10 Ways to Impress at Your New Job (Or a Few Good Reminders for Your Current One)

Ten easy ways to make a great first impression, and good reminders for those who have been on the job for a while – every day is an interview!

1. Listen. Take advantage of being new and ‘being a student’ and learning the ways of the organization. Let the culture teach you!

2. Ask questions! It’s amazing how impressed people are with those that have the courage to ask honest questions and not pretend to know it all.

3. If your organization is okay with it, ask other employees out to coffee. Pick their brains, learn what they do, ask about their career path to their current role and be genuinely interested in them. People love to talk about themselves if you give them the chance.

4. Relationships are currency. Every time you stop to have a conversation with someone you are investing in their emotional bank account. Building emotional capital is a very smart thing to do; it will be easier to ask that person for a favor down the road if you’ve already made an “investment” in them.

5. Avoid using the word “No” frequently. Learn the effectiveness of the phrase, “Yes, and…”

6. Learn about your industry. Absorbing specific knowledge will impress management and allow you to better understand why the company does what it does. Learn about your organization’s competitors and how they operate, industry thought leaders, current trends, etc.

7. Get involved. Happy hours? Sports leagues? Employee led committees? Join and meet people and make your face and name known. All of a sudden you will become, “Sarah in Finance” and people will reach out to you to learn about things in your area of the company. Become the go-to person!

8. Don’t be ‘above’ anything. Everyone has part of their job that they do not like, and successful people know how to get through this to be able to do what they really enjoy doing.

9. Dress for the job you want. Would your employer be willing to put you in front of a customer or executive team member? Make it easy for others to visualize you in that role.

10. Do the job in front of you. Even if you have your eye on your next move, you were hired into this role for a reason and that is what your employer needs from you right now. Excel at your job and more opportunities will come.