Everyone makes mistakes on the job. Everyone. From the president, to your manager, to your colleagues, to you — we all make mistakes.

The key to making mistakes “successfully” is to own up to them as soon as you know — either on your own or by someone telling you — that a mistake has been made.

Waffling, claiming the mistake really wasn’t yours, coming up with excuses as to why the mistake was made — all do you no good and can actually harm you. Your boss may think you’re immature at best, a weasel at worst.

The best way to find out you’ve made a mistake is to discover it yourself. This allows you to then come up with a solution to fixing the mistake before you tell your boss. You even may be able to fix the mistake before you even tell your boss about your gaffe..

Doing so benefits you because a) you owned up to the mistake and b) you fixed it before anyone knew about it.

If you can’t fix it before telling your manager about the mistake, at the least go to him or her with a plan to fix it. Managers love problem solvers and, even if your mistake caused a problem, the fact that you have a plan to fix it will raise the esteem your boss holds for you.

Owning up to mistakes and fixing them — or at least having a plan on how to fix them — actually can be a good career move…sometimes. One man recently told an acquaintance he made such a bad mistake at work he was sure he was going to be fired. But he immediately went to his boss, told him about his blunder and detailed how he was going to fix the problem. He did so and then, much to his extreme surprise, actually received the Employee of the Month designation soon after because of his actions!

Make no mistake, StaffEx has some terrific temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments at some of the Tampa Bay area’s best employers. Bring your resume to us soon so that we may hear more about your goals and career aspirations. Contact us today!