Getting noticed: the cure for the "woe is me, I am unassigned" pity party
Some people are working over 50 hours a week.
Others barely have a reason to come in to the office, because they're just going to chat with their friends and make four trips down to Tim Horton's.
Is this curious phenomenon limited to just accounting firms? Maybe not, but who cares - if this next quote represents "you," then you're Doing it Wrong:
"I also have a lot of nonchargeable time when i'm unscheduled..i
sometimes ask 1 or 2 managers(since there are lots in the office and i
don't know most of them) but usually have no result..i'm concerned that
this will reflect poorly on my performance evals..what are people's
experience on this?"
This is courtesy the comments to a blog post on people underreporting their time. I'm pretty sure I've railed against stupidly obeying the budget instead of documenting reality, but that's not where we're ranting today.
Instead, let's deconstruct that scenario.
The comment writer doesn't come up with a pseudonym, but instead appears as "Anonymous."
Not to be too cute about it, but if you're anonymous at work, that's your problem diagnosed in one second.
There are different ways to get noticed. This just happens to be a very effective method.
It's difficult when you're new and possibly timid, but you want to make contact with as many people as possible. How did you get hired, anyway? Didn't you say you're some sort of sociable overachiever who does whatever they can to help the team get the job done?
What happened to that bubbly personality? Did one busy season knock the wind out of your sails?
Shake it off.
Walk the halls, and visit the other floors. You probably have dozens of managers around who are tearing their hair out trying to get work done on time.
And they might not even have time to talk to you. But there are people reporting to them who may need help - seniors who can assign tasks to you.
And if your group is just dysfunctional and has nothing that can be delegated to you - I'm going to assume you work in a big firm - then look around further. Try the advisory, M&A, tax and actuarial groups.
If you have a friend at work who's similarly unassigned but is better at approaching other people, tag along with them for an adventure walk. Use chances when running into people randomly in the halls to tell them you're looking for work. After introducing yourself and making a good impression. Go so far as to share your business card with them.
The kid that asks for work even though they're not even in my department? That's the attitude I'm looking for - and if I have a pile of work and need to delegate the easy bits to a junior, guess who I'll contact - the one who sits around staring at Facetube wondering whether they'll survive at the job? Or the energetic person who hustles, gives me their business card because I might forget their name even if I remember their face, and sends a follow-up message letting me know that they're still unassigned and ready to help?
Even if I don't have work to give them, my friends may be overworked and looking for someone outside our small groups own radar. Word gets around, you get work, your productivity stats go up, and everyone's happy.
It's odd that you have to hustle for work once you already have a job, but that's just another element you get used to working in this field. And in some bizarre ways, it can be fun.
How else would I be able to say that I've once tied the financial statements of a company reporting their year-end financial results in Spanish?