The No B.S. Way to be a Great Employee
We’re all looking for additional ways to be the absolute best employee and to continue up the career ladder.
Being a good employee isn’t something that can be taught at school and is certainly something that is difficult to relay on a resume.
Being a good employee is essential to your career’s success.
How your manager and your colleagues view you and your work and your ability to work with other’s can make or break your career trajectory.
Being that your first year’s in a new job can be crucial to future success and opportunities, you will want to make sure that you take full advantage of the tips on being the absolute best employee you can be.
Many of these skills are so called soft skills.
That is, skills that are more interpersonal and happen between people.
You will want to brush up on these skills and look to enhance your communication skills.
Surviving and getting promoted in corporate America takes more than just luck.
You will need to utilize both soft and hard skills you’ve learnt over the years to better assist you in your career goals.
Don’t Be Late
One of the absolute worst ways to get noticed, is for being noticed for being late.
Being habitually late will earn you a reputation as someone who is simply unreliable, and you will be overlooked for promotions and additional responsibilities.
Being late can include both in the time you arrive to work and in when you complete any projects or tasks assigned to you.
When it comes to running late to work, so long as it is not habitual, it is best to give your direct manager a heads-up.
Whether via a text message or an email, a simple apology and estimated time of arrival should suffice.
As an example:
“Hey, apologies but I am running a little late this morning.
I should be in the office around/by XX:XX AM and should be able to stay a little late today to complete everything on my list.”
However, if you are running late, do not bring in that morning cup of coffee from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts with you.
If you are late to work, then you are too late to stop and grab coffee.
It is a poor look and shows a lack of awareness when walking into the office with the coffee in hand.
Be Early
The single easiest way to get noticed at work is to be early.
It’s really that simple.
You should strive to be fifteen minutes early to work every day and take the additional time to compose yourself, check-in on emails, and make your morning joe.
Being early to work is almost always noticed by upper management, as they are typically in the office early as well.
In addition, by being early, you give yourself some down time to unwind from the commute and to begin your day on a more relaxed note as most people won’t be in yet.
Lastly, you should place an emphasis on being early with your work.
Turning in projects and tasks days in-advance will easily be noticed and allow for you to utilize the additional time on new, more advanced projects.
Always Volunteer
Being a good employee means going above-and-beyond.
Your manager is typically very busy and your ability to volunteer and assist them will be duly noted.
You’ll want to be careful to not overextend yourself or to not sign up for something you’re unsure of, but you should always try to be a helping hand wherever possible.
Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Too often, we wait for problems to arise before tackling and resolving them.
You will need to re-train yourself to look for problems that may arise and fix them before they do.
A lot of this is more investigative, but you should always be looking for ways to make things work better and more smoothly.
By being proactive, you give yourself the opportunity to uncover and resolve gaps within the business.
Resolving these areas before they become bigger problems will be noticed by everyone around you.
Never Stop Learning
The best employees aren’t the ones who know everything, they are the ones who go out and learn everything they can.
No-one can know or understand everything but having the drive to continue learning and bettering yourself will pay dividends later on.
Don’t Be Stubborn
Things change.
Things are always changing.
That is even more true in the corporate world.
You have to have a mindset that is adaptable and willing to roll with the turn of events.
Though something may not be on your job description, you should be flexible and accommodating and complete any tasks handed to you.
Be A Problem Solver
Managers are looking for solutions.
To be a stand-out employee, you should always be looking for the best, most efficient way to solve a problem.
Whether this is a personal problem or one affecting the company at large, don’t be afraid to bring up to your manager a solution that you’ve been tinkering with.
Get Shit Done
At the end of the day, you need to get shit done.
To be the best employee, you will want to not only get everything of yours completed, but also want to help with additional tasks and projects.
Making yourself invaluable and knowing that recognition will come in due time is critical to future success.
