How to Get Noticed at Work
by Hope Dlugozima

You're a hard worker and a good employee, but you don't feel like you're on the radar screen when it comes to top management. You'd also like to find a way to gain a higher profile for the good work you do.

If this sounds like you, your instincts are right on target. In a recent poll conducted by "The Wall Street Journal," 75 percent of recruiters said that keeping your nose to the grindstone isn't the best way to get ahead anymore. A better way to gain visibility is to make internal and external contacts and seek high-profile assignments.

Here's how to place a spotlight on your  
 advertisement
 
 
career:

1. Meet people in other departments. You need to get known throughout the company, because that's a good route to future promotions and raises. If you're asked to head a committee, for example, select people outside your group -- and people you think it would be helpful for you to know.

2. Join an outside group. If you can join a professional organization whose work is valued by your employer, then you can start sending out all sorts of self-serving email. "When I was at the ABC group meeting last night, they asked for recommendations on companies that might be willing to host visiting professors from the University of Tokyo. If you're interested, email me here." Suddenly, you've made yourself an informal spokesperson for the company -- and that's seen as leadership.

3. Learn a new technology. A woman who worked at a huge real estate firm decided a couple of years ago that she would become an Internet whiz. She began spending lots of time on the computer, sending around memos on potential opportunities for her department, and serving as an authority of sorts on the topic. When her company finally started thinking, "Hey what is this Internet thing and who here knows about it?" this woman was the person everyone kept mentioning. She landed a job as head of the new division. At your own workplace, try to predict (by reading professional journals and attending conferences, for example) what might be the next big technology in your field. Start teaching yourself the necessary skills now, and be vocal about it. It'll pay off.

4. Take on something unpopular. If there's a high-profile job around that's scaring everyone else but has the potential for adulation from your coworkers should it succeed, go for it. Even if you're only halfway successful, you'll still be noticed as a person willing to go beyond the norm.

5. Remember to limit yourself. Choose your activities carefully, and focus on doing them well rather than trying to be visible all over the place. Your task is to be seen as a "riser" -- someone who's on the way up. Start laying the groundwork now.