Many companies' recruiting tactics target two key employee types: A-player employees, who provide innovative ideas and drive growth, and B-type employees, who are reliable and steady members of the team. Both types of employees are vital components in successful companies. One type, however, has the advantage when it comes to career growth and long-term success.
Companies seek A-player employees because they add unique value to the teams they're placed in and, as a result, to the company as a whole. Quite often, A-players get multiple offers from different companies and engender fierce competition. They take great pride in what they're doing, have a penchant for success and consistently produce excellent work.
B-players are equally important to a company's success, but for different reasons. B-player characteristics include steadfast reliability and honesty. They arrive to work on time, generate consistent results and don't generally give their employers a hard time.
A-player employees hold their own within a team but also offer something extra: the ability to take on extra challenges, often alone, and achieve exceptional results. As a result, A-player employees are often handpicked for promotion and singled out at bonus time. The vast majority of companies not only want to keep their best employees, but also want to offer them pathways to greater success. A-player employees find it much easier to ascend to the next level on the corporate ladder.
If you're a B-player employee right now and want to be an A-player, you'll benefit from the significant advantages inherent in aiming higher. Training courses — and extra learning of any kind — are your friends. A-player employees embrace change and look for opportunities to expand upon their existing skills, rather than focusing only on the skills they currently have.
As you bolster your skill set, make sure you hang out with other A-players to gain additional insight and cultivate new ideas. Stay positive and surround yourself with other positive individuals who believe in your abilities. Accept constructive feedback, and allow the feedback to strengthen you as you rise to new heights.
Finally, change your perspective to incorporate your company's overall long-term goal whenever you embark on any new project. If you think outside the box and come up with inspiring objectives, you can stay prepared to promote yourself whenever a suitable occasion arises.
If you're a steady and reliable employee with B-player characteristics, there are compelling reasons to up the ante and rise to the level of an A-player. A-player employees get chances to rise above their current positions more frequently than B-player employees. A-player employees also tend to get retained, rather than made redundant, when companies downsize. If you maximize your strengths, promote yourself and never stop learning, you'll gain a significant advantage in your workplace.
Photo courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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