THE SEVEN MOST CRITICAL JOB MISTAKES

It’s time to take stock of your career and ensure you are doing what it takes to be successful – today, and in the future.   The following are seven workplace behaviors that employers say are critical when determining staff performance levels within their organization:   

1.       YOU THINK YOU’RE INVISIBLE
People need to know who you are and what you do.  Don’t isolate yourself and figure everyone will automatically know that you are doing a good job.  Networking and visibility are two very important elements in being successful in your career.  Join and take a leadership role in professional organizations and learn to speak well in front of groups.  Contribute and get noticed at department meetings and volunteer for some committees or teams.

2.       YOU HAVE BAD WORK HABITS
If you are chronically late or absent and stretch your lunch hours and breaks to the maximum, you will be considered unprofessional.  If you earn a reputation for inaccuracy, no follow through, or never helping out in a pinch, you will not  be given the best rating in your performance appraisals.

3.       YOU RESIST CHANGE
Today’s workplace is all about being flexible and adapting to change.  Flexibility is imperative when working in today’s labor market.  Are you known for saying “This will never work,” or “Why can’t we do it the way we’ve always done it?”.  If so, you will limit your chances of promotion.

4.       YOU DON’T CONSTANTLY UPGRADE YOUR SKILLS
Do you resist attending company training classes? Or you agree to attend only because it’s mandatory, but make every effort to resist learning new skills while you’re there?  In order to stay promotable and even employable, you must constantly accept any opportunity to upgrade your skills.  If your organization does not offer in-house training, seek out professional development resources in your area.

5.       YOU NEVER ASK FOR FEEDBACK
The time to find out how well you are doing is not limited to annual performance evaluations.  Take a self-assessment of your performance throughout the year and ask your supervisor if there is anything you could change to increase your performance levels.

6.       YOU DON’T SHOW INITIATIVE
This is when you just sit back and think to yourself, “This is my job, so bring the work to me and I will do it.”  You don’t constantly look around for ways to expand your job duties, which ultimately helps the entire organization prosper.  Initiative is often defined as finding ways to fill the white space in your workplace – the areas which are not designated as any one person’s responsibility.  Don’t always wait to be directed to do something.  According to experts, initiative is the characteristic most desired by managers and business owners.

7.       YOU DON’T LOOK THE PART
Part of people’s perceptions of our ability to do a job is derived from the way we speak, dress and our body language.  It is our ‘packaging’ and, unfortunately, people form impressions about us based strictly on that packaging.  Be sure that you are wearing the best example of the ‘team’ in your workplace.  It might be jeans and a shirt, but make it the cleanest, neatest jeans and shirt possible.