Whether you’re a summer intern or you just started your first job, it’s always important to keep your boss happy. Making a good impression at your job or internship can affect the trajectory of your career and the opportunities that may become available to you—not to mention the size of your paycheck! Here are a few tips for wowing your boss this summer and keeping your career goals on track.
- Dress for success. You know that old adage: dress for the job you want. That means saving those too-tight bandage skirts and arm-bearing tanks for the weekend. Conservative is key when it comes to dressing for the office, and no time is better than now for investing in some quality pieces for your professional wardrobe, like chic blazers, knee-length pencil skirts, and modest pumps. You want your confidence to turn heads, not the sheerness of your blouse!
- Keep yourself organized. With the number of projects, assignments, and contacts you’ll accumulate at your job or internship, it’s crucial to keep all that information sorted. A great way to keep yourself on track digitally is by using some of Windows 8’s organizational apps and tools like SkyDrive, so you never have to worry about losing your files (or your mind!). SkyDrive serves as your personal space in the cloud, where you can easily save, share, and edit documents, photos and other files—no matter where you are or what device you’re using! And, Windows 8 lets you pin your e-mail and favorite organizational apps (like your ever-important calendar) to your Start screen, with live tiles that show all of your latest emails and appointments in real time. Get organized, and you’ll never miss a deadline or a meeting!
- Ask questions. When it comes to the workplace, no question is a dumb question. How else are you supposed to learn? Don’t be afraid to ask your boss about office policies, about assignments that seem unclear, about what you can do to be of assistance, about your progress so far, and how you can improve your performance. To be inquisitive is to show attentiveness, and there’s nothing that your boss would like to see you demonstrate more. Just be sure that your questions are ones that can’t be easily answered with your own research—you don’t want to waste your boss’s time on questions you could have answered yourself, after all!
- Be proactive. If you finish your assignment for the day, ask for another one. If you’re thinking about a project that you’d like to pursue, pitch that idea to your boss. Though it may be tempting to start a round of Solitaire when you’re out of assigned tasks, you should never let your boss see you idle. Show your boss how hard you’re willing to work, and you can be assured that more opportunities to work will be given to you in the future.
Want to enjoy #doingmore with Windows 8 and Office 365 University? Get on Twitter and tell us how you’re #doingmore this summer and be sure to tag @HerCampus and @Windows when you do for the chance to win a shiny brand new Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook. Happy tweeting, collegiettes!