Establish a professional image at workplace

Today, workplaces are high on demands and heavy on stress because all employees are expected to deliver; and if one does not, the likelihood of being shown the door is high. Therefore,  adjusting to such a work environment is a task that is easier said than done, particularly for person who has joined recently or one who is a greenhorn. But it is not totally difficult. 

Some tips and points to remember that facilitate the establishment of a professional image at your workplace are:

• Keep your wits about: No two workplaces are alike. Customs and traditions that make work culture vary from one place to the other; even ethics differ and show marked variations of standards. Therefore, it is both difficult and unnecessary to take a broad view of business cultures. You may have learnt several work philosophies and models, but being able to put them into operation is another matter. The best method is to watch your coworkers and settle down first rather than let go yourself with full steam from day one.
• Don’t be in a hurry: You should remember that you are a greenhorn and as a tenderfoot, you have to establish yourself and prove your worth before others start admiring you. Getting spotted and proving your true value is indeed very difficult; hence it is always desirable to take deliberate and calculated paces rather than big strides. Never ever attempt to hasten whatever you may be required to do. It is recommended that one should take his or her own time to be au fait with what you are required to do. It is only then that you should think of harnessing your ideas. The crux of the matter is that you should be meticulously thorough, thoroughly assiduous and assiduously attentive.
• Your immediate boss is important: You should be well aware of the hierarchy of you new place of work. It is all the more important to know the likes and dislikes of the person above you. If you enjoy an affable equation with your boss, you will be able to give a free rein to your ingenuity and vision; the result will be that you will start getting pleasure in whatever you do. Your boss may suffer from some arrogance and condescension; hence it will take time for you to be able to establish such a relationship. The important point is not to forget the difference between professional and personal associations.
• Be familiar with your duties: You should make full efforts to get to know what you are required to do. This implies understanding your position, functions and duties; in short, your job conditions and obligations. As you gradually move ahead, you will realize that there are disparities between the role that you were initially explained and what you are actually required to perform. Under such circumstances, you should not get unnecessarily perturbed but resolve to work cheerfully. In case of any apprehensions, sitting and discussing across the table will help. The point that should never be lost sight of is that tasks that you may not be able to carry out should be graciously but forcefully declined.
• Know how you matter: You should routinely endeavour to come to terms with the degree of influence you can exercise and the amount of weight you can throw around. There is no harm in seeking a word of advice from your immediate superior and be aware of the level of faith bestowed upon you. Being dynamic and taking initiative is good for your career and will be appreciated, but the person one-up should be kept in your loop. If you do not do so or if you exceed the bounds of dominance, you could land in severe dilemma.
• Take work pressures in stride: You may adopt any method to do your work but whether or not it is correct will largely be contingent on if you are successful or not. Corporate canons recognize end results more than the endeavour that goes in attaining them. Bosses and supervisors have a tendency to press-gang subordinates to complete assigned jobs in time and meet stipulated deadlines. Should you land in such a situation, make it a point to express candidly any reservation that you may have with regard to the cut-off date or time being imposed. In addition, you should not shy away from asking for the necessary wherewithal, including finances that are inescapable for completing the assignment.        
• Be flexible & accept criticism: Rigidity of mind will lead you nowhere.  You have to be willing to accept truth, you have to be willing to work hard. You have to be motivated to go to practice with an open mind. You have to be willing to be criticized. Having an open mind implies being open to debate and argument. Your objective should be not only to put across what you feel about things but also to comprehend what others think. The good point of having an open mind is that it will leave a chance for other people to drop a valuable idea in it. Remember that a wise person changes his mind and a person who is reckless or imprudent, never does so. The crux of the subject is to also be open to deliberations and negotiations. 

You should not forget that all jobs call for hard work, fitting well in a team and being productive. Your professional disposition should be objective and unbiased. There should be no place for your personal emotions to come into play. when you are able to do that, you will be hailed as a professional.

