Tips to help remote employees navigate their careers

Welcome back.

Welcome back. Well, remote work has become much more commonplace. However, advancing your career or feeling as though you fit into a company can be harder when you work from home.

That's right. And here, with some help and some great tips to help navigate and advance your career by helping you be more proactive, is leadership expert and workplace culture consultant Beth Ridley. Hey, Beth.

Good to have you here.

Good morning. So everything that we know about working remotely seems like a dream. You know, those of us who enjoyed it.

Pajama pants.

Yeah, we enjoyed some of. We all kind of reluctantly enjoyed it during the pandemic. But I also understand that fear of missing out. Right. The FOMO of, wait, maybe they're having meetings or access to things or even some face time with the boss that you don't normally get to impress. So what are the drawbacks of working remotely?

I think realistically, it's a little bit of out of sight, out of mind. You know, if you're not visible in the office, people may forget about you or not appreciate the real work that you're doing. And also, frankly, it's the relationship building. When you're physically in the office, you have the opportunity to run into people at the water cooler, on the elevator, and those small little interactions, you get to know people, know them personally. It goes a long way for building relationships. And a lot of times, advancing your career is about who you know as much as it is being good at your job.

Yeah, that's true. And it's a good point that sometimes people don't see what you're doing when you're working remotely, so they kind of aren't appreciating or even getting quite what you're doing.

Exactly. So.

So when we talk about advancing our career, what are some steps we can take if we're a remote worker? Because first and foremost, you say, really start with that conversation with your manager.

Yeah. So the interesting thing is, I think when you're thinking about advancing your career remotely, it's the same things you should do if you're in the office also. You just have to be maybe more intentional about it and a little bit more proactive and creative. But yes, I think advancing your career always starts with a conversation with your boss. And it starts with first reflecting on what does career advancement mean for you? Like, what is that position that you want, the promotion, the type of job, but also what do you value in your career in terms of work life balance? What are some things that you're willing to do or not willing to do to advance your career? And that's a really open and honest conversation that you don't have once, but I think you would continue to have, you know, as your career evolves and as you learn what it means to work remotely with your boss and navigating it together.

Yeah, gotta speak up.

Yeah, you have to speak up. Yeah.

So you're talking to your boss like that, that's great. But then maybe you're on some zoom calls, but you're not at the office to have those water cooler conversations about what you watched on Netflix last night or bumping into about the cubicles taking those little lunch breaks together. What are some ways that you advise people can actually build their network across the company?

Yeah, a couple things. One, if you are on Zoom and you're in meetings, be visible, be present. Good idea to put your video on. Don't multitask.

A lot of people don't like that one back. Turn your video on on those zoom calls.

But you know what? So it's a trade off, right? So there's a lot of benefits from working at home. A little bit more flexibility, discretion with your time. But it also means that you have to be a little bit more present when you are on video to advance your career. So I think you just have to decide, you know, nothing's perfect. So yeah, video on. Highly recommend. Video on.

And is speaking up. Are you saying like contribute to the meeting more? Be present.

Yeah, definitely. Be present, contribute. Actually, I also think it's a good idea to log on a little early before the official start of the meeting. Because think about it, if you're in present, if you're in person, you might show up a little bit early and then, oh, you're sitting around the table and that's when the chit chat happens. So you're going to be on video, join on a little bit early, Join in the chit chat or after the meeting's over, Ask anyone. Hey, could you linger a little bit after? I have a couple more questions or I'd love a little bit more feedback. So again, same thing that you should do if you're working in person. You just gotta be a little bit more proactive and maybe a little bit more creative.

What about sending direct messages in those zooms in the chat to like a friend of yours being like, oh my God, this is so boring.

Does that count as speaking?

I hate these meetings.

It's okay only if you don't make the accident and send it to everybody. So I would just say don't do.

It or text message instead.

None of those are being monitored either.

Did you know they can be. They totally can.

By the moderator or whatever.

Oh, yes, I believe that.

I believe that.

Stay away.

Another one of your tips, and I want to know how you do this, especially remotely, is you say showcase your work. What does that mean? Because oftentimes people don't want to brag, they don't want to talk about themselves, all these things. So how do you showcase your work?

Even if you're in person? Showcase your work because you don't want to brag, but at some point you're going to get your answer review. You know what I mean? So you don't want to start bragging like in that meeting. So to me, it's really just the ongoing conversation, primarily with your manager and letting the individual know what you're working on, the impact that you're having. Actually, I think that's more important than just a laundry list of all the stuff that you're doing. What does it add up to? What's the difference that you're making? I like to have people think about, you know, what is different in a positive way. Because I exist at this company. Yeah. And sort of frame it like that. And always have that conversation with your. Make it an ongoing conversation.

It's like making yourself invaluable because we all feel like we're replaceable, you know, but trying to be more invaluable.

And if you're invaluable, they don't. I don't think your manager or the company cares that much if you're in person or if you're virtual because you're valuable.

I think about this, your last point about making the most of your in office time. Because I have an office in New York where I do my radio reviews through and I don't get there sometimes for years, but when I do get there, I'll spend a day walking around that whole office, that whole floor, taking lunch, reconnecting with everyone that I ever met there.

Yeah, yeah. Make the most of it and think of both your professional connections and those work, you know, type of conversations. But the personal ones too, because there is some personal connection that really can only happen in person. So make the most of those times when you are in the office.

These are great, good suggestions. Beth helping us stay present. Helping us stay visible, even if you're at home. So to learn more about Beth or pass this on to a friend, go to themorningblend.com.