Journal of Office Workers
Archive for October 28, 2014
10 Ways Employees Can Be More Proactive At Work
Proactivity, as defined by Organizational Behavior, is behavior that is “anticipatory, change-oriented, and self-initiated behavior in situations, rather than just reacting.”
Related: 10 Habits To Energize Your Workday
When a person is proactive, they are acting in advance of a future event. Proactive employees typically don’t need to be asked to do something, and will usually require less detailed instructions.
Organizational Citizen Behavior
Proactive Behavior is applicable to either ones own role, or to ‘extra role’ responsibilities. Within ones own role, for example, a person may find a more efficient way to complete one or more of their responsibilities. Extra role responsibilities (i.e., those tasks outside of your stated job description) speak to an employee’s organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The proactive employee would, for example, initiate an offer of help to their co-workers before they are asked to assist by either their colleagues or their manager.
Ways To Become More Proactive At Work
The steps you can take to become more proactive at work apply to both your formal role and your part of the scope of the OCB within your team, your department, and your overall organization.
There are variations on the theme, however, the following behaviors are a common foundation within all of the theories:
Organize | Take Stock | Be Positive
Proactivity requires that you be organized. That includes your mindset, your space, and of course, your schedule! Organizing your time helps you approach tasks more efficiently and allows you to be more open to opportunities. This scheduling needs to include ‘downtime’ for those activities that keep your life in balance.
A positive attitude is right up there on any list. Approaching tasks from a positive perspective encourages you to look for the best in every situation. It helps you become the employee who is ‘ready, willing, and able,’ who can always be counted on. A team player who is reliable and available will become the go-to person, the problem solver.
Take stock of your current responsibilities:
- What are your tasks?
- What are the priorities?
- What can be consolidated, eliminated, shortened?
- What can you do to stay ahead of less urgent tasks?
- How do you solve problems?
- Can you prevent them by planning ahead and developing alternative processes in anticipation?
- What are the things you still need to know?
- Can you automate any of your tasks to make them more effective and less time consuming?
Communicate | Connect | Network
Find a role model by observing the leaders in your company. When possible, spend time with them to gain insight from their behaviors. Try out their techniques. Some will work for you, others will not. You’ll need to fine tune what you acquire so that you are able to build your own repertoire.
Let others know that you want to be more involved. You’ll need to create your own opportunities. Don’t wait to be asked - present your ideas to your management team.
Goals | Persistence | Excellence
Set goals for yourself. Write them down! List everything that you want to accomplish! Set Deadlines! Once you have the end in mind, you can achieve your desired outcome. A series of small goals leading up to the completion of a large goal keeps tasks from becoming insurmountable.
Stay the course on how you want to accomplish your goals. This may require overcoming your fears and rising above obstacles or setbacks. You’ll need to step outside of your comfort zone and become increasingly resilient.
Strive for excellence from start to finish. Commit yourself to always presenting your best work - your completed project with no loose ends. Be passionate about what you do. Give it your all. No matter what the role you are assigned, you will be more effective when you put your full energy and effort into it.
Celebrate! | Be Flexible!
Celebrate your successes, big and small, as you move along your path to becoming more proactive!
Be Flexible! You can’t plan for every outcome, so being able to react to the unexpected is an important trait for the proactive person. It is about the awareness of the existence of choices, regardless of the situation or the context.
Related Posts
5 Time Management Secrets To Being Stress-Free
How To Be More Organized At Work
5 Productivity-Sucking Snags To Avoid At Work
About the author
Anne Marie Cooley is a Management Services Professional with 25+ years of experience helping others succeed by finding their strengths! She is also a virtual career coach at CareerHMO.com. Visit her coaching page today!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CareerHMO coach. You can learn more about coach posts here.
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3 Signs Your Career Is At A Standstill
Sometimes you may find yourself bored at work - but is it really boredom or has your career come to a standstill? Either way, it is no way to progress in your career. Take action to change the situation!
Related: When A Good Job Turns Into A Bad One
There are several reasons why you may be feeling bored or stuck in your career. Some of the common reasons include:
1. You’ve reached the top or you haven’t seen a promotion in a long time.
In many careers, there is a particular path that is followed to move up. If you’ve progressed and reached the top, there may be no room to move further. Perhaps you started by facing certain challenges, but after they are overcome, you are finding yourself just doing the same old thing and it doesn’t excite you.
Or if you haven’t seen a promotion or a raise in two years, it’s a clear sign your career has stalled. In these situations or if you are just unhappy, it is time to move on to other opportunities. Employers want to see career progression, so the longer you wait, the more poorly it will reflect on your resume. Consider sticking to the same type of work, but change the setting, perhaps going from a large firm to a smaller one, or a corporate role to one in nonprofit.
