Are You “Invisible” at Work? Don’t be!

Beware! Even if you’re doing a great job and maybe even deserve a big raise, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get ahead. If you’re invisible—you never toot your own horn—that raise can disappear in a hurry. You might even get a pink slip. To make matters worse, after you get the pink slip, you may have a tough time finding a job. People who don’t toot their own horns often do.

Sam got let go   Being invisible cost Sam his job. He's a network administrator who did great work. But one day, he said one of the "bean counters" told him, "We're paying you a lot of money to take care of the network. But the network works fine. Who needs you?"

Of course, after they let Sam go, they soon found out why Sam was paid well. But that was too late for them—and too late for Sam. He became a victim of The Maintenance Man Syndrome.

I named the Maintenance Man Syndrome after a real maintenance man, one of my very first resume clients many years ago. When I talked to him, he struggled to find a way to distinguish him from every other maintenance man. He said there were no statistics. No performance reviews. No compliments. No one ever said, "Wow! The office temperature is just right - again! The bathrooms are all immaculate and the toilets aren’t clogged—again!"

We did find great results though. One of them was that he had never gotten a complaint in three years on the job. Like a lot of people, when he was doing really good work, he was invisible. No one knew who he was.

Invisibility worked for Harry Potter, but... being invisible at work can be dangerous. People take you for granted. They don't know they need you. You become expendable.

Don't be like Sam To avoid winding up like Sam, don't rely on your supervisors to recognize your great work. When your performance review comes up, don't just expect the boss to give you credit for all you've done. After all, the boss has other concerns-like people who aren't doing such great work. The boss is putting out fires and maybe doesn't pay any attention to you because there are no pressing issues in your area.

Does Your Boss Even Know What You Do?   A special problem is that some bosses don't have a clue about what we actually do—especially people who work in some technical positions. If you try to explain the issues, you get that blank stare and maybe a grunt.

So what do you do to protect your career?  Document! Keep a job journal to remind yourself about your great work. After all, months from now, you won't remember. Put in details of what issues you faced, what you did about them, and how you improved them.

When you have a performance review, put together a memo to summarize your contributions. Make sure they're in plain English. How did the company benefit? Did they make money? Did they save time? Did you protect their credibility? Did you give customers what they need fast? Did you soothe irate customers and prevent the loss of troubled accounts?

No performance review at your company?   These days, a lot of companies have decided performance reviews are expensive time wasters. This means you have to take the initiative to bring your contributions to your boss on a regular basis. Make sure the boss knows you're a top-notch performer.

You've worked too hard to be careless and fall victim to the Maintenance Man Syndrome.

Steve Frederick and Jack Chapman are career coaches for professionals. They help clients from across America.  Career columnist Joyce Lane Kennedy said, “both men are in the upper ranks of America's most respected career coaches.” Contact them at: 847-673-0339 or [email protected].