10 Ways to Stand Out at Work—Other than Work Hard

26 Feb 2025 #career

It took me two years to go from being just another developer in the room to sitting in meetings with the president.

It was at a past job. Sure, it was a small software company in my city. So small everyone knew who the president was, and he recognized everyone’s faces in the hallways. That was a point in my favor.

In my first years at that place, I was always behind: delivering my tasks late, staying after hours to keep up, and fixing bugs in my code.

And I wasn’t my team leader’s favorite team member.

It took me hours of studying and practice and hard work to prove I was more than a “problematic” developer.

But you don’t need to work hard, here are 10 ways to stand out at work:

1. Deliver your work on time. Not early, and definitely not late.
2. Document and automate your work. Don’t become a bottleneck. Don’t become a hero.
3. Ask for the context behind your tasks. Always ask why. Why this? And why now?
4. Get interested in the business side of your work. Understand how your work is helping the company make money.
5. Speak up in meetings. Ask questions and give suggestions.
6. Volunteer for the work nobody else wants to do. Make sure you can do it, or figure out how.
7. Give 10 ideas to improve the company, the product, or the work around you.
8. Be reachable during working hours, especially when working from home.
9. Be easy to work with. A.k.a don’t be an ass*.
10. Make your boss look good in front of their bosses.
11. Make sure every task you get is solved. Either because you solve it or follow up with the right team or person to solve it.

Ok, those were 11 ways. I know I said there would be 10.

But if I had to pick only one from that list, I’d go with #9: Be easy to work with. Invest in your soft skills or human skills. That’s the easiest way to stand out. People will remember you, not by your work, but by your attitude.

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