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Learn The Rules of Work Before Administrative Professionals' Day and You Just Might Get the Acknowledgement You Deserve ...AND a Present! New York, NY. April 14, 2005. You're good at your job - that's a given. But as an administrative assistant, much of your success will be down to how well you are seen to be doing your job as well as how well you actually do it. Time to raise your head above the parapet. It's too easy as an assistant to get overlooked, but there are ways to make your mark without being too obvious about it. To get noticed, and get more responsibility and be promoted, you need to raise your profile while remembering you're being judged at all times. No need to get anxious - all you need to do is get used to observing a few of the key Rules of Work, and you'll be sure that whenever you are noticed, you will be doing exactly the right things: 1. Dress well: If you're going to raise your profile, you need to look the part. If your boss dresses smartly, you should too. Take your dress up a notch - nothing too flashy, just very slick and professional, always. 2. Develop the perfect handshake: Handshakes shouldn't just be reserved for your boss meeting customers - when you meet people for the first time, always offer your hand. It makes you come across as strong and confident - and you need to do that to get noticed. If you're going to do this however, make it a firm hand, not a clammy wet fish - practice if necessary. 3. Exude confidence and energy: If you're usually happy in the background, time to radiate a bit of positive energy. If you are shy, look on it as like acting - you'll soon get used to it and it'll be second nature. However tired you feel inside, don't let it show. Save the slump 'til later! 4. Never disapprove of others: Negative behaviours drain energy. So always be positive about others…add more. As an assistant you'll come into contact with a lot of people - work on always having something good to say about everybody, even if you don't like them. 5. Cultivate a smile: Make your smile warm and genuine and it will ease your lot in life in ways you wouldn't believe. A warm smile wins friends and makes you very popular. Make sure your eyes light up as well as your mouth. 6. Ask questions in times of conflict: Being able to deal with conflict (yours or others) is a sure-fire way to get noticed. People will always want you around. A great technique to smooth over conflicts is to learn to ask questions. Distract the protagonists by getting them, to explain their position more clearly and keep nodding to encourage them to open up and talk about why they feel angry. Don't take sides though and remain uninvolved emotionally yourself. 7. Know how to handle other people's anger: You need to understand there is justifiable anger - you just ran over their foot with your car - and contrived anger - they use anger to threaten or bully you. Once you can see the difference, you can apologize for the first sort and ignore the second. 8. Be adaptable in your dealings with different people: Different strokes for different folks. Don't treat everyone the same, make allowances for other people's different styles of work and personality - that's what makes them the wonderful, fascinating human beings they are. 9. Set personal standards: You have to be very good at your job. You have to take great pride in what you do - and be the very, very best at it. You have to set standards for yourself that are incredibly high and then live up to them so that others get to see you as someone to emulate, look up to and want to be like. 10. Compliment people sincerely: When someone has done something good, then tell them. When they are looking good, tell them. When they help the office atmosphere along by being pleasant and helpful, then tell them. Be sincere though and don't overstep the mark - only compliment them on work related items. Thus it is fine to say that you like their new hairstyle - it makes them seem more efficient and business-like.
About THE RULES OF WORK Richard Templar has brought the rules for workplace success together in the quick, irreverent THE RULES OF WORK: A DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PERSONAL SUCCESS (Prentice Hall, $16.95, 224 pages, Paper, ISBN 0131858386). Templar takes simple information about how people relate to each other in a completely artificial environment-the workplace-and uses it to guide you up the ladder of success. He doesn't just show you how to LOOK more effective: he shows you how to BE more effective in today's workplace environments.
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