Most jobs involve showing up at the same time, every day, and working with the same people for long stretches of time. But when you work in the skilled trades, and you’re a temporary worker who might go to a handful of job sites over the course of a week or month, it’s harder to build a reputation as a reliable, trustworthy, upstanding member who can do the jobs asked of them.
Don’t fret! You don’t always need to be viewed as the new guy no one knows about; you can build your reputation as you move from team to team, becoming more like a visiting celebrity than an unknown factor.
Here’s how to build your reputation as a solid team member even if you don’t have a regular team.
Show up.
If your team has a 7 a.m. start time, be on site early. Be there at least 10 minutes early so people see that you’re there, ready to go, and eager to start as soon as the workday begins. This shows that you’re committed to the job and to the team, ready to do your part to keep them running on time and offering a helping hand as needed. Speaking of…
Offer to help.
If you’re assigned a certain task, but you see another member of the team needs a hand and you know how to help them, offer to assist. If the foreman is looking for someone to take on additional work, raise your hand. If they need people to stay late to finish a portion of the project, offer to work longer. This will help build your reputation as a hard worker who is committed to making sure things are done properly and safely.
Speak up.
If you see someone working hard and doing a great job, tell them. If you see an unsafe situation, call attention to it so it can be fixed. This isn’t a matter of going around looking for problems, but if you notice something that might lead to a safety hazard or could result in an injury to a crew member, it’s better to speak up than say nothing and allow a dangerous situation to happen. But it’s also important to speak up when good things happen: tell someone on the crew that they’re doing a great job. Tell your foreman what you’ve liked about working on this team. It shows that you’re paying attention and doing your best to seamlessly integrate with this crew, even if you might only spend a short time with them.
Learn new things.
If you have the ability to learn something new on a crew, do it. Share insight from your experiences as well — no two crews are exactly alike! You can share techniques and practices you’ve learned from other teams to provide new ideas to the group you’re working with today, but try to learn something from them to carry on to the next team as well. This shows you’re invested in the success of the crew you’re working on now as well as trying to improve your own abilities to be a contributing member to the next one as well.
Attitude is everything.
Some temporary workers, in any industry, might feel like it’s not worth trying to get to know your coworkers since you’ll only be there a short time. They might not talk much, deciding to keep to themselves and just do the job. But taking the opposite approach, greeting people when they arrive, asking about how they’re doing, offering to help if needed, being curious about what’s going on and how you can help, all of these attributes make for a more friendly and collaborative working experience. It also shows that you’re a friendly, good-natured person, and that’s the kind of attitude and approach your coworkers and foreman will appreciate! No one likes to work with a grump or someone who can’t be bothered to say good morning.
Contact Our Staffing Firm Today
As you move from crew to crew, bringing with you a friendly attitude, a helpful nature, and a commitment to doing the job right, people will talk — in the best way! Companies and crews will want the opportunity to work with you again because they know what they’re getting: Someone who is a hard worker who becomes a member of the team from the moment they arrive until the job is done. It really is that simple!
If you’d like more advice on how to build your reputation or if you’d like to learn more about career options available to you as a skilled tradesperson, call Pirate Staffing today. We work with construction and general labor companies all the time, and we’d be happy to help you find a permanent crew if you’d like, or to explore additional temporary job options. Take a look at our job board to see what’s available, then give us a call!