Six ways to help you excel at work

Even if you’re in a job you love and everything is going super well, you need to be on your toes with your performance. You’re totally in charge here and there’s never room for complacency.

Here are our tips for ensuring you’re performing at the top of your game and excel at work.

1. Understand what your organisation/employer expects

Understand and embrace your company’s culture. This is more than paying lip service to vision and values. It means demonstrating that you’re a great fit through your actions and the way you talk and present yourself.

2. Be a team player

Team players are appreciated by organisations and noticed by employers. Being a team player adds value to your workplace (it helps with personal growth too). No-one likes working with a self-centred, self-obsessed colleague.

3. Have a professional development plan, and act on it

While your boss may help you develop a personal development plan, and certainly your human resources department could too, it’s up to you to act on it. Be proactive—your career is your career and no one else’s.

Don’t randomly select courses to take. Instead, make sure your plan incorporates the skills you need to get to the next level. Talk to your boss about your skills gaps and pinpoint how you’ll fill them. This could involve leadership training, for example, or advancing your information technology skills.

You can also talk to a recruitment company about your longer-term goals and get their expert insights into what you need. We’re happy to catch up for a coffee or tea and explore ideas. Contact us by email or call: 02 6199 5750. You can also register with us online.

4. Be proactive with solutions

If you’re facing a problem at work and need to discuss it with your boss, first think through at least one potential solution to present. This will demonstrate that you have your organisation’s best interests in mind and that you’re focused on problem solving not whinging.

5. Meet deadlines and other commitments

Don’t miss deadlines and ensure you meet other work commitments on a timely basis. If something pops up that prevents you from doing so, make sure you alert the relevant players in advance (as far as possible), providing a clear explanation on what has transpired and what the Plan B is.

6. Behave professionally

It goes unsaid that we should all behave professionally at work, but sometimes we need reminders on what this means.

• Be punctual.
• Present well.
• Be well mannered.
• Don’t be a moaner. Adopt a positive attitude.
• Don’t let your personal life interfere with work.
• Don’t do personal business at work.
• Don’t gossip.

Want to learn more?

You’ll find a wide range of other topical articles on our website. This includes how and why to use a recruiter (our services are free to all candidates):

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Looking for work? Use a recruiter.

Choosing an award-winning recruiter.

Looking for work? Why not use a recruiter.