When you’re ready to jump into the real world and get an adult job, you expect that there will be work directions waiting for you right? The sad truth is that the training you receive is the bare minimum. After all, there’s no better way to learn than by doing right? If you’re anything like me that doesn’t seem sufficient. Read this post to learn how to save yourself from utter chaos.
I’ve worked in many different environments, and none of them put me through a training course on how to excel at my job. If you’re lucky you’ll be able to shadow someone but that usually lasts less than a week and you never get to see all the scenarios you will find yourself walking into. It can be very upsetting because you don’t know how to navigate through these situations. The worst is when all the resources reveal themselves after they’re no longer useful.
Well, I don’t want you to experience those lousy moments. After reading this post you’ll know how to navigate through these situations. You’ll be able to conquer these unknown territories and take charge of your work.
This post is about the work directions you need to give yourself when you find yourself in a funk.
Work Directions
1) Share your struggle with your boss or trusted coworker
When you start a new job you want to prove yourself. It makes sense. You want to feel like you belong and provide value.
However, it is only natural that you find yourself in some sort of pickle. When you do, don’t let your pride get in the way. Let your boss and any trusted coworker you may have, know about the situation. Tell them what the problem is and let them know what you think the solution may be. Try not to just come to them empty-handed with problems. This will let them know that you’re able to solve the issue but you want to make sure that your judgment is aligned with how your business operates.
Sure you can take initiative and try to solve the issue without their advice but you have to make sure it wouldn’t affect your clients or stakeholders negatively if you fail. Otherwise, connect with your boss and trusted coworkers. Your work doesn’t just impact you, it impacts your team and whomever you’re providing the service for.
2) Connect with your clients or partners
It’s always going to be about the team. When you start at a new job your team is your ride or die…figuratively speaking. So make sure you understand what your colleagues and clients expect from you. If you don’t know how they work then how will you be able to assist them? Take the time to understand how your predecessor operated, where there was an opportunity for improvement, and what they did best.
Then connect with your clients and see if their wish list aligns with a service you can actually provide. It’s best to let them know from the get-go if one of their wish list items is outside of your regiment. After all, it’s always best to underpromise and overdeliver.
Not only will this assist you in defining what expectations you’re trying to meet, but it will allow you to start building a relationship that is based on trust, transparency, and open communication. This may seem obvious but remember you’re the new person in town, it’s your responsibility to make the rounds and learn about everyone. It’s not the other way around.
3) Define how you can utilize your strengths
You may sign-up for a job but ultimately you make it your own. It’s up to you to add your special touch and you do this by utilizing your strengths. First, make sure you know where your strengths lie. Are you an amazing organizer, researcher, writer, or presenter…? Then make sure you use this skillset not only for your book of work but to influence how others operate.
Personally, I work in communications but my strength lies in organizing and planning. When I first started, I updated our tracking process so that it was more accessible to all of my coworkers, easier to submit information to, and more visually appealing. This tracker has become a project of its own, impacting more shareholders. That’s how I allowed my strength to impact others. I definitely have no intention, ever, of telling others how to do their work. Instead, I used my skillset to better connect with them through my book of work.
Now when I walk into projects I’m known as the resident master planner, and I do way more of that than actual communications work. As you slowly prove yourself and allow your strengths to lead the way, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to mold your job into one that was created specifically for you.
4) Find a partner in crime
You’ll have a job to do and there will be a lot of tasks that you will personally be responsible for. That’s great and totally natural. But you know what’s even better? Having someone to bounce ideas off of. They say two minds are better than one for a reason. It’s because you’ll never be able to see the full picture at first glance and having an outside perspective of something will help you understand the full picture.
Remember it’s about creating great work, not about being great, and for that, you need to support those around them and include their input. Also, you never know if someone could completely save you from taking the wrong step.
Lastly, you don’t need one specific colleague to reach out to for everything. Feel free to have different people that you reach out to for different things. In fact, that’s encouraged and gives you a better network of support and understanding as you develop and grow within your work.
5) Document everything you do
So what is this post about? It’s all about getting you the help you need to navigate through your job when you’re first starting. Well as you pick up tips and tricks you totally should document everything you do so that you don’t forget what you’ve done. For example, if you’re planning an event document all the steps you’ve taken. Then afterward you can reiterate the process or leverage it the next time you have to plan an event. I also like to share the playbooks I create with coworkers to help them as they develop their processes. Just because you didn’t have the resource when you needed them, it doesn’t mean you can’t help someone else.
Another great thing about documenting your process is that you can share this with your boss during your end-of-year review. Maybe they’re able to help you better prioritize some of your work or you discover methods that could help drive the whole team forward in reaching their goals and objectives.
When it comes to tracking there’s nothing you can lose, it helps you develop into a leader.
6) Set goals for yourself and make sure they align with your team’s expectations
Obviously, our first priority when starting a job is to do a good job. We do what is asked of us. However, that’s not enough, we all need a level of autonomy to carry the business forward and enjoy ourselves. That’s why it’s important to set goals for yourself.
Let’s say the whole team will be undertaking a project. Are you going to wait around and wait to be told what to work on or are you going to start looking at how you can contribute? Sometimes looking at how you plan to contribute also assists you with your workload. Let’s say this project is starting next month, but you have an hour free at work. Well take that hour to start thinking about how you’d like to contribute and if you can start now. There will always be last-minute surprises so getting ahead of any way that is coming your way can really assist you in the end.
Also, make sure that the goals you’re thinking of align with what your team needs. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel if there’s no value in it.
7) Enjoy going into the unknown and possibly failing
It can be nerve-wracking doing something completely new. You want to get it right and you don’t want to let anyone down. However, you’re only human and you’ll definitely get things wrong once in a while.
Be ok with failing or getting things wrong. If you don’t take any risks or try anything new, then you’ll never become the person you want to be. You’ll never achieve more than you started with and you’ll live your life with a ton of “what ifs?” And you’ll have to figure it out and solve the issue and not do it again.
Learn how to marinate in the downfalls as horrible as it sounds. Only then will you be able to build up your endurance and stamina when it comes to working.
This post was all about work directions.
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