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Although the workplace can be stressful, a professional still needs to focus on ways to move forward and succeed by overcoming obstacles. A true workplace professional exemplifies a positive attitude by observing most of the top 40 workplace tips for Professionals as explained below.
By Catherine Adenle
At work, being professional is not just about how sharp you look or how you present yourself every morning. Rather, it is a combination of your appearance, actions, how you interact with your colleagues, the way you go about your work and how you make decisions when it counts the most.
See 11 Proven Ways to Demonstrate Your Value at Work and Top 7 Proven Ways to Practice Mindfulness at Work
Below are top 40 workplace tips for Professionals that will help you to avoid any serious career faux pas or career self-sabotage.
- The first one of our 40 workplace tips for Professionals is simple, ‘Do your job!’
- Know your employers’ expectations of you. Make sure that you understand your company’s policy, culture, value, your role and other pertinent information.
- Know your yearly objectives and how they are measured. It’s vital that you meet your yearly objectives. So, start by understanding the objectives so that you can achieve them successfully.
- Make your mark through your work. Demonstrate your expertise and the value you add through your work.
- Stay polite at all times, you have nothing to gain by being disrespectful to anyone at work.
- Know the movers and shakers in your department, sooner or later; you will need them to be aware of whom you are.
- Be aware of office politics and don’t get involved or entangled. It easy for office politics to chew and spit you out if they involve anyone in a position of influence.
- Ask for feedback and peoples’ opinions on any project you are leading. People love to be asked their opinion. Be sure to go out of your way to ask. Then remember to discuss the opinion and your views with them. Then, thank them afterwards, even if their ideas are not helpful.
- Have a mentor; it will help your progression. See Need to Soar? Get a Mentor
- Add value to your team, department and organisation by coming up with great ideas or solutions to challenging situations.
- Demonstrate your skills when the opportunity comes knocking. Your skills are your prime selling points.
- Get on with your boss, his boss and other managers – this is a no brainer!
- Participate in work events. That’s the way to meet people from other departments. Nowadays, it’s who you know before what you know.
- Attend training courses. Knowledge is everything. Always seek the opportunity to enhance your skills so that you are more valuable as an employee. In non-professional occupations, training classes can be beneficial even if they are not required.
- Give out genuine compliments. It won’t kill you to give compliments to others. Too often, we focus more on what’s wrong and not what’s right.
- Be aware of your company’s competitors. It helps you to be more informed about the industry in which you work.
- Give constructive feedback. It helps everyone to improve.
- Give credits to your colleagues when credit is due.
- Volunteer for projects
- Know when to hit the off switch and take a break from work. Work-life balance is important.
- Try and always return calls and emails.
- Be ambitious through your work.
- Tell your manager about your next career move and ask for his guidance and support.
- Stay away from the ‘Moaner Lisas’ at your workplace. They will drag you down.
- Be positive and surround yourself with positive colleagues.
- Know where to find information.
- Fight in a professional way for anything that is important to you at work.
- Take pride in your work and be loyal to your organisation. If you don’t like your current workplace, then keep your mouth shut and bear it until you find another job.
- Offer to mentor or help a struggling colleague.
- Respect deadlines. Keep your word or talk to your boss far ahead of a deadline if you believe that you won’t be able to complete a project on time.
- Make the most of every great opportunity offered to you.
- Be motivated and get engaged.
- Small talk is ok, learn to get involved. There is no need to plod into the office every time with your eyes down, shoulders slumped while you ignore your colleagues. You can talk about your hobby or ask your colleagues about their interests too.
- Say ‘Excuse me’, ‘Please’, ‘Thank you’ and ‘Hello’. It doesn’t take anything away from you.
- Smile, it’s free.
- Connect and network with others. Networking is an invaluable tool that anyone can utilise. The value of forming and maintaining a strong circle of contacts is immense. There is no better time than now to strengthen your network. A solid network will serve you well for years to come.
- Be aware of what is going on at work but know when to stay away from any disruptive gossip mill. When anyone bearing a juicy piece of gossip that is disruptive to you, you can respond with, “Really?” and then quickly change the subject.
- Execute the behaviour that you want your loved ones to emulate. Just pretend that your loved ones are watching you at work.
- Be open and learn to listen
- The last one of our 40 workplace tips for Professionals is important – Never steal from work or at work. Resist the urge to borrow any company supplies for your personal use without asking your manager. Never take anybody’s belongings and never pad your expense account.
See 10 Things You Should Never Do at Work
Overall, remember to demonstrate true professionalism by observing most of the top 40 workplace tips as explored above. Just as well, a workplace professional learns from his mistakes and moves forward to maintain a sense of pride in his work and workplace.
Now that you know these top 40 workplace tips for Professionals, are there other tips that you can add? If so, let’s hear from you. Add your comments below.
Founder, Catherine's Career Corner. The career site empowering and inspiring ambitious candidates of all ages and professions to thrive and work smarter on their careers. Gladly helping all career-minded people worldwide to explore their career, manage change and understand how new technologies are changing and enhancing the future of work.
