When Young Professionals are just starting out at a new firm or they have recently made a transition to a new firm, there is a sense that they must try to prove themselves. What does proving yourself entail? Since you are new to this new environment it is important to take your time to acclimate yourself to your new surroundings and teammates. Make sure that you let them guide you through the transition, rather than trying to get ahead of the process and stumbling on your own feet.
Have you ever said anything like the following to yourself or a friend?: “I want to show the firm that they made a great choice in picking me so I need to impress them,” or “I shouldn’t ask this question, it is too basic and it will embarrass me.” This is the wrong mindset to have when joining any new team. You should want to ask questions and try new ideas and fail, so that you can improve your craft over time. Just as they are all doing at your new firm!
When you focus on yourself and your insecurities it leads to you overthinking and making more mistakes. You must create a positive environment in your mind and attitude to make sure you create your best work. Try to focus on how you can help others and your teammates, rather than yourself and you will find that you are able to focus better.
On top of that, if you are less focused on getting recognition, then you will have more time and energy to improve yourself. Help everyone on the team to gain recognition for what they do, and your time will come along.
1. Take the Extra steps to reach the goal!
You can always have a pro-active outlook that allows you to be better prepared for any challenge that is thrown at you. What does this mean?
You need to create your own game plan that provides you with the space to think about what you want and what your superior or teammate might need during the task you will be completing together. So this requires some foresight and a deeper understanding of how to make processes simpler.
If you can show the other person you are working with or group of people, than they will be able to better collaborate with you on various projects and across departments. Thus, you are promoting a more multi-disciplined approach to the problems you need to solve.
2. Focus on Simplicity and Effectiveness
As mentioned before, simplicity is key! Keep it simple and the efficiency of your processes will be easier to improve, and with less headaches. Take it from Forbes, they link to a study conducted by Siegel+Gale that shows how workplace simplicity creates better results. So why would you not do the same when it comes to how you organize yourself?
Look at the following chart from the aforementioned study, and see the results of simplicity:
Advocacy, Trust, Innovation, and Retention all went up! The biggest gainers were Innovation (employee find it easier to innovate) and Advocacy (Employees are more likely to recommend someone to work at their company). Trust followed up with more than a 25% increase after there was a more simple workplace environment.
Keep this in mind when you join a new firm and team!
3. Create a Positive environment in the workplace & promote recognition
So, as you are probably starting to realize, it is important that you, as an individual in a team, put in your end of the work, yet you are also dependent on your teammates to make projects happen. So this is going to be a consistent balancing act that you must consider when navigating the professional world.
Make sure you are promoting positive and innovative working spaces that allow you and your teammates to reach full potential and make the impact you want to make on the industry and the world.
When considering your next career move, plan proactively and create Portfolios that include your best work. Consider looking into finding a mentor with Architect-US, and improving your Portfolios with our Portfolio Plans and Career Advice Program. We provide coaching and personalized mentorship, so you can have a professional and experienced take on your next steps in your career, as well as a great team to confide in.
