How to Be Taken More Seriously at Work in Your 20s
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When you’re first starting out in your career, you may struggle with the feeling that you’re not being taken seriously by your peers.
Even though you’re a competent professional ready to take on challenges, your coworkers might think that because you’re fresh out of education, you lack experience and maturity.
You may not be imagining things, either. According to a study by McKinsey, Generation Z is less likely than other generations to report feeling recognized and rewarded at work. Gen Z also struggles more with work-life balance and job satisfaction than previous generations.
If you want to be taken seriously at work, you have to invest time and effort in forming a good impression and building trust.
How Gen Z Students Can Be Taken More Seriously At Work
1. Always be prepared to provide value
Take the time to understand the context of meetings and work-related events before going into them. As a member of Generation Z, just starting out in your business career, this is especially applicable because you’re often pulled in multiple directions and brought into things at the last minute. But no matter what, make sure you know who will be in attendance and what the meeting will be about before it begins.
Managers will notice and appreciate when you know what’s going on because it shows you are paying attention and understand the greater context as it relates to your job and company. As you develop your company expertise, you'll find it becomes easier to make a positive impact in your job, too.
Pro tip: Keep up with current events. Keeping a pulse on what’s happening in the world, your industry and the wider economy makes it easy for you to contribute to conversations as much as possible.
2. 'Dress for success' by paying attention to your environment
Dressing the part doesn’t mean you have to wear a full suit and tie every day, especially if you’re in a more casual workplace (or you're remote working!)
For Gen Z graduates of Master's and MBA programs, there’s some truth to the adage “dress for the job you want, not the job you have,” but don’t overdo it. Pay attention to how the rest of the workforce dresses - is it smart-casual? Do people in client-facing roles dress differently from other employees?
Pro Tip: Not only will people take you more seriously, but research suggests that dressing more formally can make you feel more self-assured. You may also benefit from implicit affinity bias, which indicates that people subconsciously prefer people who are similar to themselves. By dressing the same as other workers, you can prove that job titles don't always matter.
3. Take initiative and exceed what’s expected of you
Do everything you can to break out of your comfort zone and take initiative. It’s expected that you can check all the boxes of your job description, but it’s also appreciated when you go above and beyond.
Offering solutions to problems, speaking up in meetings to provide new ideas, and taking risks by experimenting with different approaches are just a couple of ways to demonstrate that you’re a self-starter. Not only does this contribute to your career development, but shows you're committed to being a valued member of the team.
Pro Tip: After you feel comfortable in your current role, look at the tasks required in the employment position one level above yours. Showing that you would be able to take on a more demanding role will position and prepare you for future career possibilities.
Read more in our article: Why You’re Not Getting Promoted (and What to Do About It).
3. Speak with confidence and conviction
Speaking confidently is easier said than done. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, babble, and flub your words in meetings. However, the ability to be self-assured in your spoken communication might be the most important factor when you want peers and senior managers to take you seriously.
First, avoid using common filler words like “um” and “like” when talking. Additionally, practice speaking without inflection (when your tone rises at the end of statements), as this can make you sound unsure of what you’re saying.
If you're still quite nervous in your new workplace, this uncertainty can make it harder to speak confidently. Try practicing breathwork in your breaks from work—just a few minutes of breathing deeply can help you think more clearly and consequently help with assertive speaking.
Additionally, knowing what you want to say can help you speak with more confidence. Learning the ins and outs of your new workplace will help, as once you're more comfortable with the environment and know how the organization runs, you'll feel more comfortable making knowledgeable, assured comments.
Pro Tip: Practice makes perfect. Consider running through presentations in the mirror beforehand or attending a local Toastmasters meeting to get more practice in public speaking.
4. Learn to write professional, concise emails
If you want to stand out in the modern workplace, it's not just about your digital skills or previous experience. You also need to be a good writer.
MBA graduates often favor lengthy writing styles. School taught you to write a certain way—full of fancy vocabulary words, long sentences, and research citations. Business schools certainly aren't immune from this kind of writing style. Think of end of year projects, where you may need to produce a comprehensively-researched essay.
But there's evidence that keeping your writing succinct can be advantageous. A behavioral science study found that cutting the length of an email asking people to take a survey resulted in a 2% higher response rate.
For Gen Z, digital communication is fundamental to the work environment. So, when you're crafting emails at home to your supervisor, think about how you can get your point across in as few words as possible.
5. Be on time by being five minutes early
This point cannot be stressed enough: always be on time. Showing up to meetings and events on time shows others that you know the value of time and that you respect their time.
Research shows that employees who arrive earlier at work are perceived as more conscientious and receive higher performance ratings overall. This correlation is stronger if your working hours align with those of your managers, for example, if you're both early birds.
For Gen Z, the requirement to be in the office at a particular time can be challenging. Compared to baby boomers and millennials, Gen Z is more likely to struggle with the feeling of being 'online' all day for work.
Additionally, 62% of Gen Z workers say that they feel pressure to be productive during traditional 9-5 hours, even if they don't feel productive during those times.
6. View every opportunity as a learning experience
You won’t know everything, and that’s okay. Although your MBA program will have given you a good foundation in all things business, there are still plenty of areas you won't be familiar with.
To grow, you need to recognize your limitations and actively work to fill your knowledge gaps with new skills. Your openness to learning, honesty, and humility will help you communicate your value to your coworkers and boss.
A willingness to upskill will show that you're serious about providing value to your organization and will also improve your personal development. Consider what skills are adjacent to your current role and will help you do your work better or optimize your work.
Pro Tip: Make sure you constantly assess your areas for improvement and set achievable goals to advance in your career. Gen Z is particularly good at this—they like seeking out learning opportunities and prefer careers that offer diverse career paths.
7. Develop a successful work life balance
Gen Zers are more likely than older generations to value work life balance. They value flexibility in the workplace, which extends to setting clear boundaries between work and home.
Developing a balanced work and home life will not only make you happier at your job but also help you be taken seriously. Studies have shown that happier people are 12% more productive at work.
Pro Tip: As you work to balance your professional and home life, remember the importance of prioritizing your mental health.
How a Graduate Business Degree Can Help You Be Taken More Seriously
Investing in yourself and your future with an MBA or business master’s degree demonstrates to companies that you are management material and worthy of being taken seriously.
A graduate business degree offers fresh ideas, differentiates you from others, qualifies you for higher-level positions, and gives you credibility in your industry and the business world. It'll also give you the best chance of reaching your career goals.
Still not sure about business school? Learn more about the different types of graduate business school programs, what an MBA is, and why an MBA is a smart choice for professionals who are unsure of their career paths.
Want to learn more about how business school can help accelerate your career? Create an mba.com account to access exclusive, valuable information from business school experts.