Get or keep a job: your reputation is your most important asset

It only takes a micro-second to ruin your reputation

It is wrong to believe that it is only celebrities and high-profile people who have to worry about their reputations. The reality is that a dent in your reputation could mean a threat to your survival in today’s tough workplace. It may take years of hard work to build your reputation and become known for excellent service or performance, and then the whole thing can slide down the tubes in an instant if you are not alert.

Treat your reputation as though it is your most important asset

To have to do major repairs and restore the faith of the aggrieved party requires great effort and persuasion. In certain cases, depending on the seriousness of the offence, it may prove impossible.

Building your good reputation

No matter how good, honest or full of integrity you are in your career, accusations of misconduct or mistakes will come your way, particularly if you’re ambitious. When they do, you can’t sit back and do nothing.

A good reputation is earned by establishing a track record that can be confirmed by a number of people; that is why prospective employers go to the trouble of checking resumes for accurateness and ask for references.

Things that affect your reputation include:

• reliability,
• punctuality,
• honesty,
• ethics,
• people skills or the ability to relate well with co-workers and clients,
• quality of work delivered,
• general attitude to work and level of performance,
• willingness to go the extra mile and
• dealing with stress.

Good qualifications and good experience count, but if you can’t get along with colleagues or adhere to set deadlines, you won’t get the work you seek or the promotions you’re aiming for.

What to avoid in building a good reputation

The issue of reputation and ethics has become so important that many courses, especially business courses, include a module on ethics. This is because of “grey areas” and differences in applying values in business and at work.

Stay away from grey markets and shady dealers. Get Payday Cash Advance Loans instead of dealing with loan sharks.

Your online reputation

The social media have brought a new dimension to reputation management and cannot be underestimated. Not only do people have to contend with what is being said about them at work, they also have to be careful about how they are represented online.

The internet is a very public and a very fast medium. A risqué photo or comment on Facebook, MySpace or YouTube can land you in trouble or destroy your image as a serious professional in an instant.

Controversial comments or gossip are best avoided. But if you feel a strong desire to make your opinion heard, do so only after thinking what you want to say, how you say it and what the consequences may be.

The company you keep

The people you associate with can also pose a risk to your reputation. Avoid those of ill repute, lest the perception is created that you are one of them. How many of us didn’t give up hanging out with a school friend who smoked, for fear teachers would think us smokers as well? It is the same principle, though more subtle and sophisticated, that applies at work and in business.

Work for a company that has a good name if you can. Don’t go work for an employer who you know to have unethical business practices just because you are desperate for a job. Make every job and every position count to your advantage as you build your resume and a good reputation.