Some people seem to be born for the spotlight with attention following them around regardless of what company they work for. For others however, it seems like no matter how hard they work, they remain in the shadows, completely invisible to upper management. And as you are likely aware, invisible people rarely get promoted.
Unfortunately, it does not matter how hard you work, if said efforts are going unnoticed in the eyes of the people that matter. It’s therefore essential to both raise your profile and to get your name out there. Here are ten tips that should help you to do just that.
Dress Sharp
Although, fancy clothes alone is going to do very little for you, people rarely notice the guy that looks like a mess all the time. Many people that work in a casual work environment seem to get it into their heads that this rule doesn’t apply to them but that is simply not the case. Regardless of what the dress code is, it’s important to look your best. You should smell good and your clothes should be ironed.
Speak Up in Meetings
Meetings are an excellent time to get noticed. If you have difficulty speaking up, it’s important that you try to get past it. You don’t need to be an extrovert, you simply need to make contributions even if they are small to begin with. Many people think that provided they don’t say anything, they can’t say anything wrong but this is a terrible attitude to have. When you keep silent during meetings, you can easily come across as being clueless about the topic being discussed, or worse, like you don’t care enough to contribute
Volunteer for High Profile Projects
You’re hand should be the first one that goes up when an important project comes up. It’s important to be aware that those that get noticed aren’t always the hardest workers. Some projects are simply more high profile than others and getting involved in such projects is one of the easiest and fastest ways of making your presence known in a company.
Pay Attention to Your Body Language
If you want to get noticed by those that matter, you need to keep an eye on the signals that you are giving out about yourself. Do you walk with confidence? Are you assertive? Unfortunately, if you walk around the office with your shoulders slumped and you have a habit of avoiding eye contact with people, you are giving out very poor signals. While you might think that nobody is noticing, subconsciously they are.
Don’t Keep Your Ideas to Yourself
When you have a good idea about something, you should share it. If somebody else is working on something, don’t be afraid to offer advice. Provided you do so with tact and without acting superior, most people will respond to your help positively. And while such ideas may not lead to you getting any immediate credit, over time you will build a reputation as somebody that is both helpful and on the ball.
Network More
Most people are aware of the importance of networking when it comes to landing a new job, many people fail to realize however that the same thing applies to getting noticed in a company. You should aim to know people throughout the building, not just those in your department and certainly not just those to your immediate left and right. Simply being a more social person can help you to make more contacts in your own department but when it comes to people in other departments, you need to be more proactive. Join social groups, get involved in team sports, volunteer for hosting events.
Contribute Wherever Possible
Some people like to talk about the importance of looking busy but when it comes to getting noticed, it’s contributions that matter, not how busy you look. When you know the agenda of a meeting, you should research the topic before hand and ask sensible questions. When you’re co workers are discussing something, give your opinion. When your boss says something, don’t be afraid to disagree. You need to make your presence known.
Know About Your Company and It’s Industry
Regardless of whether or not such knowledge is required for you to do your job, you should know all about the industry in which your company operates. You should be aware of any major innovations and you should know how it has been affected by the recession. You should understand where your company fit’s into that industry and who it’s major competitors are.
Too many people assume that all they need to know about is how to do their job. While such knowledge might be all that’s required to perform your daily tasks, getting noticed requires that you take an interest in the company as a whole.
Take Credit for What You Do
When you do something right, make sure that you take credit for it. Don’t ever assume that anybody else is going to throw credit your way. If you contribute something to a project, make sure that your name is written on that contribution. The same applies to every report that you write. Many people make the mistake of thinking that everyone knows who did what but this is actually rarely the case. The further up a report goes, the less likely it is that anybody is going to have a clue who wrote it unless there is, literally, a name attached.
Be a Team Player
Finally, don’t confuse trying to get noticed with acting like a lone wolf. Being a team player is an incredibly attractive characteristic and you should do your best to demonstrate said characteristic whenever possible. When you are taking on a project, don’t be afraid to get other people involved. Doing so not only increases your profile, it also demonstrates that you care about the company and not just yourself.
The author of this post, Sebastian, is a career counsellor who helps provide fundraising jobs through his website. His posts have been immensely beneficial to many job seekers worldwide.