Visit any bookstore, and you will find several books on this matter. However, I feel most advice is targeted at mid-career professionals, and not so much the beginner. And the advice in this post will be particularly beneficial for beginners.What follows is from personal experience and home grown wisdom, but I assure you, these have worked for me. If you like what you read, I recommend you print this list and post it on your cubicle wall. You don’t have to keep working on these every minute, but if you get that feeling of your career hitting a brick wall, this list might give you some ideas.1. Don’t hate your job
This will influence your career more than the following 9 tips combined, so pay attention. We end up in our jobs for various reasons. Maybe, you needed the job to support your family, or you dropped out of college and had to survive. Even if your job is not in line with your aspirations, even if you have to work nights and weekends and cant find time to party, even if you did not get the promotion or raise you deserved, do not hate your job. You don’t have to start loving it, but I want you to see how you can use it to your advantage. For example, how can your current experience help you with your future plans? Can you make some connections that will be useful in the future? Get to actively know everyone in your team and beyond. Can you learn something from your coworkers? Does your employer have policies that reimburse you for continuing education?
Even if you absolutely hate your job, do not let this affect your attitude. Be a professional. An opportunity that interests you might come up, and you don’t want your boss to disregard you because you were not professional. And, hating your job is no excuse for poor performance. You are only deluding yourself by thinking so, and the sooner you snap out of it, the better. If you really feel stifled in your job, just get a different one.
2. Look at the big picture
How does your company make money? Does it sell products or services? What does the market look like and who are your major clients? Is this an emerging market or an existing one? Is the market on the rise or is it declining? Understand how new developments can impact your organization. For example, if you are working for a company that makes DVDs, you should know what HD-DVD and BLURAY are, how they might affect the DVD market.
Find out who owns your company and their track record. If they have started businesses before and failed, that might be a red flag. It does not mean they will fail this time as well, but you would want to pay close attention to where your company is headed. Doing this homework also gives a better feel of how you fit into the overall scheme of things. You can decide whether you want to continue in this field or switch careers. It also prepares you for nasty surprises like losing a client or your company being sold or taken over. You won’t know the exact events beforehand, but you will be much more open to these possibilities.
3. Look at your organization
Understand how your organization is structured. What are its different lines of business? Is there a department that does the kind of work you want to do? Find out how you can transition to that department.
Find out the number of layers between you and the CEO. If this number is greater than 7, this typically indicates bureaucracy. In other words, your bosses pay a lot of attention to their designation. And how many employees report to a typical manager? If it is more than 10, your organization might have a flat structure. Feel free to talk to other experienced employees or even your manager on how your organization “works”.
4. Annual performance review: Annual means year-long not once a year.
Most of us, me included, fall into the trap of collecting performance data when it is time to fill out evaluation forms. Like I said, almost all of us do this, so the ineptitude of the entire population negates any significant adverse effect to you. But, look at the opportunity you have; if you pay attention to it all year-long, and constantly work towards exceeding them, you are automatically a top-performer. And you won’t have to get into messy arguments about missing data or incorrect grades.
Of course, I assume you know what you will be graded on. If you don’t, ask to see a list of criteria on which your performance will be evaluated. Understand how these metrics translate to the actual job you are doing, and if you have any concerns, bring them up right away. Many organizations have a standard appraisal form for a particular role. However, the job functions of this role might vary across departments or projects. If you think the evaluation criteria are not relevant to what you are doing, then discuss this with your manager.
5. You be your judge
Trust me, the temptation to be part of the office crowd, the need to feel accepted, can be overpowering. It is alright to gel with your coworkers and be friendly with them. However, don’t let their opinion of you dictate your actions. For example, if you are in a meeting and you did not understand what was just said, then ask. Don’t feel that your coworkers will take you for an idiot. It all ties back to your annual review. If you think you need to know something that will affect your performance, and consequently your raise, then find it out regardless of what it takes. Don’t lose out on opportunities trying to please your coworkers.
In some cases, however, if pleasing a coworker by letting go an opportunity might help in the long run, do it. Again, don’t worry that others will brand you political. I am not asking you to be manipulative, but if it is a fair give-n-take, go for it.
6. You be your boss' judge
Most importantly, don’t judge your boss by what your coworkers' think of him or her. Figuring out your boss is a delicate matter, and you alone should do it. Bosses can be smart, stupid, smartly stupid or stupidly smart. Get a feel for what your coworkers think about your boss, but form your own impression of him or her based on your interactions. So long as your boss does not breathe down your neck everyday and gives you a fair performance evaluation, you should have no problems.
