New Grads: Does Your Boss Think You Have A Poor Work Ethic?

Friday, October 31, 2014

Lea McLeod, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Photo credit: iStock

A recent study by Millennial Branding reports that recent college grads may not be in sync with their employers. Findings include perceptions of new grads as follows:

47% of employers believe new grads have a "poor work ethic"
46% of employers say GenY employees are easily distracted at work

Yikes.

Whether these are generalized perceptions of higher-level managers, or street level experience from managers of Gen Y, it makes sense to reflect.

Two things that will help overcome these perceptions, are turning in work that is on time, and complete. Unlike college where all credit hours are created equally, tasks in the career space will vary in value. High value work -- your key priorities -- generate more “workplace credit.” That’s where to most focus time and attention.

Try Decision Management

Rather than “time management” think of it as “decision management.” Learn to make good decisions about how to apply the limited time in the workday.Using the five steps that follow, develop a pattern for success in getting the right work done, at the right time, and, start differentiating yourself as a top performer.

5 Steps to Help Structure Your Time & Deliver High Quality Work

1. Know Your Priorities

Get clear on the top three or four priorities your boss expects you to accomplish. If you can’t determine every day what the most important work is, a conversation with the boss is required.

2. Get Organized

You can debate the “clean or messy workspace” question all you want. Being organized helps work go faster. Eliminate the time spent looking for stuff you already have, and make sure the things you need are in the right place before you begin.

Also, there’s a professional obligation to leave a work in such a state that if necessary, someone else could come in and pick up where you left off. Stuff happens. Volcanoes ground airplanes, hurricanes interrupt traffic. It’s possible someone will need to get something from your work area when you are not around. Make it easy for you, and them!

3. Make a Plan

The best way to meet a deadline is to make a plan to. With the due dates in hand, develop a plan to accomplish the work, and then schedule that time on your calendar so there’s a commitment to when it will get done.

Start with the final date for your deliverable.
Make a list of all the people who possibly need to be involved.
Determine what information you need to gather.
What are all the things that need to be completed by the week prior to your due date? Two weeks? Three weeks?
Map out each week, and what needs to be completed so you hit your target date.
Break all your work into weekly and daily tasks.
That way even if you are “easily distracted” at work, you’ll have a plan to get the work done, punctuated by breaks you can take when you need distraction.

4. Schedule your priorities

Now that there’s a plan, assign time on your calendar to focus on accomplishing each of the tasks that have been broken down into weekly and daily actions. This gives your priorities first shot at your calendar, which is the way it should be. Schedule key priorities first, and then manage time for the other around them.

5. Do the work you scheduled

Now it’s important to make the most of the time that’s been scheduled. This can be hard because there will be a zillion other distractions floating around the workplace.

Commit to working in 15, 20, or 30 minute blocks; find a time frame that works for you. Try a tool like Time Timer or app like 30/30.

Turn off distractions (texts, mobile, email, social media, music...anything) that will derail you.
Set the timer on a mobile, or use an app or other tools, and work for the minutes committed. Don’t look up. Don’t check email, don’t text a friend.
When your timer goes off, take a break. Get a treat that makes you happy. Then go another block of minutes.
Continue as needed until you’ve completed your project commitments for the time block, and your high priority tasks for the day. Bask in the accomplishment! One of the most consistent messages I hear is how hard it is for many college grads to accommodate the need to work with long-term deadlines when they are starting out.

These steps are a simple, repeatable process that can help you create a foundation for your career practices. Give it a try and let your results speak for themselves.

Lea McLeod, M.A. coaches professionals to get more done, be more confident and deal with workplace issues such as challenging bosses and overwhelming workloads. Her career insights have been featured in publications including Forbes, Mashable, Yahoo, and Business Insider. Connect with her onLinkedIn. Follow her on Twitter. If you’re ready to take action, get started with her free 21 Days to Peace at Work e-series.