There’s a saying in my family ‘If you do your job really well you get rewarded…by doing other people’s jobs.’ The meaning being that if you go above and beyond you will pick up other responsibilities, hopefully for more pay, but unlikely. Now it is said in my family as a punishment but it isn’t totally true.

My belief in the work place is that you bust your butt no matter what, you hold yourself to a certain standard no matter what because it’s your job. Even if it’s a bit naive the truth is you can improve yourself and add to your resume. Even if it’s a place you don’t feel like you’ll get a raise it will definitely not be the case if you aren’t doing good work and busting your butt.

The family saying is meant to be a negative, and there’s no denying no one wants to do more work without the reward but it’s not all bad. When I first got in to radio one of my first mentors told me his philosophy, ‘Do whatever you can to make yourself invaluable.’ It’s kind of the opposite of my family motto because there’s no denying that the more you handle the more value you provide to the company.

My mentor’s saying has never been lost on me because the truth is it’s the only way I know how to work. I always want to learn and improve as much as possible, but in the back of my mind it is always there to provide myself with job security. Of course I’m going to work hard to exceed expectations, but also do all that I can because I love what I do and become someone the company can’t be without.

The first ‘promotion’ I received in radio happened in my hometown. My company was the flagship for Purdue University sports. The Sports Director was responsible for keeping all of that organized and managing all aspects of board ops, scheduling, etc. Our Sports Director quit and the company was cheap and didn’t put anyone in place to take over. They were banking on someone caring and not wanting the company to look bad and that was me. There was no more money but I was glad to take over and handling that job for a few years actually was a big factor in my actual promotion with the company and got me my next job.

As a part of Cache Valley Media Group I do the Morning Show on VFX, podcast, afternoons on KOOL, nights on Kix, fill in on the Fan, play-by-play for Mountain Crest sports, write for Cache Valley Daily and blog. That’s on top of the social media stuff, video work, events and other things I volunteer for. I was hired to do the morning show and…that’s it. I want to become invaluable, improve and do whatever I can to make the company successful because I believe I’ll improve any situation I’m put in to.

At times it can feel like you’re under appreciated, or even unnoticed, but there’s no way it’ll stay that way when it comes to examining the staff. Also, it improves my status and influence in the company. When it comes to decisions are the gonna consult the work that’s doing only one job or the guy that is involved in that many aspects of the company’s workings?

I think being successful in a company is about doing great work as well as building trust with management. The more you handle, and don’t drop the ball, the more that trust is built. I remember an argument once where an employee was unhappy because they felt like they weren’t getting the opportunities and support I was. The truth was they weren’t and the reason was because they had fewer responsibilities and were shrugging them off. Why would a company waste time with someone who wasn’t taking it seriously as opposed to the guy clearly trying to improve the company?

The family saving is ‘If you do your job well you get rewarded by doing other people’s jobs.’ and it me be frustrating but it really is a good thing. You improve, build trust, gain job security and add to your future prospects. If you’re passionate and love what you do, there will be long days and frustrations, but you won’t lose sight of what you’re achieving.