How To Be Successful At A New Job
After you have gone through all the anguish and heartache of a job search and have found a great job, how do you make sure that you are successful? Finding the right job for you is part of that success equation. A job that is challenging and interesting with co-workers that you like and a boss that treats you well and who develops you is a great start. Your attitudes and behavior also play a significant role in whether this will be a forever job (or at least a place to be for a few years) as opposed to just one more short experience on an already lengthy resume. Do the following things and you can have a great work experience as well as develop the skills that will have a positive impact throughout your career.
Don’t be the know-it-all
What words are the kiss of death at many organizations? “We did it this way at my previous company.” Sure, you were hired because you have previous experience that is valued by your boss. You may even have been hired to turn around a situation that is harmful to the department or even the company’s viability. Just do not come in thinking you know everything. Every company and job is different. First, ask questions - many of them. Try to understand the history of how the company got into the situation. Get the pulse of the staff - how are they feeling about the situation? Maybe they have good suggestions that would be impactful. As Stephen Covey puts it in his Habit 5 of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Don’t wait until you know everything to contribute
It will take many weeks or months for you to understand your job and all of the processes involved with your work. Don’t let not knowing everything stop you from jumping in right away to provide help. Most managers will be pleased if you take the initiative to figure out a problem, even if you need to get some guidance. Make a positive first impression that you are a go-getter, one who wants to get things done. When you are further in your tenure with the company, be the one that will volunteer for new projects. You will get noticed for this.
Have a learning mindset. Believe that you can always improve
Bottom line: Never believe that you know everything and treat every day as an opportunity to learn something new. Make it a habit to read about your industry and the latest advances in your chosen occupation. Be active on LinkedIn and learn from industry experts and thought leaders. Network within and outside your organization to keep on top of the latest happenings. Keep up to date with your technical skills. Seek out opportunities to attend workshops, trainings, and conferences. The more you know, the better you can do your job. Also, the more you know, the better you can convince others that you are ready for a promotion.
Not every office slight is worth a reaction by you
When you work with others, there are bound to be misunderstandings or impolite behavior (think the cutting of nails in the next cubicle). In the workplace, most people are not out to get you. That would have to be a well thought out act. Instead, people are only worried about themselves and do things without any notion of its impact on you. So if someone is rude to you or is not cooperative, it is more about them than you. Successful people do not take every action as a personal affront that needs a heightened response. Instead, they evaluate the situation and decide, based on the severity and repetition of an issue, if, when and how to address it.
Keep your word
It is important to be known as a person that keeps his or her word. Your reputation, otherwise known as your personal brand, is important. If you want to be valued in an organization, it is not just what you know but also how you act. Acting with integrity and having follow-through is highly regarded in most organizations. If you are known as a person that does what s/he says, you will engender trust. This is a valuable commodity because people want to work with those they can trust.
Find a mentor
Some companies have a formal mentorship program. Most do not. Find someone within the organization that might help you “learn the ropes.” Your mentor should not be your boss. This person is someone that can provide advice and a perspective different than a boss. Often, a good mentor is someone not even within your department. Because they are not as close to some of the problems and situations that you may encounter, this person can have a different and needed perspective. A mentor can also help give you guidance in areas where you know you are not as strong, such as analytics or team building.
Help your teammates out when you can
You have probably worked with a person that saw you drowning in work and though s/he was not busy, would not either volunteer to help or refused to when asked. Don’t be that person. Lend a hand when you can. If you are on a team, then having the whole team successful means you are successful. Don’t expect anything in return, though. This is not a tit-for-tat situation. Of course, you hope that others will help you out when you need it, and likely that will be the case, but do not expect it. What you will do is enhance your reputation, build your network, and hopefully grow professionally.
Own your mistakes and learn from them
No one is perfect, and we all make mistakes from time to time. Hopefully, these mistakes only cost minimal time or money and organizationally you can recover from them. Own up to things that are your fault. Remember, the best personal brand is one of honesty and integrity. Make sure you always learn from your own mistakes as well as those of others. Learn why it happened and how can you avoid the same situation in the future.
Figure out the organizational politics
All companies have some sort of political structure - how the workplace deals with authority and power. In some businesses, there will be less of it (or it will just be less apparent and less likely to impact day-to-day operation), or it can be a constant presence that must be maneuvered through on a daily basis. Observe the political structure and especially where your boss fits in. Many companies have established groups (ex. the yes-people or the complainers). Figure out who is in what group. Try to stay as neutral as possible. The political winds can change as quickly as the departure of a CEO or merger of departments. You don’t want to find yourself on the outs.
Be your own career advocate
You have to manage your career. Do not delegate it out to others. That means that you have to advocate for what you need to grow and what a successful career looks like for you. Make sure you let others know of your successes-don’t assume they just know. Ask about opportunities. Make sure people in your organization know who you are.
As an HR professional, I have seen those that are most successful in their career follow these tenets. The funny thing is that none of these are hard. But it does mean that you have to have to practice situational awareness, hone your listening skills, and stick to your principles of doing right by others. See your career go in a direction you never thought imaginable by doing these things.
Shelley Piedmont is a job search coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. If you need career coaching, resume preparation, interview skills assessment or LinkedIn profile assistance, she can help. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.