Career Trailblazer

15 Great Ways to Get Noticed at Work!

Feeling invisible? People not stopping into your cube to chat? Not being asked to go to lunch with the team? Or invited to happy hours? Getting overlooked for promotions? Well, don’t worry, there’s hope!

Check out these 15 great ways to get noticed at work and who knows maybe even promoted?

1. Write a snappy bio. When you start a new job write a short snappy bio for your new boss to include in his introduction announcement about you. This is your chance to ‘elevator pitch’ your past accomplishments and special skills.
2. Be a great listener. By letting others speak and being a great listener you build trust, develop network connections and get first tibs on office politics.
3. Volunteer for corporate support community or charity activities. This is a great way to meet people at work outside of your department. Besides doing something good and giving, it is a potential way to end up in the company newsletter or corporate Press Releases. Good PR for doing charitable work and getting visibility.
4. Attend company workshops, seminars and conferences. Again, expand your network. You can meet people from other companies attending conferences, seminars and workshops. This can turn out to be valuable network connections and subject matter experts (SME) for you.
5. Join a committee and chair. Volunteer your expertise for a special project or committee or setup your own committee to address a particular problem.
6. Be prepare to be a SME at meetings. Don’t sit quiet at meetings. Find out the agenda ahead of time; understand the issues or goals of the meeting. Research and prepare information for it. Speak up and contribute valuable input during the meeting.
7. Ask for it. If you’re growing bored, get up and ask for something challenging to do. Check with your boss if there’s a project available to get more visibility. Is there a special project or tasks needed help on? Check with co-workers working on something you want more experience with or want to be part of. Ask if there’s anything you can do to help.
8. Write a trend report. Be a SME; take on the task of finding out information and solutions for company issues. Research trends and report on how they can help or impact the company. Distribute the report as an email newsletter or a page for the company Intranet.
9. Start an Intranet or become a Web Publisher. If your department or company doesn’t have an Intranet site, volunteer to start one. Become a web publisher or even better the web director for getting the site established and maintained. Start an Intranet Steering Committee to ensure quality and consistency of the content.
10. Start a company blog. This is a new trend I’m seeing in more and more companies. Starting a quality company information blog can be a great place for centralizing internal expertise, opinions and information. With some good sense rules of its usage it can be a valuable resource.
11. Dress as if. You may not have the cash to buy Armani or Chanel suits but you can still dress with good style and taste for a great image and project confidence.
12. Take coffee breaks and go out at lunch. Don’t sit at your desk having lunch and working. Ask an executive for coffee, be proactive and ask people to go to lunch. You may be surprised at who says yes, I asked my CEO to coffee, guess what we talked for over an hour! Network!!!!
13. Be a talent scout and recruiter. Find out what positions are opened or up-coming projects that will need special talent. Network and find people to fill those spots. Work with them once you get them referred and applied, provide them with your insight on how the company or department works and what experience or qualifications they should focus presenting. There may even be a bonus to this step; you may get a referral fee if your company has such a program.
14. Get a mentor. Ask an executive or colleague to mentor you. Understanding their experiences and gaining their advice will help you tremendously. If you need to strengthen a particular skill, find a person who has the reputation of being the best at this skill and ask them to be your mentor. Offer to buy coffee or lunch for their time.
15. Be a mentor. Nothing is more rewarding than sharing information and helping someone else achieve their goals. Being a mentor or coach not only helps others but positions you as an expert and a team player.

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