 Pretty much everything in the professional world—heck, in the world at large—comes down to value. People hold in high value those things and those people that are valuable.
The same holds true in your job. You hold a certain amount of value as an employee. Perhaps you’re reaching your potential, and your value is relatively high. Perhaps your value is high, but you’re not reaching your potential. On the other side of the spectrum, perhaps your value is lower than you would like (and it’s lower than your boss would like, as well). Regardless of your current situation, there are things that you can do to change it, i.e., make it better. Below are six ways to increase your value as an employee: #1—Do NOT feel entitled . . . to anything. Okay, let’s get this one out of the way. This has nothing to do with the Millennial Generation. This generation has not “cornered the market” on entitlement. Unfortunately, people of every age can fall prey to this professional malady. A culture of entitlement very rarely breeds innovation, and the ability to be innovative is key to increasing your value (see #4). #2—Work hard. You might have heard the phrase, “Work smarter, not harder.” While that sounds nice, it doesn’t actually get you anywhere. The phrase should be, “Work smarter and harder.” There is NO substitute for hard work, period. You must be willing to roll up your sleeves (sleeves optional) and do whatever is necessary to achieve the desired results (see #4 again). #3—Under-promise and over-deliver. You’ve probably heard this phrase before, too, but don’t think of it as “sandbagging.” It’s simply the practice of only promising what you know for sure that you can deliver. This makes you a person of your word, which makes you trustworthy and increases your value. And when you consistently meet your promises or over-deliver on them? That increases your value even more. #4—Focus on solutions and results. Value is tied directly to results. Employers want results, and they want employees who are intelligent enough and innovative enough to achieve those results, regardless of the obstacles involved. They don’t want excuses. They don’t want reasons why something didn’t work or a deadline wasn’t met or a goal wasn’t reached. Providing results (and of course, over-promising on those results) increases value. #5—Become an expert. You could become an expert about a piece of software or about a process. The important thing is to become the “go-to person” regarding this particular area. When somebody has a question about it, they should know to go to you because you almost always have the answer. That is valuable to a company. #6—View adversity as opportunity. This is a mindset, but it’s about more than just being positive in the face of adversity. Being positive by itself doesn’t do much to change the situation. However, those people who can look at a challenging situation, see the opportunities for growth, and then act on those opportunities are the ones who bring tremendous value to any organization. So—how much value do YOU bring as an employee? Last year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the United States and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service and quality based entirely upon ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact us today to find out more about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! Comments are closed.
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