Most people aspire to get ahead at work. However, many may not know how to so they end up spending most of their lives running on the spot without ever really going anywhere. How do you get ahead in your job?
The easy answer is to make a point of knowing the details. We don’t mean being privy to information that doesn’t concern you, or snooping and gossiping. What we’re talking about is paying attention to things in your workplace that matter. Things that can pay dividends in terms of career success!
The Basics
Enjoy your job, your responsibilities, and your working environment. When you enjoy these, you’re more likely to be attuned to the smaller details. You’ll be interested in finding out things about your boss that will help you help them. Learn their habits. Know how they like to be kept updated – there’s no point sending them emails if they prefer hard copy memos (or vice versa), and what they like to be updated about. How do they take bad news – do you need to be careful how you tell them or do they just take it in their stride?
What is the company’s agenda? What is the corporate vision? What are the important projects, and the CEO’s pet projects? Company goals? Align your own goals to these. Be prepared to work on the projects regardless of your own thoughts and feelings about them.
Be Across Your Company Branding
What is your company’s brand? How is that brand marketed? How are its products sold? Who buys these products? How do customers view/feel about them? Armed with this information, you will then know how you can contribute more effectively to the company’s success.
Know The Finances
If possible, be aware of budget matters. Know how much has been allocated for important things like research and development, HR, marketing and so on, or at least have an idea. How much is allocated to the various company departments, particularly your own – ballpark figures are fine.
This is where you can get creative. If you know your department doesn’t necessarily have a big budget or a lot of resources, find ways to be resourceful. Being resourceful brings you to the attention of your superiors, and helps you move ahead in your job.
Take Ownership
Take charge of essential projects. However, first make sure you know how to do it successfully, including being able to deliver. Gradually work your way up to bigger, more important projects. Let your superiors know they can rely on you to get things done, and that they don’t have to worry about them. You’ll be given responsibility for more projects sent your way, and as you prove you can handle them, your responsibilities and your career will grow.
Be A Jack Of All Trades, And Master Of Most
Develop knowledge and skill sets that are valuable across your company. It will help make you the ‘expert’ on most things and ‘knowledgeable’ on the rest. You are the person that can be trusted to find a solution and fix a problem. Your skills and knowledge are such that you can converse knowledgably with experts from other departments whose collaboration you may need. Like the people in finance with whom you need to talk dollars and cents about the latest project you’ve been handed.
Do you know what makes your company, and workplace, tick? Your roles and where they fit into the whole? What your line manager’s role is? Company budgets, branding and products, customers and target markets? Etc. Make it your mission to be across all this type of detail. If you already are then you’re well on your way to getting ahead in the workplace.
If you’re not, and you’re not particularly interested in finding out either then you’re probably in the wrong job, and perhaps even the wrong industry. Perhaps the corporate environment isn’t for you and it’s time to find something a bit more aligned with your interests. You could try something community oriented, like a job in the fire services or other emergency services. There are all manner of career options in these industries such as paramedics, emergency medical technicians, ambulance drivers, fire officers, fire inspectors, fire investigators and more.
