10 Must-Know Tricks to Get Ahead at Work

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In every workplace, there are two different kinds of people. The first kind seems to fit in well with their job roles and is getting access to all the perks including appraisals, opportunities, and promotions. The “other” kind seems to just be there and rarely do anything beyond their limits. They perform the tasks which are assigned to them but their performance is never exceptional.

Jack Dorsey says, “Success is never accidental.” This puts a lot of emphasis on working hard and actually defying all the odds to achieve more. For financial and personal success, it is important to be a part of the first group and not just sit there and work like a robot. If one won’t go for the opportunities himself, no one else will present them to him.

Here are a few tricks which can guarantee a handsome salary and a great reputation at the workplace. By following them, one can get ahead irrespective of the nature of the work.

1. Always Be Punctual

“If you have been told that you are late and unreliable more than once, then not only do you lack punctuality, but you also lack decency and seriousness, which is certainly very annoying.” ― Auliq Ice

No matter how great of a performer you are, if you don’t show up on time for meetings with clients or with the team, you’ll not be considered a valuable resource. If your boss values time, you must make it your top priority. Numerous opportunities are lost and resources are wasted because of neglecting the importance of time and punctuality.

2. Go to Work Well-Rested

Never ever show up to work looking like a zombie. Your work actually starts the night before when you get a good night’s sleep and awake refreshed in the morning. For this you need to develop good sleeping habits. Take a shower and dress nicely. If you look good, you will be expected to do extraordinary work. Every interaction at the workplace tends to leave a positive or a negative influence on you and with a presentable outlook, the positive ones will outweigh the negative ones.

3. Build Healthy Relationships with Everyone

From the highest level of management to your most junior subordinate, building strong and healthy relationships can only do well to you. Be friendly with everyone and find some common interests or interesting topics to talk about. As Theodore Roosevelt says, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” You’ll be in a lot better position if you have positive bonds with both up and down the hierarchy.

4. Improve Yourself during Spare Time

There are a lot of workplaces where there is always a downtime. This might be because there is no new customer or you’ve already finished the task you were working on before. During this time, it is advisable to find things which can contribute to your learning and enhance your skills. You can also utilize this time to tidy up your workstation.

5. Stay Positive

If something goes terribly wrong, remember that one day it will make a great story. There are 100 percent chances of learning something from the failure and improving yourself for the future. People want to work with only those individuals who have a positive attitude. If you have a negative aura, people will avoid you and it will become impossible to get the work done and achieve all the goals.

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6. Own Up To Your Mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable but one thing which most of the people fail to do is to own up their mistakes. This is one of the biggest hindrances in their path of success as they need to admit that they were wrong and must rectify it. No one is exempted from making mistakes but winners are only those who learn from them and go an extra mile to cover them up. If you have the ability to fix the problem that was created, you have actually added more points in your resume.

7. Be Adaptable To Change

With each passing second, new technologies are surfacing and the employees are presented with new challenges. You might not even notice the shift in the responsibilities and the need to react quickly in every situation. Being stagnant will not take you anywhere, therefore, you need to make yourself flexible enough to incorporate any change as soon as possible. This change can be required in your personality as well as in your working attitude.

This trait has been aptly described in the words of the person who himself gave the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” 

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8. Work on Your Communication Skills

Having strong and effective communication skills is the root to having a strong career. If you want to see yourself eventually becoming a manager or an executive, you need to be a great communicator. Whether you are giving a speech in a seminar, generating an email, talking on the phone, or even on a social networking platform, if you know how to talk well and how to convince people of your beliefs, you are way ahead in the race for success. Try to be concise yet meaningful for all the listeners whether your managers or your subordinates.

9. Stay Physically Active outside Your Workplace

Having a lethargic lifestyle can never guarantee success at the workplace. Many corporations these days are introducing gyms within their workplace so that their employees can stay active. If you are and look healthy, you’ll be way ahead in your career. You’ll be physically and mentally stronger enabling you to combat tense situations and be more creative. As John F. Kennedy says, “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”

10. Ignore Poisonous People and Office Politics

Every workplace is full of poisonous people who are the source of all the office politics. If you waste your time with such people, you would not have the mental capacity and energy to focus on more important tasks. Even if you are stuck with such a person, minimize the interaction and try to end every conversation as soon as you can. Do not let the negative comments and the backstabbing bother you and continue doing your work with your best efforts.

“Before you take the leap before you jump, really make sure it’s going to be something you want to get out of bed [to do] everyday, because it is so hard. So you want to make sure that you’re really committed.” —Alexa Von Tobel

The foremost rule of excellence is to love what you are doing because otherwise, you are just wasting your life. Each and every second which is spent in sulking and not loving your work actually lowers your productivity and decreases your motivation to strive for the best.

Related: How Women Can Be Assertive Without Being Disrespectful to Co-Workers