Are you constantly ignored at work, excluded from important meetings, and overlooked for a well-deserved raise or promotion?

Here are 5 things you may be doing at work that keep you from being noticed”

1. You’re not expanding your skill set

Once you’ve established a certain knowledge of yourself and your abilities, you can start expanding your skill set. Begin by attending seminars and workshops and reading about new trends in your industry; absorb a little knowledge of everything that’s connected to your job, even if remotely. Today, professionals can not only opt for formal classes and courses by educational institutes and training providers, but they can also choose from the thousands of online courses available on key career sites. Independent reading, proactively-sought mentorship, aggressive networking and active participation in online specialties forums and industry boards, are also among the ways professionals are learning and acquiring new knowledge today.

2. You’re not building your personal brand

The point is to be irreplaceable. You have to aim for excellence and try to show that you’re truly the best at what you do. You must also dress the part for the person you want to be. Whether you want to be country manager in your advertising agency, partner in your PR firm, a world-class fashion designer or copywriter or creative director, make sure your appearance doesn’t conflict with the image you project. Creating and customizing a searchable public profile on online career sites is one way of doing this.

3. You don’t go beyond your job description

A job description is there as a guide and framework for your daily activities, not as a limitation on your growth and creativity. If you are presented with opportunities to innovate and create and improve things outside of your actual job description, then by all means get the support and buy-in of your manager and adapt your activities accordingly. There is little that frustrates managers more than employees who hide behind their job description as an excuse for sloth, inertia and lacklustre productivity.

4. Your work relationships are suffering

Never underestimate the power of human contact to lift, educate and inspire. If you know you are the shy type or the type who blurts out the first thing that comes to their mind at every occasion, now is the time to stop. Listen to really understand, not just to respond. Ask yourself whether what you are about to say helps to solve a problem or improve a situation, or rather comes across as hurtful, immature or redundant, and choose your words and plan of action wisely. By all means join the office celebrations and after-work gatherings, as and when appropriate, and seek to be part of creating a joyful office spirit and sincere winning camaraderie.

5. You don’t have a mentor

Asking for help professionally may be the biggest favor you ever do yourself and your career, and you may be shocked to discover just how many successful professionals have had serious mentors in their careers whom they have sought and asked for guidance. Choose a mentor wisely for their personal rapport, as well as their industry expertise and coaching skills and know-how, and be prepared to be a gracious and grateful mentee. If you aim for even more career success and mentorship, then log onto professional networking sites and start interacting with other professionals and building on your knowledge and expertise.