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Overstepping Borders: Proactively Offering Assistance Beyond Your Duties

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By Emily Armstrong-Jones  on Friday, November 3, 2023
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Emily Armstrong-Jones

Emily Armstrong-Jones is an expert in resume critiques, career advice, and recruiting. Emily was sought by Leet Resumes to continually research best industry and career product practices while holding our team accountable to the highest standards.

Discover how going beyond your job description and proactively offering assistance can enhance your career prospects. Learn to recognize opportunities, make measurable impacts, and subtly highlight your efforts.

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🧗‍♂️ Taking Initiatives: Proactively Offering Assistance Beyond Your Duties 🏆

Let’s face it, doing just enough to meet the requirements of your accountant job description or office manager job description isn’t going to win you brownie points for career advancement. In this dog-eat-dog corporate world, you need to take some leaps, harness your conceptual skills, and go above and beyond your job profile to climb that career ladder. 😎

Illustration of an individual climbing a ladder, representing career advancement by taking initiatives and offering assistance beyond regular duties.2

🏃‍♂️ Understanding the Art of Taking Initiatives

While it might seem like a smart move to do more than what's on your resume summary examples, not everyone appreciates unsolicited help, especially if they catch a whiff of ulterior motives. No one likes a suck-up. So, tread gently and make sure your actions enhance teamwork, rather than spark off a ‘who does he/she think they are?’ commotion around the water cooler.

Illustration of an individual climbing a ladder, representing career advancement by taking initiatives and offering assistance beyond regular duties.3 You should be able to recognize opportunities to lend a hand and then, just do it! It’s always better to offer assistance when help is genuinely needed rather than when you just want to score points with the boss. 🤝

🏁 Crossing the Boundaries: Leaning towards Magna cum Laude

Going beyond your job description doesn’t mean you have to single-handedly transform an underperforming unit or launch a new product line. It’s about identifying gaps and filling them. Your co-worker struggling with a report? Offer some help! Think the project manager could use an extra brainstorming partner? Go ahead and share your ideas!

Turning your average effort into magna cum laude performance is about taking initiative, showing willingness, and adding value to your organization. Remember, career progression is like a basketball resume; it’s not always about the slam dunks but the assists too. 🏀

Action Item: Start by observing and understanding the issues your team or organization are facing. Where can you add value?

📝 Creating an Impact: An Example Better Than Any Resume Creator Free

Your willingness to help should translate into positive impact. It should be something measurable, something that can be pointed out during your next appraisal or when your promotion gets discussed. Example: "Remember when we were struggling with that project and you assisted us and turned things around? That was really helpful!"

You want your impact to be felt and valued. You want your colleagues to see you as a go-to person, your boss to acknowledge your extra efforts and your commitment to be reflected in the best resumes, almost like a to whom it may concern cover letter.

Action Item: Measure the impact of your initiatives. Have they led to time savings, increased output or better teamwork?

💌 How to End This Extra Mile Journey: A Thank You Letter Examples

Finally, you want your efforts to be noticed, but not in a bragging sort of way. The best way to do this? A simple thank you letter. After a completed project, a simple thank you letter to your team where you discuss the challenges and how everyone (including yourself) stepped up, can go a long way.

This move not only helps establish you as a team player, but also subtly brings to light your own extra efforts. It’s like a tastefully drafted 2 weeks’ notice template or simple resignation letter sample, which subtly highlights your contributions while expressing gratitude. 📬

Action Item: Write a thank you letter to your team or boss, highlighting the joint efforts made.

Remember, career advancement isn’t just about checking boxes on a job description. It’s about stepping up, making a difference, and letting your actions speak louder than any resume creator free tool. So, take that leap, show some initiative and enjoy the climb up the career ladder! 😇

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