Impressing Your Employer After the Interview

Here at JobMonkey, you can find tons of resources for acing any job interview and getting hired, but the work doesn’t end there.

When you’re offered a job, rarely are you offered some kind of contract that guarantees your position. If you don’t meet expectations, you could be fired just as quickly as you were hired. Even if you aren’t fired, if you don’t impress your employer, they will be hesitant to give you a recommendation in the future. The steps you took to impress your employer during a job interview need to be followed by steps to impress your employer after you’ve started in your position.

Step One: Be a quick learner.

There’s a learning curve with any job, so don’t get frustrated if you don’t immediately understand how things are done with your new employer. What you can do is be a fast learner. Make sure that people don’t have to repeat themselves, and if you have a hard time remembering directions, write things down until you get used to new processes. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, either. An employer would rather take some time to answer your question than take even more time to redo something you’ve done wrong.

Step Two: Be helpful.

You don’ t have to let other employees or even your manager throw tasks on you if they aren’t part of your job description, but be as helpful as possible, especially if you get your work done. For example, if you work at a deli and finish cleaning the machinery for the night, but still have 15 minutes before closing time, help the dishwasher wash some dishes. Or, if you work in an office setting, offer help if you have a light day and a co-worker seems swamped. Being a team player pays off, since people will offer help to you when you’re super busy.

Step Three: Go above and beyond.

Think about what would make something easier for the next person in line to work on your project. For example, if you’re putting together a budget sheet for your boss, maybe it would help if you color-coded the difference categories. Or, if you work on a farm, maybe if would help your boss if you cleaned tools when you were finished working. Doing just an extra five to ten minutes of work really impresses people!

Impressing your employer helps you retain your job, get offered promotions or pay raises, and secure recommendations when you leave. Even if you don’t like your job right now, you can still do a great job, which will help you move forward in your career.