You might be lucky enough to work somewhere that is keen on pushing you and seeing you grow your breadth of skills in tougher and higher level roles, but sometimes you might be faced with superiors who will always see you (at least for a long time) as the graduate they hired within the past year or two.

I don’t think there is a simple solution other than saying it’s all about putting in the time and hard work consistently to build up your brand. Prove you have what it takes to be a member of the team. Don’t consider any task too small to show you can take it on and knock it out of the park.

Sometimes you might have to make a move to another organisation to be recognised for the value you can offer.

From my own experience, I found it best to seek a role outside of my organisation so I could take a significant leap forward in my career. I had continued to work hard in my final year graduate placement and had built my knowledge, skills and reputation as someone reliable who could ‘do the job’. I built excellent relationships with my teammates and bosses.

When the time came for me to apply for a permanent role, my manager offered me a role with a very decent pay rise, one and a half times more than what I had been earning as a grad.

To minimise my risk of not finding a job, I had also been applying to other roles. At the same time as receiving the offer from my manager, I was offered another role that offered different experience (which I admit was not as exciting) and it was double the pay.

It was an extremely hard decision to make. I remember feeling upset and overwhelmed at what I should do. One of the things I did think about was how I would be perceived in both workplaces. I knew that if I stayed where I was, I would still be the ‘grad’ in their eyes but if I were to move into this new organisation, I would have the chance to be seen in an established role with a clean slate, at that level of competence for the role (even if I wasn’t so confident in it at first!).

I let my manager know about the offer I had received and I asked whether it was at all possible to match the offer so I could remain in the organisation. He told me it unfortunately wasn’t possible at that time.

So I decided to take the role in the new organisation.

I knew it was the right thing to do in the end because about a year later, the team advertised the role I was originally offered. I saw the pay on the advert and it was the same as the role I had accepted in my new organisation.

It was a shame I was not recognised for the value I could bring at the time. I would have loved to continue working for the same organisation. Even though it didn’t feel it at the time, taking the risk in a new organisation where I didn’t know anyone was the right choice in the end. It was my way of breaking the barrier to no longer be perceived as a graduate.

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It took me years before I arrived at a place where I was recognised for my potential. Working hard on gaining experience and exposure to different people is the foundational first step. I also made sure I was genuinely showing that I was keen to take on more work.

I recall constantly saying to my superiors that I wanted to work on any project that was going around! This all took a lot of patience and persistence but it was worth it. And I encourage you to do the same.

Sometimes an internal opportunity didn’t work out for whatever reason. I would go through the emotions of frustration and then get on with it. I would always start to search for work outside of what I was given. For instance, I would offer to take on a problem I noticed, or turn what I was given into something creative.

Example 1 – The stuffy storeroom

I was once given a task as a graduate where I was asked to tidy the storeroom. It was stuffy with lots of boxes with old paperwork. At first I really didn’t want to do it and wondered why my masters degree was going to waste. But then the organiser in me took it on, one box at a time. I read through old records, scanning and recording and uploading them into the organisation’s electronic database.

I did a good job, was able to find out a little more history about where I worked, and could notice something tangible from my hard work. It paid to just take it on enthusiastically (instead of groaning to my manager about it). I was able to take another step in being seen as someone reliable who will do a good job with whatever she is given. The cherry on top was receiving a note of appreciation from the records management team on my efforts. I had made important records permanently available for the entire organisation to easily access. I had grown my relationship with them too!

Example 2 – The confusing policy

A later task I was given involved analysing very poorly written and confusing policy document about the ethics research process for the organisation. It was a very confusing guide for staff members wanting to undertake research. I honestly wasn’t too interested in the topic and didn’t want to work on something no one else wanted to do.

But I changed my mindset and wanted to understand and solve this puzzle. I wrote out key steps on fun post-it notes and rearranged them as I read through the document. I was able to develop great flow charts that stepped staff through what they needed to do, who they needed to speak to and documents they needed to complete. My manager was over the moon and kept saying what an excellent job I did at analysing the document. I had turned it into something meaningful that people would actually use.  

In the end

Although it took time, one task led onto another and then another and my reputation grew. The tasks became more difficult as I slowly demonstrated that I was keen to do it all and my initiative didn’t go unnoticed. I was able to finish off my placement with a solid list of work experience, several excellent references, and best of all, a job offer.

So the next time you feel like your current job isn’t your dream job, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Find creative ways to turn boring tasks into opportunities to propel your career forward. That one task will most certainly lead onto another and you want the next task to be a good one! So put in the effort that is required. Show that you are reliable and that your team can count on you. At the end of it all, you will feel proud of what you have built for yourself and your reputation will grow in ways you can’t even see yet.

Check out more articles to drive forward your personal initiative here.

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