8 Easy ways for graduates to get ahead in their careers
It’s no secret that there are thousands of qualified people desperate for entry-level jobs in South Africa. If candidates are lucky enough to land one, how would they go about turning their first jobs into a successful, long-term career? Here is some valuable advice which you can give the next candidate you meet.
1. Make a sustained positive impression
Even though the goal is to make a good first impression, it is more important to make a sustained good impression. This comes from how you present and conduct yourself, as well as the way you perform under stress and duress - not the things you do when you know other people are watching. Just as a decision to hire someone can sometimes be made within the first few minutes of an interview, so too can the first impression your colleagues have of you impact your whole career in an organisation. You can probably change possible initial negative impressions if the behaviour you display after this is positive, consistent and reliable.
2. Conduct yourself professionally
Many graduates question the concept of what ‘professional conduct’ in the workplace entails. The easy answer is that professional conduct is what is appropriate for the context. At work, this means arriving on time (or even early) and doing what you say you will do and doing it well. Being professional also means keeping clear of office politics and being trustworthy and honest.
3. Dress for success
Dressing appropriately for the workplace is important but how you present yourself needs to go far further than the physical clothes you wear. Projecting the correct image includes the way you talk to, and about, people and your entire attitude and body language. Look interested and pay attention.
4. Communicate effectively
A key way to projecting a professional image and succeeding at what you do is to be sure to use the best and most effective communication skills. This includes speaking clearly, writing formally (not using SMS spelling), and listening more than you speak. To succeed in the workplace, you need to be someone other people want to work with.
5. Show respect, integrity and manage boundaries
Avoid office gossip, show genuine interest in others and always do your fair share – or even more.
6. Do what you promise
If you consistently deliver and manage what you are expected to do, you are more likely to be recognised and promoted. This includes owning your work and taking responsibility for both the good and the bad. Acknowledge mistakes and fix them as quickly as possible.
7. Deliver on your contract
Maintain your employer’s impression that keeping you on the team makes sense. Find ways to show that the business is benefitting more from your services than they are paying you for, and show them they need to keep you on.
8. Don’t let your personal life contradict your career aspirations
Maintaining a good impression at work requires that you to conduct your personal life in a way that does not contradict your professional life. What you say about your company and co-workers, and what you post about yourself online, can and will get back to where you work. Make sure it works for you and not against you.
