You’ve likely heard the expression that the first 100 days are the most important.

If you are like most people, that is just an adage that hangs out “there” somewhere for the likes of CEOs and politicians. Let me break the news to you. That first 100 days is the most important time of your life at a new company or when you claw your way into a new position, whether it is a promotion or a lateral move. But few people know what to focus on during that first 100 days.

Some create grand action plans they think will impress their colleagues; others, do nothing. Either way, most people GET IT WRONG. What you do in that first 100 days is crucial to your career path and can accelerate it when done correctly.

Here’s the “unwritten rule” and the secret to helping you fast-track your career path:

CREATE and STRENGTHEN your personal LABEL.

I’ve written on this subject before, but in a very different context. I’d recommend you read that Nugget from 2 years ago titled, “Negative Labels…” by clicking here.  But, this Nugget is about doing yourself a favor during your first 100 days in a new job or role.

A label, as I have implied in my previous Nugget, is just about the most precious and certainly an important attribute to have if you seek either respect or promotable-ness. To have, or to create, your label, you certainly have to know who you are and what you bring to the table. Once you clearly understand who you are an excellent way to “get the word out” is to create and manage your own label.

Get to work on that. You have 100 days to implant your label into the minds of everyone in the company that can support or impact your career plan. That means adopting an awareness-building campaign. [A useful Nugget to click on: https://boom-qa.com/hire-yourself/ ]

At the end of 100 days in a new responsibility, everyone who “matters” ought to be referring to you as, “The person who…” or “You are the go-to person if ever I have a problem in…”, and not by your name.  Your label ought to be something important to you and that will make you proud. To have people refer to you by your label, you have to manage your own awareness campaign to get it out there.

I don’t mean to imply that you have to run up and down the halls of the corporation with signs plastered all over your body. I mean to say, invest plenty of time and energy to create interactions with others and find ways to let them know what your label is. You do that by MANIFESTING your label through STRONG ACTIONS that speak for themselves. You advertise your label through your actions.

You can’t claim to be innovative if you’ve not innovated anything noteworthy. You can’t claim to respect diversity if you try to entertain people with ethnic jokes. You can’t claim to be a hard worker if others see that you work-to-rule. You can’t be the go-to person if you don’t have a specialty. Get my point? People will come to know you by what you do, not by what you say.

Know your label, manifest it through concrete actions!

At EVERY OPPORTUNITY, within those first 100 days, stay focused on projecting your labels through what you do, not what you say.