Avoid Zero Hour Contracts and Make Yourself Indispensable
Latest figures have shown that unemployment in Northern Ireland has fallen yet again and by over 400,000 since 2012, which is good news for the local economy. However, in the same period underemployment has increased sharply.
The increase in the number of people taking on zero hour contracts, temporary and part time positions has led to many people in Northern Ireland feeling completely dissatisfied with the number of working hours available to them.
In a bid to rectify the situation, it is crucial that employees market themselves as a vital part of any workforce as a means to secure more permanent, full time posts in the future.
Here’s my advice on making yourself indispensable to employers:
- “Have I gone the extra mile today?” Do at least one thing each day that you haven’t been asked to do. Come up with new ideas and take on new responsibilities that are not expected of you in your job description. Show your worth to your employer by giving more than what is expected and you will increase the likelihood of securing a promotion further down the line.
- Stay current. Making sure you are on top of the latest industry trends and technological developments is crucial for any business. Become the go-to person on matters which make your knowledge and skills more valuable and in turn make you an asset to the company.
- Monopolise your skills. Find a task that needs done and ensure that you are the one who knows how to do it, expand your skills every year and make a point of doing this. This might involve taking a course to heighten your digital skills and learning how to run the company website, or something similar. Having a skill that no one else has will make you invaluable to your employer.
- Strengthen your relationships. This applies to client, customer and colleagues. Find relationships that are crucial to the business and become the point of contact that strengthens and maintains these relationships. Be customer-centric, learn all there is to know about your customers, even if you don’t necessarily work in a department with direct customer contact. Build up relationships over time which are invaluable to your company and highlight your worth.
- Do the work that matters, not the work that’s easy. It can be tempting to pick the easier tasks and stay under the radar. Really think about the work that matters to the company and its success, and tackle these projects first. Your focus should be on making your boss look good, as this will only in turn reflect on you.
- Attitude is everything. A positive attitude could be the only difference between two employees, so make sure you have it. Turn up ten minutes early, this shows that you actually want to be there. Be flexible, and be ready to make sacrifices. In the grand scale of things giving up one night of your week to focus on work could be the difference between a temporary and permanent post.
For more information on the services provided by Gilpin Executive Search, please contact us on: +44 (0) 28 9076 9900