Most of us know that striving to do our job better every day, is a good attitude to take as an ambitious young professional. However, this might not always be easy to put in practice since it is easy to fall back on the daily work routine. This is where you become caught up in the established and current way of doing things, hindering you from looking beyond the status quo. With the following tips I want to help you in overcoming this and to lift yourself up in the work environment. Follow through!

Fake it until you make it
The fact that you are not where you want to be yet, does not mean that you will never get there. You can work towards it and in the meantime you pretend you already attained what you desire. While you fake it, you imagine how it is feels to already have reached that point and try to learn along the way of realising it. Moreover, as you pretend you already are at that state people will really believe as if it is already true. This boost your confidence to achieve the goal and gradually take you closer to it.

See yourself as both external and internal consultant
By focusing on delivering value to external clients, we can easily overlook the fact that our colleagues are our (internal) clients as well! Acting like a consultant, I help my colleagues with the input they need from me by helping them to assess the problem and provide them with advice from my specialisation so as to solve the issue at hand. So they key really lies in effectively working together with not only external but also internal clients to add value to the company.

Self-representation
Always have a short anecdotal story of yourself ready to tell your new clients, business partners and colleagues. By this I do not mean the old-fashioned elevator pitch in which you try to sell yourself by summing up your best strengths. Instead, combine warmth and humor to tell people how you can make their lives better by delivering value. The best to do this is by using an example. As an online marketing consultant, one of the examples I use to kick off my story is: ‘You know the advertisements that you come across when you are searching something in the Google search engine? I help you to see only those ads that matches with what you are searching for so that it facilitates your decision-making process and help you find a solution for the problem at hand.

Create your unique work approach
Develop your own unique way of getting things done. That way you leave a lasting impression on others. I usually do this by providing additional convenience or value which others initially did not expect from me and what goes beyond my daily responsibilities. As an example, for the monthly client reporting I provide an extensive analysis with both the results and advice that go beyond what was requested.

Be a queen in listening
In the workplace talking like a pro is indisputably advantageous but you should also not overlook the impact of listening to people’s verbal reactions to adjust your talk in real-time. Non-verbal communication of your conversational partner is equally, if not more so, important. Be completely involved in ‘listening’ to people’s facial expressions, attitude and all other non-verbal signals. Proactively trigger them to engage with you by asking questions along the way and listen to their input. This latter will also enable you to create buy-in of people as you so show your genuine interest by asking them questions.

Be resourceful
Make sure that you have developed a set of skills and abilities that you can always draw on in any situation within your job. Every time you encounter a problem, the trick is to look at all the possible ways you can solve it with your skill set. To nurture this skill set, try to keep yourself updated with the newest trends, applications and technologies in your field by reading respective magazines, papers, and blogs.

Try to be ahead of the game
It is understandable that many of us wait for assignments from the boss to come since then you can work towards solving a specific request. However, it is even better when you are able to anticipate your manager’s problems so that you could proactively offer your help and grasp new valuable opportunities. The key is to think one step ahead of everyone else. You can do this by paying attention to people & problems, and sensing patterns, challenges & potential bottlenecks.

Do you have any tips to stand out at work day in, day out? I would love to know about them.

Until next time!

Love always,

Mee-Ling