2. Someone is in your way.
In some situations, it may be an individual that’s in your way of progress. Think for instance that you’re in the news reporting sector and your aim is to be the news anchor, which you’re next in line for. Well, the reality is that it’s likely not going to happen unless the existing news anchor gives up the role. Under such scenarios, you have to evaluate realistically how long the wait will be and if it’s really worth the wait, or if it makes sense to progress your career elsewhere.
3. This really isn’t for you.
Don’t worry, it happens. The work and career you dreamed about is not at all that you had expected. If you don’t have the heart for the work, no matter how hard you work and try, it’s just not going to feel right and you won’t have satisfaction in what you do. In such a situation, get a clear understanding on what you really want to do and make the switch. Yes, a career change may seem scary and intimidating, but focus on the transferable skills you have to offer to win employers over for a new career.
You are the one in control of your career, so take the time to really understand whether what you are doing is what you want out of life and if it is paving the way to growth and success.
Related Posts
8 Mistakes You’re Making At Work That Will Hurt Your Career
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Why Overconfidence Can Become A Career Obstacle
About the author
Don Goodman’s firm was rated as the #1 Resume Writing Service in 2013 & 2014. Don is a triple-certified, nationally recognized Expert Resume Writer, Career Management Coach and Job Search Strategist who has helped thousands of people secure their next job. Check out his Resume Writing Service. Get a Free Resume Evaluation or call him at 800.909.0109 for more information.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.
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Resumes For People Aged 50+
Many of the people hit by the long-term unemployment in the U.S. are over 50 years old. Is there a special resume format older job applicants should follow? Yes and no.
Related: 4 Secrets To Changing Careers In Your 40s
First, all recruiters and hiring managers like chronological resumes. Please do not try to gloss over your years of experience by writing a strictly functional resume, one that is a narrative and not a list of positions held. A strictly functional resume immediately makes recruiters and hiring managers feel you are hiding something.
Second, as I’ve said before in this blog, your resume is not your life history. You do not have to list every job back to high school graduation. Consider grouping some jobs by company name and position only under “Additional Experience.” Do not give the date you graduated college.
Third, employers are looking for skills but they are looking even harder for evidence that you know how to use those skills. When you focus your resume on achievements, you make recruiters and hiring managers think twice before moving on to someone younger but entirely unproven. Experience is a virtue.
Finally, as a fellow resume writer once put it, your resume is not about you, it’s about the employer and the employer’s needs. You want to position yourself as the solution the employer is looking for.
All of the points above apply to job hunters at any age.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
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Is Your Resume Summary Boring Employers?
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What To Do When You Hate Your Job
If you’re not happy with your current job or the people you work with, don’t put up with it!
Related: #1 Reason You Hate Work (And How You Can Fix It)
Begin to look for something else because you don’t deserve or need to be unhappy at the workplace. We spend so much of our life at work that being unhappy will only begin to start impacting on all aspects of your life.
Start to network (use networking websites such as LinkedIn to begin making contact), and if required prepare your resume so it’s ready to send out to hiring managers and recruitment agents.
It is always worth having an up-to-date resume on hand as you never know what opportunities will present themselves to you.
What To Do If You Hate Your Job
Be proactive about finding a new job. It is very easy to get down about your job so ensure that you set an action plan to begin the process of finding a new one. Creating an action plan will also give you more guidance as prepare your exit strategy. Here are some tips:
Network
The world has changed so much in last 10 years. With social networking sites such as LinkedIn (there are now literally hundreds of networking sites online) you actually have access to contact hiring managers or bosses directly where you would have previously never had the opportunity to do so.
Utilise social networking sites, but remember to maintain a professional image. This includes a professional picture, professional resume and an overall “professional image”.
Work For Yourself
Working for a boss is not everyone’s cup of tea (it’s not most people’s cup of tea!). If you believe you can provide a good or service that will make you money, then don’t be afraid to take that daunting step and start working for yourself. Be your own boss and set your own rules!
Exit Strategy
Preparing an exit strategy is a key element to beginning the process of leaving your job. As much as you would like to walk into your boss’s office right now and hand in your resignation paper, this may not be the wisest decision. Although you may hate your job, the last thing you need is to be unemployed and without an income.
Set yourself a timeframe to leave the job and begin to prepare your job seeking strategy. It may take longer to leave your job, but at least you are making money in your current job while you look for a new one.
If you hate your job, hate your boss or a mixture of both don’t put up with being unhappy. Begin planning on leaving the job and find a new job that will put that smile back on your face!
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Related Posts
9 Ways To Be Happy With A Job You Hate
6 Strategies For Surviving In A Job You Hate< I Hate My Work, Should I Change Jobs?
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