How to Become an Indispensable Laboratory Technician
Bringing genuine value to your organisation/laboratory is important for your own job security and personal development, as well as the success of your organisation. Recognition, promotions, and pay increases are all direct benefits from taking time to work on personal development. There are several factors that can assist you in being indispensable in your workplace.
Ongoing Professional Development
Making the time to attend ongoing professional development training does more than just help you perform better and keep your skills relevant. It also helps your employer recognise you as a person looking to improve yourself and positions you as a potential candidate for positions of greater responsibility – including future leadership roles.
Be Optimistic
Most managers and employers will tell you that staff who stand out generally have a “can-do” attitude driven by an optimistic outlook. Tackling problems with confidence grounded in optimism tends to increase your chances of finding a solution. Optimistic people are generally more resilient in the face of life’s disappointments, and show greater creativity as they are more open to ideas and possibilities.
Help Your Manager Succeed
It’s easy to forget that your job is to help your manager succeed and thereby support the broader goals of your organisation. Many employees forget this fact; simply being supportive can be a great way to differentiate yourself.
Make it a point to understand your managers’ targets and priorities and let them know that any task they ask you to do is in safe hands. If possible, deliver everything a day early – this can help your manager deal with the inevitable last-minute issues that come up in their own role.
Keep Your Laboratory Space Clean, Organised & Productive
The state of your workspace has a significant impact on people’s perception of you as well as your ability to get things done in a fast, organised way.
That’s why it’s important to keep your work surfaces clean, organised and clutter-free. Simple organisational techniques and tools such as desk filing systems, trays or labels can greatly improve your productivity.
Give Attention To Detail
It won’t be news to you that attention to detail matters in a laboratory. But it’s also true that getting the details right can be difficult in a busy workspace with many distractions.
Fortunately, there are techniques you can develop to help improve your attention to detail. Checklists are a proven way to manage repetitive tasks with lots of detail. Developing documented systems and processes for tasks such as taking calls and messages, capturing results and other routine tasks will help you develop a reputation as a person who gets the details right.
If You Want To Be A Leader, Act Like One
If you want more responsibility in the lab, you need to make it easy for your managers to see you as a responsible person with leadership potential. This doesn’t mean you should start ordering your co-workers about. It’s about demonstrating that you have a certain amount of business and political acumen and that you have the maturity to work well with different kinds of people in many different situations.
Work On Your Etiquette
Demonstrating a commitment to basic good manners can make a big difference in how you’re perceived. Simply remaining polite at all times (even under pressure), knowing how to dress appropriately and being punctual can make all the difference to your ongoing career success.