How do you gain respect as a new employee? Remember when you came to college? You probably didn’t know any of your professors, nor did they know of your own personal background. You needed to gain respect through your efforts and accomplishments. The same approach also works when you begin your career.

Here are some things you can do to gain respect:

1. Always do more than is asked. Do the little extra things that can make your work standout.
2. Come to work early and stay late.
3. Don’t ever complain about an assignment. Approach every assignment as an opportunity to learn. Even bad assignments can help you gain respect (see the topic: Dealing with a Bad Job)
4. Seek out others to see if you can help them if they seem overwhelmed.
5. Volunteer on company-sponsored community service activities.
6. Contribute ideas for improvements in the activities of your organizational unit.
7. Show your organization unit how the tools you learned in college can be used in the work of your unit.
8. Volunteer to cover work for others during holiday periods.
9. Practice exemplary communications with your boss and your peers.
10. Seek out the advice of others on how to succeed in the organization.

Gaining respect isn’t something that will come in a matter of days or even weeks. It will take time and continuous effort to gain respect. Unlike college grades, respect isn’t something that will be averaged to give you a score. A continuing series of activities designed to gain respect can be tarnished by just one careless or unthoughtful act..