Good Employee Interview Preparation Guide

This is a business, not a playground. People talk, and workers know the difference between a person who is fun to work with and a person who is always fooling around. Fun means a good personality, a joke or two, and a smile. Fooling around is wasting your time and that of others, being frequently off-task, and often being seen standing in the workspace of others instead of in your own.

It will provide you with valuable ideas about what people expect from you, any weak areas, and what you need to work on first. If a boss or coworker criticizes you in a way that hurts or angers you, wait until you cool/calm down and ask them if you can talk with them. Tell them how you felt, but tell them that you would like to fix the issue and want them to talk with you about what needs to be changed.

Whether it's menial and tedious, or tough and high-paying, learn how to do the job, regardless of how difficult you think it might be. Promotions are most commonly based your ability to do your job, loyalty to the company, your aptitude, and your educational background. If you don't know how to do something, go find out; don't make excuses for why you didn't do it.

Cultivate good relationships with the people in your organization;they are the experts in their departments. Treat all co-workers with courtesy, respect, and kindness because they hold more power than you realize, and your reputation with them matters. Do not hang out with other employees who mistreat, disrespect, or talk down to others.

When you get the opportunity to learn a new skill, receive training for a different activity, or take a study course paid for by your employer--do it! Cross-training, new skill sets, and further education show that you are intelligent and value life-long learning. If push comes to shove, and people are let go, you stand a better chance of being retained than those who can only do one thing.

Maintain a clean job performance record. Do a good job, show up on time, keep a good attendance history. When you find out someone has been let go, you often find out later that there were underlying circumstances that led to their dismissal--including frequent absences, missed deadlines, reprimands for unprofessional behavior, or too many customer complaints. If you don't do that, you don't have room to negotiate.

Be on time. Always arrive early. Be at least 15 minutes early every day. That way, if you are running late, you will be on time. If you have to park far away, you will walk in and still not be late. If your client is early, you will be there to greet him or her, and not leave someone waiting for you - even if you arrive on time.

Ask your supervisor what the expectations for outcome are. This will immediately make you stand out from 95% of the other employees. Mean what you ask and follow through on your promises.

Be part of the solutions. Quit whining about what's wrong and start being vocal about what's right! A positive attitude goes a long way with many supervisors. When you go to the boss with a problem, go with at least one suggestion in mind for a solution. Even if the boss doesn't take your suggestion, you will look like a problem-solver, not a complainer. Your boss has their own private lives to leave at the door, so do you. If you keep piling on the emotional baggage, then your boss may see that you can't balance your personal life from your work life. They will not approach you when they want to ask employees about perhaps open door advice when it comes to work related group efforts.

We mean this in a literal way. Pick your feet up and walk proud, and get right to your work - don't procrastinate or let things drag up to the deadline, and then jump in to get it done in a fast flurry at the end. It makes your boss crazy. Gain a reputation for having your act together more so than the majority of people.