How to get ahead in your new job!

How to get ahead in your new job!

The first year in a new job is both exciting and challenging and it may take a little while for you to settle in and start finding your feet. At the same time, exactly because everything is new, there is a great opportunity for learning.

Now while it’s unlikely you’ll be considered for a promotion within the first 12 months in a new role, especially if you’re part of a more experienced team. There are several things you can do in the meantime to make sure that you name is on the shortlist when promotion opportunities do come up in the future.

• Be reliable:
• Communicate:
• Engage
• Learn
• Help

Pitch up for work, on time, every day. This may seem like a given, and in reality it’s a minimum expectation from an employer, but too often employees are tardy about being on time, especially when commuting. It is easy to blame the traffic or the trains, but a person could work around that by leaving a little earlier. Certainly there may be times where a major accident causes such a backlog you may as well turnaround and go back home, but it should be the exception rather than the norm.

When companies look for potential candidates for a leadership role, they want someone who they feel they can rely on and who will set a good example to the team they’re managing. If you’re the person always on the job, always there, never late, that’s already something that’ll count in your favour to be considered.

Don’t wait for your boss to call to find out why you’re not at work. If there are delays getting to work, or unforeseen circumstances occur – such as a medical emergency with one of your children – let your employer know. It only takes a minute, and its common courtesy. While family may take priority, your company is still relying on you to do your job, and if you’re not there they need to know so that they can get someone in to cover for you. If it’s a genuine emergency, most employers will be understanding and supportive. By communicating you’re demonstrating that you’re aware of your responsibilities and don’t want to leave your employer in the lurch. This is something that they will value.

Similarly if there is an aspect of the job you’re struggling with, ask for help, it’s not a weakness to do so. Instead it can demonstrate your commitment to getting the job done right.

Get to know your colleagues in different departments. Introduce yourself and be conscious about building genuine relationships with the people that you work with. This will not only help you to settle in, but will also give other people the opportunity to get to know you.

Employers choose leaders that can work well with their colleagues and who can gain the respect of others. If you make a conscious effort to do this from the start of your new job, you may well be one of the people they consider for a promotion.

Be deliberate about getting to know new systems and procedures. Ask questions and be willing to share any knowledge you have from previous work experience.A willingness to learn and the ability to share knowledge effectively is a key attribute of a good leader and it starts long before a person steps into a leadership role.

If you don’t have a massive workload initially, offer to help out with work colleagues who are super busy. Even if it’s doing mundane tasks such as sorting or filing, or capturing data into a spreadsheet, it’ll certainly be a help. This has a threefold benefit. Firstly you’ll get to know more about the company and its workings, your colleagues will get to know you better, and it demonstrates to your employer that you’re a team player and willing to look out for others.

These five things don’t take a great deal of effort and don’t require any special skills. In fact they can be applied to almost any type of role. Leadership is about far more than a title behind a name or a corner office. And the sooner you embed these principles into the way you work, the greater the chances of promotion opportunities coming your way in the future.