Taking on more responsibility at work can be a tricky endeavor. If you are feeling underutilized or could use a more challenging project, it certainly can make for a dull day at work. On the other hand, you don’t want to appear like you are an expendable employee who is not actively contributing to the organization. What approach should you take if you'd like to increase your workload and possibly speed up the path to promotion, but do not want to portray yourself in a negative light?

Keep Communications Lines Open
Your boss cannot read your mind. If you feel like your skills are underutilized, do not be afraid to reach out to your boss and express your desire to explore related areas of expertise where you can add value. Do you have a firm grasp on your current responsibilities while still having empty periods of time during the day? Be sure to explain why you believe that you are well-suited for the task at hand.

Start the Conversation
This has the potential to be an awkward subject to broach with your supervisor, so before you start the conversation, think about the best way to approach the situation. Think about your motives for asking for an increase in responsibility. Are you simply bored at work, or are you really looking to contribute in new ways to the organization’s success? Just be sure to run the numbers and figure out if the proposed idea would really be beneficial to the company.

Take the Initiative
If you see that something needs to be done, do not be afraid to take the initiative to do it. If a small problem comes up while you’re working, attempt to take care of the issue on your own, especially if you are confident about the appropriate course of action. Try to assert more independence, and to a certain extent, become less reliant on your boss for feedback on your daily activities.

Be Friendly and Approachable
Keep a friendly attitude so that people don’t feel hesitant to approach you. If coworkers think of you as anything less than a positive person, they will not want to interact with you at all, much less approach you to collaborate on any projects.

Ensure that you are aptly and effectively handling your current duties before you look to take on more responsibility. After all, nothing is worse for a business than a disengaged employee!

Most prospective employers will ask you to provide several professional references during your final interviews or before you can officially join the team. It’s not surprising that your interviewer would be interested in speaking with people who have worked with you in the past, but what exactly are they trying to learn when they speak with your references?

This week, we asked Alan K., Akraya’s Customer Success Specialist, to give us the inside scoop on professional reference checks and what employers are trying to learn from them.

What kind of questions are employers asking a prospective employee's references?
Basically, there are two questions that employers are trying to gain insight into – if the candidate actually did work there in the capacity in which they told the employer and what type of worker the candidate is.

Example questions that an employer might ask an employee reference include:
1. What was the working relationship you had with this person? Length of time worked with them?
2. How would you describe their interpersonal skills?
3. What would you say motivated the individual most?
4. What would you say are their strongest attributes?
5. Would you rehire or recommend the individual for rehire?

So what is it that employers ultimately want to get out of talking to references?
As you can see from the earlier example questions, the employer is trying to gain reassurance that he or she would be making a wise decision by bringing the prospective employee onto their team. The employer is already impressed with the candidate's skill set and attitude, and is simply trying to cover all of their bases and make sure there isn’t some extremely undesirable aspect about the candidate’s personality or work ethic that may not be apparent on the surface.

How should a job seeker choose who should be a reference? Should they select someone who they know would say only positive things, like a close co-worker?
Most employers would prefer that a job seeker choose a former manager or supervisor as a reference. This is because managers are usually able to deliver a relatively unbiased opinion and are much less likely to be swayed into giving a positive referral if one isn’t truly deserved. A manager is also a good pick for a reference because a positive referral from them will hold more weight than one from a co-worker who is similarly ranked. That being said, job seekers should also select references who worked with them for at least a year, have a good understanding of their abilities and can attest to their positive attributes.

Should they help prepare the reference to answer potential questions?
If you have done a good job of selecting your references, an employee should not have to provide any coaching or preparation. However, it is always helpful to let your reference know that they may be receiving a reference call from a potential employer. You can also share the basic job description of the position you're after with your reference so they can better relate your previous experience to your present goals. You'll also want to refresh them on your job description and contributions while you were working with them - especially if a lot of time has passed since they last worked with you. You don’t want your references to be caught off guard and fail to recall what it is you even did on their team!

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