Being employed in an institution or being tasked with working under people wherever the case might be, often comes with its pound of challenges which can either make or mar us. For those who fall under the category of being termed or labeled an Employee, it isn’t limited to being a worker in a firm or company or simply bearing the statuary tag that indicates you belong to such establishment alone.

Most of us, often times want to be the best version of ourselves we can be for the company that pays our dues and ensures our financial statuses attain a certain degree of growth and promise, and in so doing, vie for the reality of becoming successful employees. While many attempt to attain this exemplary tag which often times might not necessarily be affirmed by or with an item to denote it, very few actually find themselves being successful at being an employee.

Now, this isn’t to belittle those who try and fail or even discard their actions and dedication even after they aren’t successful employees regardless of how long they have tried. Often times, we need to come to the realization that they are lacking in certain characteristics and principles which are paramount in becoming a successful employee regardless of the situation or condition.

Bear in mind that the art of becoming a successful employee isn’t job-specific, but bear a great degree of universally constant principles, actions and followings which have been tried and tested across every facet of work and in every corners of life. This goes to say, regardless of your job, regardless of what it entails, and regardless of who you are, the tips which you are about to be granted in this book can ultimately make you into that “Model Employee” and a successful one in no time.

So, lace up your boots, get yourself a pen and ready your minds to explore the various necessities which you cannot neglect in your pursue of success in relation with being an employee. It is also noteworthy that, regardless of the educational skill or professional background you bear from noteworthy institutions, these skills aren’t taught completely or aren’t included in syllabuses. You have to learn them on the job or amass them in form of experiences.

In other words, this is an informal form of education which you cannot in actuality learn within a confined school space, but out there, in the real world. Also, while they might not come easy you should brace yourselves up for the fact that they work and are certified to get you to that helm of success which you desire as an employee.

“Being and employee is easy, becoming a successful employee is the icing on the cake which doesn’t come easy”.

So, brace yourself as we take an in-depth look at ways you can become a successful employee and not just another hoi polloi of your work place without anything to show for your years of service or even presence in such institution.

Readiness Leads To Success

Often times, most people are comfortable simply getting the jobs they apply for without actually preparing themselves for what it entails and the challenges they might have to overcome or even need to come across. Granted the organizations might provide you a working layout of your roles and functions, but an employee with apt knowledge and readiness for what is before he or she is bound to trump others with ease and veer ahead beautifully.

Being ready is absolutely different from being available and willing to work. Readiness in this form has to do with your mind and mental state and translates to your ability to work effectively and tackle what is before you. Therefore, it is advisable for us to make ample researches on our jobs, make findings and learn what you can before stepping into that dugout for a job as an employee.

If you’re ready, trust me, you have secured yourself with the first piece of ammunition towards being successful.

Keep Your Head Up and Knuckle Down

This in no way demands that you should take an aggressive approach with your job as an employee. It actually translates to not being intimidated to make yourself known in appropriate places such as meetings, gatherings and during projects. With your head raised high above others comes a willingness to be recognized which can only bolster your ability to succeed in a work place.

Too many people prefer to place their head down and remain in the shadows so they don’t get noticed. They never speak up at meetings and never attempt to share what they know because they are either too shy or too conservative to do so. In so doing, they limit themselves to the shadows and becoming nothing other than faceless cogs of an employee in the establishment while others tunnel and forge ahead to make themselves known positively.

The other aspect to this, which is knuckling down includes being able to take up tasks that might not necessarily always be to your favor. As much as you want your voice heard, make your humility and work rate known as well and don’t lazy out or cheap out on duties assigned to you. These two go hand in hand and cannot be traded or ignored.

Be humble, yet be visible and insightful enough to be recognized

Proactivity Is Key

Differentiate yourself from those who await substantial telling before they can handle tasks or even come up with solutions to problems while they are on the job. People do this because they are often times, scared of failing or making mistakes which limits their ability to become proactive.

This should not be your intent, but rather what spurs you on as an employee.

Become proactive and meet problems head on rather than shy away or have to wait for answers from top bosses when they aren’t around to lend any. Seek ways to anticipate these problems before they even come to be by thinking on your feet while you work and engaging your mental prowess every chance you get.

