Making Yourself Indispensible in the Workplace

Entry by Jennifer Weinmann, Student Employment Consultant for the IUPUI Office of Student Employment in Indianapolis, IN

While working at a University, I have the opportunity to learn from both students and staff.  Since many on-campus staff are also student employers, I hear about a variety of things that occur in the workplace.  Because a part-time job or internship can often be the gateway to full-time employment, it is important that a student employee be aware of the way he or she behaves in the workplace. 

For many students, they know that getting a job can be a challenge, but they don’t often think beyond this first step.  Once they have secured a position, they may be at a loss for the next steps to take in their newly found position.

Here are a few things I have determined will make you stand out and show how indispensible you are to your employer:

1. Utilize Downtime
   Many students are at a loss for how to fill their time if a project is done or if they have completed all their regularly assigned tasks.  Utilizing downtime effectively is a great way to stand out as an employee.  How can this be done?  Do you share a workspace?  This would be a great time to clean it up, recycle old files, and/or re-organize the drawers – anything that will make the workspace more efficient.
2. Be Proactive
   If you don’t have anything to work on, ask others in the office if there is something you can do.  It is likely that everyone is busy with projects and may not notice that you have completed all your tasks.  Being proactive and volunteering your time to a co-worker who could really use it, is an excellent way to make a positive impression in the office.
3. Bring Your Ideas to the Table
   So, you have utilized your downtime, asked others if they need help, and you still have time to fill at work? This is where you get to show your independence and initiative.  While you may think of your part-time job or internship as temporary or not as significant as a full-time position, you play a vital role within your organization.  You are a fresh set of eyes looking over all the processes and procedures of the company.  Many times a process was established years ago, and because everyone’s worked there so long, no one thinks to revise it.  Let’s say you work at a front desk, and any incoming calls are logged in a book, so the office can track messages.  Given the technology focused world we are now in, you could suggest that this book be transferred into an excel spreadsheet.  Not only would it save paper, but it would be easy to sort and search for specific people, not to mention accessible from anyone’s computer.   This may be a simple example, but this type of thinking “outside the box” shows great leadership and will not go unnoticed.

These are just a few of the many steps you can take to make yourself indispensible in the workplace.  Maybe these steps will lead to a full-time position and maybe they won’t.   But these efforts will certainly make you a memorable employee, which is a great benefit when it comes time to list professional references on a job application.  And should a full-time position become available down the road, you can bet that your former employer will think of you first.