Building a good reputation

My current employer asks all of its corporate headquarters employees to spend a day in one of its stores at least once per quarter. Helps us stay connected to the business.

Last Friday was my turn in a store, and I spent the day unloading clothes from boxes that had just arrived on the truck. It was hard, monotonous work, but I attacked it with enthusiasm, mostly wanting to show the day associates that not all corporate desk jockeys were soft and lazy when it came to physical work.

At the end of the day, the manager told me that out of the dozens of headquarters personnel who had come through her store, I was one of two who she'd love to have come back day after day.

"If things don't work out for you at headquarters," she said, "you'll always have a job in my store."

I'm not telling you this to brag, but to illustrate a simple strategy I use when starting a new job. Whether you're unloading boxes, writing a user's guide, or designing a web site, attack that first task at your new employer with everything you have.

And after you've "Wowed" them with your hard work, your good reputation will be secured. You'll become one of the stars, earning respect, trust, and the benefit of the doubt if you should happen to stumble later on.

If you simply coast along, however, doing just enough to accomplish the task you were assigned...well, that will become your reputation.

And it's a lot harder to build a good reputation when you've already established a mediocre one.