Do you know your role at your company? This may be the same thing as your job title, but I'll bet it isn't. Your job title is your employer's best attempt to describe, in one or two words, what you spend half your waking hours doing. How accurate is that likely to be?
Your role won't be clearly defined by your job description, either. As many people note, a company's official definitions of its employees' duties are usually far more comprehensive than reality would allow or are laughingly sketchy when compared with the actual work performed.
Job titles and descriptions are meant to be vague, to allow individuals and their supervisors flexibility in day-to-day operations. Hence the last phrase of so many descriptions: "and other duties as assigned."
If you have a vague description or, perhaps more frustrating, a vague supervisor, don't waste time complaining. See the situation for what it is: an opportunity to define your own role within the company.
A reasonable person would not assume that this opportunity means he (or she) gets to be the Lone Ranger at work, doing only what he wants and ignoring the job he was hired to do. On the other hand, an opportunistic person would not assume that the word "only" precedes each part of his (or her) workday, as in "only do this."
You want to be the smart, reasonable-but-slightly-opportunistic worker, not the literalist who sticks to the perceived job description like a burr on a cat. Here are some steps to help you:
1. Look at the big picture. Do you understand your role in your department and your department's role in the company? Further, do you know your company's role in the marketplace? After looking at the big picture, think about how the way you perform your job contributes to the big picture. If there are improvements you can make to your performance that will impact others, start implementing those changes.
2. Look for what's missing. Would your team function better if someone created a status report for projects? Can you be that someone? Does the warehouse operate smoothly except for the clutter of the recyclable packaging materials? Can you do something about this problem?
If you've tried to solve problems before and gotten your nose nipped as a reward, revise your approach. A common mistake is to assume that no one else has noticed the problem or made any effort to change it. Instead, assume that others have made attempts; find out what's been tried and why it didn't work, and use that information in the solution you create.
3. Don't ask for (much) permission. If your job allows even a little flexibility, you almost certainly have the time and resources for at least minimal problem-solving. In other words, as long as you're getting your work done, you're not causing harm by doing something extra.
If your solution would inconvenience others, use limited resources or otherwise pose a problem, of course you should talk with your supervisor first. But if it's a solution that simply makes something better or easier, why not give it a shot and report the results? With few exceptions, supervisors would rather hear about something that worked than about something that might work.
4. Become an internal expert on something. Are you good at proofreading? Start telling co-workers that you can review their documents before they go out. Perhaps your strength is in creating useful forms, wiring computer systems or repairing machinery. Even if the task is not in your work area, consider making others aware of your talent. By becoming the go-to person for certain problems, you create a role for yourself and provide a service that others come to value.
None of these ideas will protect you from layoffs or guarantee that others will appreciate you more. When you do more at work, the rewards are not always immediate or clear.
But you will reap the benefits, nonetheless, by becoming a worker who takes charge of his or her career path and doesn't stagnate on the job.
- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecare rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.