Want to do better at your job, and impress your boss and coworkers? To be a great worker and help improve your chances of getting a raise, read through this guide on how to be successful in work.

Being successful in work will build your self-esteem, make you feel good about your place in the world, and help you earn as much money as you can in your given occupation. If you have the dedication, there is no question that you can be successful. Follow these steps to become the best at whatever you do.

See some of the Related Mahalo Pages at left for additional tips that may help you in your workplace.

It may seem obvious, but follow the rules at work. Employers appreciate staff who do what is expected of them. Keep in mind that changes in technology may happen long before rules can be changed at work. Do your own research on your own time away from work to find out what opportunities and threats it may bring. EG. Increasingly the first thing employees may hear about the employer not liking staff using social networking sites during work time may be a notice of termination based perhaps on their monitoring of your computer use unknown to you. Don't become part of an interesting new negative trend - keep up with trends in the workplace in the news so that you are well prepared. Choose what you do in the workplace wisely for your real career benefit. Learn to put yourself in the other person's shoes. Facebook, Myspace, personal email may be networking work tools to you but the employer may see it differently. Keep in mind that it is often the employer that decides which viewpoint ultimately wins.

In order to be your best at work, consider making it a lifetime goal to embrace lifelong continuous learning or continuing education as it is often called in college and university departments supporting such upgrading of skills. Consider taking courses, workshops, seminars, lectures, additional qualifications for further certificates, diplomas or degrees. First, check with your company to find out what training, courses, or programs if any are endorsed or provided for employees and how you can apply for them. Also check for local, national or international opportunities that you may be interested in travelling to or learning online and make sure each program is recognized or accredited for the purposes that you wish it for. Check with your employer for any education benefits such as time off for study, tuition fees paid or refunded, promotions or salary increases based on additional qualifications, any work time allowance for study or research, educational leaves, and what the approval process would be to receive such benefits EG. does your supervisor need to nominate you or enter your request into the budget request the year before and how will the organization support such studies if anything and what is your obligation to them after receiving such support EG. if you get another job in a certain timeframe do you have to pay the money back?

Check to see if your company will fund and or give work time off for professional development activities such as conferences, site visits, library research, tours of other companies, committee work onsite or offsite, professional or work related association memberships or activities and what the application process is. You may qualify for time off, funding, travel expenses, per diem food allowances, etc.

Keep a detailed, up to date, and accurate record of all additional learning, training, skills acquisition, networking activities right down to meetings attended with the name of the speech with date attended, so that you can use that file at any time to add detail to any workplace progress report, promotion request, staff meeting where people give personal updates, and professional resume for job applications. This will make it very easy to justify, apply for, or publicize your achievements whenever you need such proof.

One of the biggest differences between those who succeed and those who do not is goal setting. What do you hope to achieve? What accomplishments do you aspire to complete? Think in the long term, and look at the big picture. Develop a clear idea of what you want, no matter how out of reach it may seem at the moment.

Don't just do the tasks that you are asked to do. Give more than is required, and put in more effort than others around you. By doing the best job you can, and offering more than is expected of you, you will get noticed by your superiors. The people that demonstrate dedication and the desire to work hard for the company are the ones that will climb the corporate ladder.

It is very easy to get lazy if you are too comfortable at work, or to write off days that you feel tired, sick or hung over. If you really want to succeed however, you must learn to be a trooper and blaze through days where you don't feel so motivated. It will pay off in the long run.

All of your hard work isn't worth much if it goes unnoticed. Do not brag around the office--that can backfire by making you appear cocky. Simply point out the things that you have accomplished when it is appropriate, and make sure that your bosses see how hard you are working to do a great job for the company.