Be visible in the work place
Have you been in the same workplace for a while but no one notices your existence? Are you always flying below the radar? Do you ever think that being invisible could cost you your job? The problem isn’t that you are not working hard enough; it is just that your work and your name are not on the map in the office. You want to get noticed at work. But how? Here are some tips to make yourself visible in the workplace.
Speak
I still remember the speech class that I took in high school. It was like I needed the energy from the whole universe to move my lips. It is very common to feel nervous and awkward when speaking to a group. In school, the teacher will call on you to speak. In the workplace, if you don’t speak up, your chance is gone, as are your ideas and your contribution and most importantly the opportunity to make yourself visible to the team. So, next time when you have a chance to speak, SPEAK UP!
Ask
Ask more questions. Honestly, not all of your questions will be valid or valuable. Sometimes questions are silly and stupid. But think of the person who is answering, he/she may want to express his/her knowledge of the subject. Isn’t that a win-win for both of you? When you ask a question and the other person is willing to answer? By asking questions, you are not only showing that you are paying attention but more importantly, it shows that you care. When you show you care, that means you are taking your job seriously. Your boss would like to see you taking your job seriously.
Challenge
Everyone is lazy. You feel so comfy and satisfied every day working on the same things over and over again. I know a friend that works on the same things, in the same position, for over 10 years. The job is so easy to the point that he can use 2 hours of the day to finish it. That is not healthy for your career. Occasionally, some ad hoc tasks will arise, raise your hand and take them! Take that challenge. You may not know everything about how to do it, but the discovery process is fun, and I am sure you can learn something from it. And also, exposure to other areas and new people can also bring you new skills. And most importantly, your superior will notice when you offer to help.
Surpass
Do all projects as quickly as possible. All requestors want their requests done asap. When your superior or PMs ask you for a status update of their project, it feels tremendously good and satisfying when you can answer, “oh it’s already done.” Not only does it show how fast and effectively you can work. It also shows your superior that you are more than capable of handling the workload and you will be able to take on more responsibilities.
Support
I always like to praise and recognize my colleagues’ achievements to my superior. Everyone deserves recognition when he/she does something good. Making another person successful is also part of everyone’s job. And most importantly it builds up trust between colleagues. Every once a while, ask your colleagues to see what projects they are working on and offer help. Say this, “Hey, I know that you will be taking 2 weeks off next month, is there anything I can help with?” Honestly, I love to hear that when I am taking my vacation. It feels so good to have someone to watch your back, right?
Recognize
I love face-to-face conversations instead of texting or emailing. It builds up a positive interaction with the people that I work with — spending time every day talking to people about their projects and their lives. Here is a little trick — don’t talk about your kids, your pets or your stuff all the time. Spend time listening to your coworkers. This builds up trust and relationships. Also, try to get out of your team circle and get to know people that are not in your department or team. Make a goal for yourself to know someone in each department at your company. Whenever anyone around you needs help on anything, you can say, “oh, I know so and so in that department.” It may not exactly help, but you will be the one that provided the connection.
Communicate
Everyone is busy, so is your superior. Setting up a regular meeting with your superior is very important. In this meeting, you should communicate the issues and matters that you have had in the past month or so. Talking about these things shows you care about your career growth, your personal development, and your impact at work. Take these opportunities to ask for more work, tasks or projects — things that are more challenging, things that are not on your resume. Once your superior finds out that you are capable of doing more, your visibility rises.
Buy red shoes
10 years ago, I worked in a big corporate company that had hundreds of people walking in and out of the building every day. There was a Project Manager that I worked closely with daily on my floor. He wore red-colored shoes every single day, no matter whether they were sneakers, dress shoes or boots. Every pair of shoes he wore were red. Finally, I asked him why all his shoes were red. His response was really appealing. He said, “my name is ridiculously long, and no one can ever remember or pronounce it, I need to make myself more noticeable.” That’s when I realized that everyone on our floor called him — The Red Shoes PM.
I am not suggesting that you buy red shoes to make yourself noticeable but think of something that people can recognize you by.
Maybe something that you are good at that people will notice you for. And most importantly, if you are already good at doing what’s on your resume, then do something else. You should get out of your comfort zone and do more every day, then you will become more visible to your peers and your superior.
