[ Next Gen Women Blog ]

Once you've built an unshakable foundation at your job, consider how you can maximize your combined skill set. Are there activities that can propel your job further--cementing your positive reputation?

Below are some examples of ways to boost your contribution, categorized into areas where you can leverage either interpersonal or technical skills. Taking on such additional activities, once you are competent in your role, can help to brand you as proactive and solution-oriented.  Plus, beyond enhancing your résumé, participating in the activities shown below can also expose you to senior management and departments other than your own.

Remember that your ability to develop unique expertise will make you more valuable to your organization, better protected from a job security perspective, and more attractive to other employers. Locate what you can offer above and beyond your job duties, and build on your uniqueness.

Take initiative by spearheading an organizational improvement effort, or going the extra mile to find a new angle to solve a problem. If you believe there is an overlooked or important opportunity for your division or company, take the reins by writing a business case in support of a change or compiling confirmatory research.

In interviewing executives for my book, The Next Generation of Women Leaders, Katherine Weymouth, CEO of The Washington Post, reinforces the importance of taking initiative, advising, Continuously go above and beyond in your work. Don't send the message that you're too good for a job, do the bare minimum or just "punch the clock."

When I sat down with Cynthia Egan, president at T. Rowe Price, she shared that she continually asks herself one powerful question to assess her contribution: "What does it mean to create value for the organization" and "does everything I do support this?"

By harnessing relationships, building cooperation, and filling organizational gaps, you will gain tremendous learning. And if you consider the colleagues all around you, it's those with needed skills and a proactive approach that stand out.  Want to be noticed?  Do more than you're asked, fill holes, and make improvements where they're lacking.

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