How to succeed at your job
On my website, you’ve already seen my work ethic. I try to follow four rules with any project. I came up with this one day years ago early in my career. And though I haven’t always met my own standards, these rules keep me grounded and accountable to my own work. Let me unpack these ideas for a moment.
QUALITY: What I mean by this term is , have you done the project in a way that it looks good? Have you paid attention to how the words look on the designed page? Have you brought forth your best ideas, used the best photography and design to get your ideas across? Everything you create, whether its’s a newsletter, video, or social post, should reflect the quality of your organization’s brand.
ACCURACY: Is everything you wrote true? Have you taken the time to fact check what you said? Are your metrics accurate? Are you using the most up-to-date verifiable source? For one organization, I only used the metrics in the addendum to our last annual report. Another organization went eyeball deep in metrics of every sort, and it was impossible to keep track of the latest numbers, which had to be obtained separately for every piece, taking away valuable production time. Have one source and use it for all your pieces.
CONSISTENCY: This rule is about following your organization’s brand. Do you capitalize titles used after a name or not? Do you use APA style? Are your design elements in brand? Do you use p.m. or PM to designate times? If you use contractors, are they aware of these rules and stick to them, every time? Check every piece you create and make sure that, whatever your organization’s styles are, they are followed every time.
EFFICIENCY: This point is about time management. Have you found ways to be as efficient as possible in how you get your work done? If you need a quote from your leadership, can you sit in on a session and record what the person said to be used later? Can you use a quote from a newsletter in a social media piece (best to use the same story or quote three ways if possible)? Coming up with ideas to make your work more efficient will help you work smarter, not harder, reduce stress, and help you stay on deadline.
If you follow QACE, as least when you remember it, you’ll be able to succeed in your nonprofit career. And hey, maybe you’ll start to enjoy it.
