If you’re a graduate who just joined the workforce, you’ll find that some job tasks are nearly akin to some experience during your internship or activities in your university.
But what if you’re given a task that you’ve never handled before?
Understandably, you’ll get anxious, confused and frustrated at first from receiving a job you’re not familiar with.
However, no matter how daunting this new task might be, at the end of the day you’re given the responsibility by your employer to complete it.
So, instead of looking at it as a problem you can think of handling a new task as a good opportunity to gain new knowledge, skills and experience, especially when it gets you out of your comfort zone.
Here are some ways to deal with a new job task:
Ask around
Perhaps the most straightforward thing you can do is to ask.
Go up to your superior for details of the task or to an experienced colleague for suggestions.
You can also ask your family or friends who may have tackled similar work before.
In any case, asking around gives you an idea on how to accomplish the job.
At the very least, it could help you build rapport with your colleagues and superiors.
Do some research
The moment you receive your new task, begin your research immediately.
If your workplace has an archive of past works or manuals that are related to your task, you can study these materials to find out how it is usually done.
Additionally, with access to the World Wide Web, you can search online for relevant tips, tutorials or information to get your task done.
Start small
Once you have a general idea about your task, you can start off with the easy part.
Consider this a warmup to a work process you’re about to put yourself through.
It’s best not to dive into a new task with the difficult part first; otherwise you will stress yourself out and you won’t be able to meet your deadline.
Have faith in yourself
Most importantly, you need to believe in your own capability to do this new task.
As long as you put in a lot of effort and you make yourself open to constructive criticism, handling a new task builds the confidence you need to be better at your work.
And when all’s said and done, look back at the entire process and discover your strengths and weaknesses so that you can perform better the next time you’re given a comparable task.
This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
This article first appeared on The Borneo Post, published in the print version on Saturday, October 27, 2018.
Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels.
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