As we start a new year, I thought I'd share a tip whether you are looking for a new job, or wanting to be the best at what you do know. I know New Years is not for a few days, I'm early. Here are my 4 tips to LOCK it in.
Likable. We all spend a lot of time at work, don't we want to like the people we are with? It's a safe bet they your co-workers would rather work with someone they like, rather than an arrogant jack ass. Probably the same with your boss. While you may never have a beer with him, or spend a weekend fishing he or she probably wants employees that are easy to get along with. As a manager I can tell you, a team that gets along well is much easier to manage.
Open: Throughout the years I've made my share of mistakes, in fact some have said probably more than my share. One thing I've always tried to do was t be open about them and learn from them. By being open, others can learn from my mistakes, and on the occasions that it caused downtime or other issues, by being open and honest about what I had done, the entire team could help me fix it, reducing what could be a catastrophe to an inconvenience.
Collaborative: When you share information and techniques and work as a team, the entire team works better. Many times people try to hoard information thinking if no one else knows how to do their job, they can't get fired. If that's your approach to job security, I hate to break it to you, but that rarely works.If instead you work well with others, cross train so others can cover for you, you are more likely to get promoted and learn new skills.
Knowledgeable: Look even if everyone likes you and you are honest and hardworking, you do still have to know something. I mean a good bedside manner and a shiny stethoscope is nice, but I still want the surgeon working on me to have a degree from a credible medical school. I also expect him to keep up to date on the latest techniques. It's the same thing with IT people. I mean it's cool that you took Fortran back in the 70's, but if you haven't learned anything new since then, you are probably due for a refresher...
Well those are my tips for job security. I think they are even in the right order, Likable, Open, Collaborative and Knowledgeable. You can't get away without all 4 and there are no guarantees, but I think these are a good start.
