Out-Performing Your Own Best Job Performance

Performance is experience. As a continuation of the “Your First Job Is Not Your Last Job” motivational series, today the idea of out-performing your own best job performance will be touched on. To create opportunities to move from your first job to your second, third, and beyond, you must perform in a manner that allows you to earn that upward movement. How can you do this? Read on!

First, understand the work environment.

Having a solid grasp on the ins and outs of your workplace involves two aspects: processes and people. It is essential to execution that you master the systems and processes used in your workplace, and are able to perform the required duties as outlined in the job description. Systems and executional techniques vary between companies, so your first few months on the job may seem a test of your learning abilities. Become comfortable with the business processes and prove your ability to perform. The second element, people, is just as important. Grasping the social and interactional environments of your first-job workplace allows you to understand how the business works; you can get a better feeling for how the “gears” of the company work together, and more clearly see where you as a young employee fit.

Second, remain motivated to perform.

All Millennials have had tough days on the job. Remaining motivated to perform, even when a workweek is getting you down, keeps you ahead of others in their first role who are unable to keep their heads up in the same way. Is a tough task frustrating you? Are you having issues trouble-shooting a spreadsheet error? Are you just simply bored by your day-to-day work routine? Perform – and excel – anyway! Getting through a less-than-ideal work situation with stellar performance is better for you in the long wrong.

Although it may be tough now, the big picture is worth it. Perform now, see the pay off later. Motivation in your first job ensures that it will remain just that – your first job – when future opportunities arise through doors you have opened.

Millennials, never forget that you create your own opportunities. When an entry-level job is getting you down, remember that it isn’t forever. Performing now and excelling today will open all the right doors in the future. Your first is not your last, and out-performing your own best performance now ensures that.

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