Have a positive attitude. Why will this make you stand out? Because sadly, positive attitudes are in short supply, so that automatically makes them valuable. People are drawn to those who are positive and who provide a good experience for them. Be somebody who draws people to you. #2—Listen more than you speak. While you should communicate effectively (see #5), that doesn’t mean you should talk too much. Communication is about listening just as much as it is about talking—and maybe more so. After all, you want to learn as much as you can in the shortest amount of time possible, so listening is key. #1—Be flexible in the face of changing circumstances. Those employees who adapt “on the fly” are the ones who stand out the most to management. That’s because they don’t wilt under pressure. Instead, they perform well and deliver results despite being out of their comfort zone. We’ve addressed the topic of interview questions in this blog before, most recently with “Questions You’re Most Likely to be Asked During an Interview.”
However, what about the other end of the spectrum? What about questions you’re NOT likely to be asked . . . but might still be asked? All it takes is one question to throw you off during the interview, and once you’re out of rhythm, it can be difficult to get back into it. Your margin for error when you reach this stage of the hiring process can be very slim, so that’s why it’s crucial to be as prepared as possible beforehand. To help prepare, we’re enlisting the help of two articles:
When you put “surprising” and “interesting” together, what you get are interview questions that you are probably not expecting. However, these are questions you might be asked during your next interview and for which you should absolutely be prepared: #1—Do you think you’re a lucky person? #2—If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you change? #3—What can you teach us? #4—Tell us the most effective approaches for managing you? #5—What did you care about most when you were 10 years old? #6—Who is your hero and why? #7—What’s the biggest misconception about you and why? #8—What was the last thing you changed your mind about? #9—What is your favorite website? Have you ever been asked these questions or questions like them during a job interview? Be sure to check out both articles for more information about these questions, including the best ways to approach them and answer them. It’s probably safe to say that the majority of people in the employment marketplace want to grow their career as much as they can as quickly as they can.
However, as is often the case, obstacles arise that can prevent an accelerated climb up the career ladder. Not to worry, though: there are always things that you can do to keep moving forward. Sometimes, what’s important is not how quickly you’re moving, but the fact that you’re continuing to make progress and move toward your goals. The good news is that there are certain things that you can do nearly all of the time that will contribute to this forward motion. Below are four simple ways to grow your career at any stage: #1—Engage in training opportunities. This means any and all opportunities, both the ones offered by your employer and also ones that you seek out on your own. Continuous training leads directly to personal and professional growth, and that growth leads directly to career growth. This is definitely one area in which you should strive to be proactive as opposed to reactive or passive. #2—Accumulate experience. Once again, more is better. The more work and professional experiences you’re able to gain, the greater your base of knowledge will be and the wider your frame of reference will be. The great part about this is that experience doesn’t cost anything. All it costs is your time, and if you’re willing to make that investment, your career will be the better for it in the long run. #3—Draw from the knowledge of others. This can take many different forms, from simply asking questions at work to engaging in a formal mentoring relationship. No matter how much knowledge you have, somebody has more, and if you can somehow assimilate that knowledge, the farther ahead you’ll be. Don’t restrict yourself to only people who work in your field, either. Everybody has something to offer, in one way or another. #4—Focus on what’s important. What’s all of this leading to? In other words, what’s truly important—to both you and also to companies who may want to employ your services? The answer is your skills, those things that you are capable of doing to help an employer become more profitable. The first three items in this list all lead to the building of skills. That’s the “end game,” and that’s what’s important. What have you done in these four areas, and what are you doing right now? Could more be done and improvements be made? The growth of your career could be at stake. |