Being proactive doesn’t mean failure wouldn’t come or you might not be wrong, but it means more than half the time, as an employee, you remain steps ahead of the situation; predicting possible outcomes, ways to counter problems which may or may not arise, and also successfully be the boss of every moment and those around you who will eventually begin to look up to you for insight on what should be done and what should not.

“Be the problem solving specialist before any surfaces”

Never Neglect Your Appearance

Appearance for most employees, is something they feel they can take for granted. For those who are designated work clothes or uniforms, you can find many of them mistreating their looks by appearing as they please without caution for how it might make them appear unto others. Granted, some positions held by employees might come with budgeted clothing, this isn’t an excuse to never look the part and command respect through your appearance.

Becoming a successful employee means being able to look the part of a successful person even before that success which you crave comes. Dress the part and look like the success you desire without holding back. Don’t limit yourself to shabby appearances in important meetings and ensure you positively impart the air and mood from the moment you are seen or from the moment you speak.

Get your hair done, keep your nails clean, get yourself mints if you have a horrible case of halitosis and allow yourself enough freedom to express whatever you need to before others without the worry of being intimidated.

“Appearance speaks before your words do”.

Become A Leader

Being an employee often comes with the desire to be a “doer” and an “Instruction taker’, but becoming a successful employee entails imbibing that leadership ideology inside of you and learning to actually become one. Very few employees decide to take charge of situations or even learn to command proceedings in their surroundings unless they are being told to do so.

This is where you come in and actually become different.

Become a leader by offering your experience and expertise. You can offer to take lead on projects, or take new employees under your wing so they can learn from you. You can equally ensure interns find you approachable enough to want to learn from.

Find spaces and slots where leaders are needed and jump right in without holding yourself back.

“Leaders are always needed… become one”.

Make The Extra Mile

The saying “make the extra mile, it isn’t crowded”, is most effective in this topic because many employees rather crowd themselves within their comfort zones and never intend to branch out. Reach outside of your comfort zone and bring yourself into new spheres so you can learn from ad also better yourself through such spheres.

Employees often times prefer safety over actually gaining much needed grounds in their work place. This slowly any success you intend to acquire and limits your scope and vision. You should realize that you are not to be confined by your job descriptions and requirements alone, but only by how far you are willing to go.

There are endless arrays of opportunities to learn and become even better around you which many take for granted. Tap into these resources and make the best of it for yourself. When you do this, success isn’t far off from you and the opportunity to breach better grounds and widen your scope of action and vision isn’t far off either.

“The extra mile pays, maybe not suddenly, but eventually”.

Remain Professional

Mixing business with pleasure in offices, or any work place is a common occurrence for employees. In so doing, they find themselves crossing the thin line of being professionals in their dealings with others, and venture into turning the work place into a social gathering or point of commute. This is utterly despicable and shouldn’t be something an employee with the zeal to become successful should imbibe within themselves.

Professionalism is greatly respected by success. In addition, successful employees maintain a steady pace of professionalism even under duress, emotional complications or through the toughest mental scenarios they are embattled by in their work environment. The ability to maintain this form of work ethic greatly constitutes progress and discipline in the work place.

Respect Time

It is easy to fall off the success wagon and become lackadaisical by ignoring the most important concept that translates to success, which is time management and respecting time. Time dictates everything around us and its shortage often comes at out detriment.

Be punctual in your work place, keep to meeting schedules and deliver tasks as at when due rather than at your own time or when they run late. Learn to manage your time so you give off a composed, diligent and sophisticated mindset rather than that of a person who is all over the place.

Learning how to adequately make use of your time ensures you do not miss opportunities which can or may guarantee your success. It drives you with a sense of discipline too which others are sure to notice and admire, because it would go on to translate into how you’d get your work done.

This way, there is no stopping what you can achieve when you couple it with the other principles needed to become a successful employee.

Note that being an employee is easy, but becoming successful as an employee is a trick many will continue to struggle with. when you take all the above listed factors and put them into action, you can successfully become the employee others dream and aspire to be and also a figure of hope and mentorship to them in many ways.

Establishments constantly seek our employees with the drive to succeed and not just remain on the platform as mare workers… be the successful employee you want to be and that establishments need you to become as well.