Motivate people at your workplace

There is something known as the ‘advancement theory’; it is founded on surveys undertaken amongst sentient employees who possess the capability to offer indescribable but valuable options for resolution of issues. They are the lot who invariably exert day in and day out, sometimes all by themselves to get to the bottom of organizational problems and cracking them. As a byproduct of their efforts, the clients also stand to benefit. The issue thus is, “As a supervisor or director, how can I egg on top players in the centre of continuing and intricate assignments?” The result of surveys conducted conclude that if I were to boost your resourcefulness, productivity and job contentment, I should be shoring up your growth on every possible occasion.

A common example will clarify the issue. An infant who mutters mama or papa invariably receives encouragement. No parent waits to rejoice till the moment his or her child speaks fluently. The maiden expression by itself calls for celebration and is commemorated; likewise, any good step forward by any worker also calls for similar action.

At any workplace, big or small, men and women want to witness the greatness of the feeling that they are progressing. Petite beatings have the capacity to lower self-confidence and spirits and resultantly motivation levels. Therefore, all hold ups should be viewed as an opportunity to modify, rectify and improve matters rather than view them as disaster. In other words, there is this inescapable requirement to bolster the vital belief that we are on the correct path.

There is no denying the fact that advancement and development singularly result in unsurpassed excellence in work, including meeting deadlines. If that be so, how do managers and executives conduct themselves to optimize their output as also of their subordinates? There is also no denying the fact that impediments and pessimistic dispositions are prime reasons for all breakdowns and perilous outcomes. So, if you can do away with them in any workplace environment, people will reach the zenith of their performance. But the most important point of the matter is that such liberating actions should be launched judiciously and without they ever coming to know about them.

It is a known reality that absence of requisite wherewithal or presence of inappropriate means and paucity of time impede growth. But an atmosphere san correct and precise apparatus renders any assignment hundred times more complex and complicated. And if there is no supporting gear or a qualified person to address problems, work will perpetually come to a standstill. The aspect of offering encouragement apart, all supervisors and directors should be disposed to a display of some sort of decentralization and delegation. This will facilitate every worker to realize individual potential and role; and most importantly take responsibility for the same. If such an atmosphere at the workplace persists, all employees will be willing workers and their sense of enthusiasm go sky-high; needless to state they will never ever want to leave the organization.

It is essential that explicit and unambiguous objectives are identified for accomplishment. Objectives extend into both short and long terms. However, the important aspect is that both are significant as far as individual and organizational prosperity are concerned because it is daily, weekly and monthly aims eventually contribute to the attainment of eventual targets. It is therefore, not without reason that organizations insist on collating periodic steps forward so that employees at all levels derive feelings of job contentment whenever they execute assignments as per plans. In addition, they also become conscious of the fact that they are on the correct path and close to attainment of larger objects and end result.

The question that now comes up is how can you extract the maximum out of those working with you or for that matter, advance ahead in your own sphere of activity? You should invariably endeavor to identify short term goals for yourself. Besides this, you also need to keep an eye on and be cognizant of their accomplishment. It is essential that you work hard to clear your workplace environment of off-putting manipulations. As a supervisor or director, you should refrain from both accepting and offering unduly gratifying remarks about any matter. This calls for due vigilance over what is happening around you. In this way, you will be able to notice acts done well and seize the opportunity to give a pat on the back. It is also necessary that you create a yardstick with which you can properly gauge advancement. Making available adequate resources and time is an important issue which you should always consider; if you feel that something may not be achievable, it is always better to consider the issue pragmatically and with due consideration to various operating parameters. 

You should not spare no efforts to give confidence to your subordinates by frequent pep talks in a manner they receive best. A system of providing honest advice and legitimate criticism always pays rich dividends. It is inescapable that you allow some amount of decentralization so that those under you have sufficient elbow space for making use of their ingenuity. Remember that it is the end that justifies the means. And you must make certain that you express your delight at all progress made by anyone and if possible, always observe the occasion with collective rejoicing. By complimenting those who excel and being a party in their feelings of accomplishment will always produce good results.

