Coach Jaynine's 10 Tips for Developing Your Presence in the Workplace

Have you ever worked for a company and the upper management changed and no one seemed to recognize or care what your education level or job skills were? This has happened to all of us. It can be very frustrating and a blow to your self esteem. We all know to request an interview to speak with our new supervisor. But sometimes they don’t want to learn about whom we are or what we have done in the past. They just want to talk about themselves and their vision for the company. Using my ten tips you will be able to develop your presence in the workplace through your written and oral communication.

1. Prepare business cards with your name followed by your degree i.e. B.S., B.A, M.S., M.A., M. E., Ph.D. etc… Remember to use a professional font and color.
2. Write interoffice memos on your personalized note pads, stationary, or sticky notes that include your name, degree, and job title.
3. Sign documents using your conferred degree when appropriate; example, Jerri J. Ray, M.S.
4. Write articles for your office newsletter. If you do not have an office newsletter start one and include a short biography so everyone learns about you.
5. Use your elevator speech, or short biography about you, on the bottom of your emails below your signature block.
6. Provide your supervisor a weekly memo of what you accomplished during the week, outstanding projects, and what you are planning to accomplish for the upcoming week. Do not wait until it is time for your annual review to try and sell yourself. Keep a weekly list of what you have done to improve your job performance for the benefit of the company.
7. Stay abreast of current trends in your area of expertise. Forward journal articles or news paper articles of interest to your supervisor and use a personalized sticky note when writing a short note to state why you found the article of interest.
8. Contribute to staff meetings by always having an article or item of interest to share or by giving a presentation.
9. Attend workshops and then give a presentation to your co-workers on what you learned.
10. Smile, maintain eye contact, and use your manners.

These ten tips will get you noticed in a very subtle, professional manner and remembered; so that, when there is a new job opening, you will be considered for advancement.

Now is the time to invest in you. Go order your personalized stationary, memo pads, sticky notes, and business cards. Employing the ten tips above will guarantee you will no longer be lumped in a category of being just another invisible worker bee. You will be recognized as the professional you are.