First 90 days, workplace hacks!
When I got a call from XIME – Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Kochi, on addressing students who have got placed in reputed organisations and some of them joining for internships, what could be the best workplace hacks in for them, especially the first 90 days! From my experience of working with 400+ organisations in hiring and on-boarding some 10,000 people in last ten years, I gathered some ideas, observations and insights of what make some successful irrespective of talent, skill or exposure. These are some!
Your manager
Make your boss a hero
Make them feel like a hero
Teach him digital hacks – do reverse mentoring
Help him
Many elderly people feel left out of by youngsters
When they speak listen carefully, take notes if possible
Quickly send a recap of the meeting if it is important
Connect him to some contacts of yours – give him disclaimer of who they are.
Ask him advice / opinion
Don’t ask him now what to do – even he doesn’t know
How is your manager’s success measured ? Always ask this question. And help contribute towards that.
Your colleagues
Understand how their success is measured
Understand who wastes your time
Who are the politicians much in advance
Company history
Understand history of the company – it will be useful sometimes, and it would make you feel like you have been there for long.
This is not to judge the company, but to understand the context.
Big picture of your company
Understand the big picture, even if your job is entry level
How your job helps your company to make money
Track your work / time spent on each task and do self appraisal
Your work
Projectise your work
Slice it into projects
Event – content – meeting – call – delivery of a project
Make it achievable and show it
How to show your work
Visualise your work with data
Quantify it
Talk numbers
Analyse numbers – give good news more often
If you know excel – you are excellent!
Showing up
Come ten minutes early to office
Have a quick chat with people
Dress professionally
Groom well
Conversations
Don’t give so much personal information to colleagues
Don’t discuss politics, religion and sensitive topics
Try movies, sports or general affairs – mobile apps etc
Social media
Social media
Share news about company
Tell people work is awesome
Employers do a sneak peek of your social media
LinkedIn Facebook twitter blog etc
Mobile phone
Restrict it to intervals
Don’t be very frequent in Whatsapp messaging of even in company groups
Don’t always make them feel you are glued on to your mobile
Learning
Tell them you are taking a course during evening hours on a critical skill using udemy or any online learning platform like Coursera – create a sense of anticipation Tell them we are always on a work in progress mode – never be stagnant New tools Surprise them with new tools to make work easier – slack or some collaboration tools Content
If you can write content, help your company create good social media or blog content or videos. You will be a hero instantly.
Be humble
When you do lot of stuff, others will be jealous of you. Be humble and offer help.
Patience
For any good effort to gain traction, it will take time, so be patient. Persistence always pays off.
Curiosity
This is the fuel for learning, show that, be enthusiastic.
Use your young energy to your advantage – as a youngster, you are naturally attractive.
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