Your first year at work can fly by if you’ve kept yourself busy. Although each person’s first work anniversary is unique, there’s a good chance yours was a mix of excitement, confusion, and at times, frustration.
According to Jessica Murphy, director of learning and performance at The Reserves Network, “As you hit this milestone in your job and career, it’s important to ask yourself if you’ve hit any noteworthy goals in your first year at your job.”
If your answer is no, it’s never too late to take action. Listed below are a few first-year job goals to consider reaching for after your first work anniversary.
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Build Genuine Relationships
By the end of your first year at work, you should already know the names of your immediate coworkers and a little bit about their background and abilities. This shows you’re a team player who is genuinely interested in building relationships with your colleagues instead of just seeing them as work acquaintances. This also lets you plant roots that will hopefully lead to opportunities for mentorship, career growth, and raises or promotions.
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Rack Up Your “Favor Count”
During your first year of work, there’s a good chance that many of your immediate colleagues and supervisors went out their way to help you out. While you aren’t obligated to repay these favors, good workplace manners suggest you should when the opportunity presents itself.
Simple gestures such as covering for someone who is sick, helping someone who has to work overtime, or volunteering to teach rookies the ropes, are all great ways to pay it forward.
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Know Your Responsibilities Inside and Out
You don’t have to know everything about your work, but you should be able to walk someone through a typical busy day in the workplace. When someone asks you to give them a rundown of your tasks and responsibilities, you should be able to comfortably give them a Cliff-notes version of what you do and why it’s important to the company.
If you’re still not sure what exactly your job description is, you need to straighten this out with your management.
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Find Your Work Buddy
Every job becomes easier when you have a go-to person to run to when you’re in a bind. This person doesn’t necessarily have to be on the same team or department—you just need to be able to work together in one way or another, helping each other to get stuff done. This person could be a mentor, a supervisor, or even a junior employee with a knack for getting stuff done at the eleventh hour.
Aiming for these goals helps ensure your career is heading the right direction. Get more career advice and tips from the staffing services experts of . Schedule a consultation with our team to learn more about how our recruitment solutions can help you.
