How To Standout at Work

Doing a “fine” job won’t get you fired but it will not also bring you closer to that promotion you’ve been wanting. If you want a chance to advance in your company, it’s time for you to step up your game. Here are some helpful tips that you can apply in your day to day work.

Own your job

There are some employees that tend to work half-heartedly because they don’t like their current job or it’s not their “dream job”. Negative attitude will never bring you success. Try to find passion in the job that you have right now. Uncovering one or two things that you like about your work may keep you from being an unhappy and unproductive employee.

Always be eager to learn

While it is common for employees to lose their enthusiasm after a few years with a company, you can do things like learning something new to avoid burnouts. If there is an opportunity to go beyond your usual job description, take it. Go outside of your comfort zone and learn new things. Don’t be too afraid to commit mistakes as it is part of learning. Your willingness to learn can be seen as a demonstration of ambition. It won’t go unnoticed!

Go outside of your comfort zone and learn new things. Don’t be too afraid to commit mistakes as it is part of learning.

Be productive

Being productive and being busy are two different things: You can be busy without being productive and not all productive people are busy. Look around your office- busy people multitask and you can always hear them complain about how little time they have- while there are some who seem to be relaxed and laid back despite their massive overload. The key is to be productive. Learn to manage your time by setting up a checklist of the tasks that you’ll need to finish within the day. You can start on small and easy to finish workloads first and go to bigger projects later in the day. That way you’ll have ample time to concentrate and will not be bothered by menial stuff.

Another thing you can practice is allotting lesser time to do things. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion – this only means that the more time you have to complete a task, the more daunting and complex it becomes. For example, an easy task assigned to you that day was given a longer deadline. You’ll feel that you have a lot of time to do it so you’ll end up pushing it back. However, the anxiousness of not doing the work will slowly creep on you and you’ll end up stressing on it more. By giving the right amount of time to a task, you can finish a lot of work quicker, feel less tensed and spend less time just trying to just look busy.

Give a helping hand

If you see a colleague struggling with his work, try offering help. You can give a hand with researching or even just printing documents. Small things can be already a huge help for them. It’s important to show that you’re not just interested for your own benefit but also for the team. Good relationships with coworkers will be key to your success in the workplace, plus it’s nice to be part of a harmonious team.

Work harder and smarter than anyone

Without a doubt, working harder than anyone else is the ultimate way to your success. Some employees just stick within their job requirements and do not do anything more. Look at your colleagues, who still goes the extra mile for their work? Keep in mind that like all things, your job is never guaranteed forever. Sad but true, companies can easily look for new and qualified employees to replace you.  Don’t be like those employees who clocks out with unfinished work. If you’re working on a time sensitive project, keep working until it’s done. Take responsibility and meet the deadline. Show your boss that you are willing to do everything (even staying up late) just to finish important projects. 

Working harder than others is tiring and could be overwhelming so it’s best advised not to take all the tasks thrown at you. Don’t take more than what you can chew. Work on one big project and finish it thoroughly than failing doing multiple things.

Make sure to never miss an opportunity to make yourself  better in your chosen career. Always keep your career game up and climb the corporate ladder to success!