
Six Ways to Excel at a New Job
By: Identity Team
Many job seekers are weary of the future job market, and rightfully so. Read or watch the news and you’ll find plenty of negative stories about the latest jobs outlook. The economy is teetering on a recession, the jobs have gone overseas, the economic meltdown continues, and so on.
With all that doom and gloom, it’s easy to get discouraged. But, I am not here to discuss those dreary statistics because you have officially overcome that obstacle. You’re finally done going cross-eyed from reading your resume 575 times, you’ve finished jetting from this interview to that interview because … you’ve landed the perfect job!
You should feel accomplished and proud. But, don’t get too content. Remember, you’re truly only halfway there. If you really want to make something of yourself at this new job, you’re going to have to stand out and not succumb to the dreadful another face in the crowd routine. As cliché as that may sound, many individuals find themselves there. They become complacent and satisfied with mediocrity.
Based on my experience, I want to give you some tips and advice on how you can step it up, stand out from other coworkers and as we say here at Identity, showcase the I can! I will! I did! mentality. While this advice is based on my experience working in PR and will definitely be helpful to those in our industry, it will also be beneficial if you’re in a different profession.
- Be a chameleon. – Learn commonalities among people around you. If you want to truly stand out, you must learn how to hang with the interns one day and dine with the CEO of a corporation the next.
- Put that ego aside and surround yourself with people smarter than you. – It’s easy to feel good when you’re the smartest one in the room, but never-ending learning is a must. Every great leader had a mentor. Find yours and learn everything you can from him/her.
- Take great notes. – I know this seems like a simple step, but you’d be surprised how many people try to remember everything without good notes. Our brains were not wired to remember everything. On average, we have a capacity to retain seven items for no more than 20 or 30 seconds at a time.
- Embrace the law of positivity. – Have you noticed that positive people attract other positive people? The same can be said for positive thoughts. If you tell yourself that you can and will do it, then the likelihood of accomplishing that will go up. If you constantly allow yourself to have negative thoughts, you will not be living up to your full potential.
- Take risks. – I’m not talking about jumping out of a plane skydiving type of risk. What I’m talking about is to go out on a limb. For me, working at a PR firm, it would be to pitch a unique idea that would garner some great media attention or speak my opinion more often.
The most important of them all…
- Work hard – This may be the most simplistic of all the tips, but it’s the most advantageous to your career. You have to understand that working hard WILL pay off. Put in those extra hours, go beyond the call of duty and give 120 percent. This piece of advice is especially important if you’re starting at the bottom and want to work your way up to management.