If some of your boss' decisions don’t make sense, try and understand the underlying motive. Is your boss trying to prove something to his superiors? Are these decisions linked to your boss' performance goals? Figure out these links and help him or her when it matters. You will win yourself a friend and can count on the favor being returned. And again, don’t care about what your coworkers have to say. They are not the ones giving you a promotion or raise.
7. Manage your time
I cannot overemphasize the importance of time management. If you are working a 9-6 job that does end at 6, you can skip this tip. However, if you are part of the majority that works late into the night and usually over weekends, then start by accepting that it is your fault and your fault alone. Yes, give it a moment to sink in.
Before I even talk about workload, let me draw your attention to some thing else that keeps you late at work. How much time do you spend on tea breaks, checking email and other personal websites, water-cooler conversations with coworkers, on the phone with a friend, etc? Do you deduct this time when you say you are working 12 hours?
Even if you are genuinely over-burdened, you are responsible for not bringing that up with your manager. If you already know the work assigned will need you to work late, let your manager know. You don’t have to refuse, but use the opportunity to showcase your commitment and loyalty to the organization. Even if you don’t have a choice of working late, don’t crib about it. No manager likes to have an employee that is uncooperative.
8. Negotiate, tactfully.
Inevitably, you will end up in situations where you disagree with what your boss or coworkers think or vice-versa. If not handled correctly, such situations can rapidly deteriorate into permanent hostilities. Even if such hostilities won’t cause you any harm, you should still avoid them. One of the hallmarks of success at the workplaces is your ability to influence people around you, and negotiation is the most potent weapon to have in your armory. Disagreements, by their nature, are win-lose situations: if one party wins, the other loses. Negotiation is a technique to turn disagreements into win-wins.
When you have a disagreement, do not immediately discard the demands and concerns of the other person. Instead, look at the situation from their point of view and understand their motivation. This will give you a better feel for the concenrs and insecurities of the other party. You can then use this knowledge to reach an amicable settlement without necessarily compromising on your position. As an example, let's say your manager wants you to work on a weekend, but you don’t want to. Instead of refusing point blank, take a moment to understand why you are being asked to work on a weekend? Is it because the manager wants to make sure your team meets a deadline? If so, can you think of an alternative to meet the deadline without working on the weekend? Are you okay with putting in a few extra hours the following week to cover up?
The key is to view disagreements as opportunities, and not as unpleasant problems. Learn to smooth talk your way into getting what you want. Try not to compromise your position as much as you can, but if you need to make some concessions, do it. It’s better to take a few losses now than to have a relationship permanently scarred. Not only might you have to work with this other person in the future, he or she might perpetuate negative impressions about you.
9. Build an image
You are a consistent top-performer and your team members just adore you. But, what about the people that don’t interact with you? What impression are they forming about you by watching you about the office? What’s your boss’ perception? This might sound shallow, but you do really need to maintain an image - an image of confidence and professionalism.
Work on your English. Expand your vocabulary so you are not repeating the same sentence structure and buzz words in every meeting. Don’t show off your language skills all the time; you will only disgust your coworkers. Instead, give a glimpse of it every now and then. Learn to write crisp and clear emails that are to the point.
Dress well. Take tips from your close friends on what suits you and what don’t. Have a neat hairdo. Go for an exotic haircut, if you want, but make sure it is well maintained. Shave everyday, or at least every other day, and if you have a beard and moustache, make sure they are neatly trimmed. Look at photos of yourself and see what you can do to make your appearance more pleasing? Do you wear glasses that are straight out of a 70s movie? What about your shoes? Are they polished? You dont have to dress up like a celebrity, but you should look smart and sharp.
I cant speak much for women, but I have two pieces of advice. One, look at how other women at your work dress, and try to fit in. For example, if your coworkers are into jeans and tops, or western-style formals, don’t turn up everyday in salwar suits. You will stick out like a sore thumb. If you are not comfortable with contemporary fashion, go for chic ethnic dresses. Number two, never repeat your dresses in the same week, and never ever wear the same dress on consecutive days – even if you’ve washed them. This is true for the guys too.
10. Learn from failures
It’s okay to make mistakes, but it’s important you learn from them. Don’t always stick to the tried and tested. Instead, try out new ideas. Fear of failure is the most common factor that inhibits growth. Conquer it. Once you have failed and bounced back, you wont dread it anymore. In fact, it adds to your confidence, and you will enjoy living on the edge.
If you don’t believe me, just look at sports. Even the greatest athletes are not perfect. They have all lost games in their career. They have weaknesses that are exploited from time to time. But most importantly, they learn from their losses. And that what makes them great.
There are many other things you can do to get ahead, but if you must start somewhere, this is a pretty good place. Do leave a comment to let me know what you think.
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