It is human tendency to experience forward looking feelings. We all take some pride and pleasure in current attainments; and if they are acknowledged, the levels of motivation go up automatically. What is of utmost importance is the need to improve operational and functional standards by injecting inventiveness and ingenuity in the entire system. And once this is achieved, individual and professional contentment will register an upward swing.

Don't decline a temporary job offer

• • When a person seeks a job, he wants it to be his or hers till such time desired. In other words,

    nobody wants to take up a temporary job. Jobs which are not permanent and even those that are

    likely to continue indefinitely are viewed with a lot of doubt. Uninviting and unpopular,

    temporary jobs are seen as dull and boring.

    Any apprehension about a temporary job is unfounded. They should be viewed as stepping

    stones for permanent appointments; and in any case they are not honorary placements because at

    the end of the month, you get paid for your work. Temporary jobs can be used to your advantage

    because of several reasons; major ones are:

     Your resume gets a beef-up: Resume deterioration is a problem that affects the job prospects

    of unemployed people. If you remain without a job for long, it is but natural that your focus

    will be on finding an employment. A part of the time that you spend on hunting for a job could

    well be used to take up any employment; the job search can carry on concurrently. In this way,

    the issue of a gap in your resume will not arise. You grasp the basics of any establishment and

    when you get into a permanent job later, you will stand out amongst others because of your

    knowledge and familiarity. It goes without saying you will also acquire new skills and improve

    upon your existing ones. Temporary jobs are opportunities to earn and offer work experience

    that can made use of in your subsequent employments. Remember that your resume is a sort of

    an advertisement for your skills and proficiency and any experience and knowledge mentioned

    therein will serve your interests better and boost up prospects of getting a permanent job.

     You get trained to stand out: Contrary to general belief, no temporary job is without

    accountability, though in some organizations, it could well be rather stress-free. You need to

    appreciate that it could show the way to a better job. It is not that a temporary employee is not

    assessed. Your competence and comprehension of work together with your displayed traits and

    general outlook will invariably be under watch. Therefore, you must make use of the

    opportunity that a temporary job offers; you never know that seeing your adeptness, you can be

    absorbed in the same organization as a permanent employee. Remember hat luck is nothing but

    an encounter between preparation and opportunity. Temporary placements also offer you a

    chance to network with people and hence the level of trust that you build with them can prove

    to be highly beneficial to you in subsequent years because the likelihood of any of them being

    detailed to recruit new people cannot be discounted.

     You gain experience: You will always feel the impermanency attached to your provisional

    placement, come what may. It is essential that you acknowledge this; it will also help you to

    shed all rigidity that you may otherwise want to be attached to your disposition and attitude.

    Even if working conditions are severe and demanding, the gut feeling that you are not here

    forever will serve to relax you. The most important point is that during initial stages of their

    employment, very few people are clear in their minds about their career and life objectives. In

    the light of the foregoing, any temporary job is a good method to experience and understand

    different job conditions. Academic qualifications do matter but the main source of knowledge

    is experience per se and whatever knowledge you gain while at a temporary job will stand you

    in good stead in the times to come. Remember that experience is like a fortunate grindstone;

    rather than get ground, it is better to get enlightened by it.
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     You earn money: There is no denying the fact that money makes the mare go. Though this

    should not be the singularly important factor, but it is a significant one; and hence you should

    have no reservations in accepting a temporary placement to get the money that you need.

    Like money, good jobs do not come easily and without effort. If feasible and workable

    options do not come your way, getting into a provisional placement is an excellent method to

    make some money. If you are still at college, you can take on an evening job; alternatively, you

    can also work during day and attend evening classes.

    It is possible that you do not feel very happy with a temporary placement. You can always

    view it as a bright opening to get into a dynamic mode for attaining your objectives that you set

    for yourself. And if you have been able to set the correct bearing on your compass, all you need

    to do is to keep moving in that direction.