-Try thinking positively about the job you hate.  Consider the positive parts, such as the fact that you are lucky enough to have a job during this turmoil.  The fact that you have reliable enough work that you’ve stayed employed, and have been able to live more comfortably than many other Americans.  Thinking about your good fortune is a great way to bring that smile out.

-Set time limits on your tasks, to see if you can accomplish your goals.  This is almost a tactic to make a game out of the monotony you may suffer if you hate your job.  Also this helps you get faster, and better at accomplishing your tasks.  The appearance of becoming a better, harder worker, could help you advance into a higher position that you won’t hate.

-Take an interest in your coworkers.  Make friends, and be positive and good natured with them.  Creating a better work environment around you can really help how you feel at work.  A great way to do that is improve your relations with those around you, creating a friendly environment that you can enjoy.

-Finally, just because you have a job, doesn’t mean you can’t look for a different one.  Try looking for other opportunities that may serve you better.  Something that you can really get into, and have a true passion for, unlike your current job.  Just make sure to keep that knowledge silent, as some employers take personal offence when their employees look for work elsewhere.  The last thing you want is to lose the job you have, because you were looking for a different one.

The first thing you should know about being good at making small talk, is to stay away from controversial subject matter.  Stay away from political news stories, and religious views, etc.  These are typically topics that people have very strong opinions about, and if yours happen to be different, it can spark a fairly heated debate.  A heated debate is not what you want to be on the opposite side of, when you’re chatting with your boss at the water cooler.  Instead focus on more simple things, like personal experiences.

Show genuine interest in what the other person has to say.  This is key, as anybody will know if you’re feigning interest to perhaps gain favor with that person.  Care about what they have to say, and offer good insightful as well as courteous input in return.  By genuinely caring and giving good positive input from your perspective, you make a positive connection.

Try to keep a list of news stories or popular movies that have recently come out, in your mind.  This way you’ve got good topics to bring up, and ones that most people are well aware of.  Plus movies and common news stories are good safe topics that almost anyone can connect to, and have a lighthearted conversation about.  Lighthearted friendly conversation that can easily be enjoyed by anyone is the key.  The better you get at small talk with your coworkers, the more well known you’ll be around the office, and that gives your work a better chance at being noticed.

First off, and I can’t stress this enough, dress the part.  If you’re interning at a big time corporation, and you see the rest of the interns dressed anything but professionally, do not follow their example.  Buttoned shirt and tie should be a no brainer for every day that you are there to intern.  This way your appearance meets your attitude, creating a good impression that you are there to work and to learn.  That’s what companies want.

Get to work before the boss.  That way you can show that you are committed to the tasks at hand, as well as learning everything you can.  A boss will put more into your internship if you show the initiative to take advantage of everything they have on offer.

Know the easy stuff, like making coffee, working a copier and fax, the simple office tasks in and out.  There’s a certain amount of grunt work that interns are meant to do, and all of these fall into those categories.  The faster you can work through them, the faster you can get down to the real aspects of your job.

Finally, do the best you can.  Internships are really you volunteering your time, but don’t think that just because you aren’t being paid you shouldn’t work hard.  Being a hard worker with a good attitude and willingness to get the job done will put you into the memory of your coworkers and boss.  That can be invaluable when you’re looking to get a job somewhere down the line.  Not to mention top performers in internship positions can even be offered full time positions from the companies they are interning with.  Work hard and you just may get yourself a job.

-Try to avoid smiling too much

Smiling is good, too much smiling is very, very bad.  When all you do is smile at an interview, you look nervous and intimidated.  Smiling always appears as your desperate attempt to avoid feeling inferior at the interview, when you most certainly do feel as such.  So smile when the moment calls for it, but don’t be afraid to be completely serious also.

-Avoid humor at all costs.

Humor is a great way to make the work environment a more friendly place to be, not to mention more enjoyable.  But until you know your coworkers well enough to crack the right jokes, you should probably avoid making them in the first place.  Bad jokes that don’t meet the humor standard of your potential employer are a good sign that you might not be the person for the job.  So do yourself a favor and avoid the jokes during the interview process.

-Don’t ask pointless questions.

Nothing comes off worse than stupid questions at an interview.  Think about what you want to know beforehand, so you’re well informed before the interview even begins.  There’s no thorn in your side quite like appearing uninformed, or unready to work at a position or company.

-Be careful how you dress.

You don’t want to be casual during an interview, you want to dress nicely, that means wearing a tie for the gents, and business appropriate apparel for the ladies.  Also don’t wear too much clothing, to the point that you could sweat during the interview.  Sweating looks very bad, as it makes you appear nervous and weak.  Both are things that you do not want to show in an interview.

-Be willing to go beyond your boundaries.

You may be asked about tasks that may seem uncomfortable to you, whether if they’re slightly outside your area of expertise, or not what you expected from the position.  Always seem willing to take on new tasks, even if you don’t have prior knowledge.  An employee that’s unwilling to learn to become a better contributor to the team isn’t very useful to a new employer.  That will show in an interview.

1. Bad Performance Reviews

Okay, so it’s your monthly performance review and normally you excel at your job, this month has been no different, so you’re expecting a quick and easy positive performance review right?  Well what if you get a bad one out of the blue?  This could be a clue in that your company is setting you up to be fired.  It’s always favorable for Human Resources and the legal departments if someone has a few bad performance reviews on file before they are terminated, to show that the company had adequate reason.

2. Your Inclusion In Projects Is Limited.

If you’re starting to feel left out of your bosses tactics, and are feeling fairly underappreciated, you may not be imagining things, it may just be that you’re slowly being phased out of that workplace.  Anytime your boss is avoiding you more, leaving you out, or your own colleagues are leaving you out of private meetings, it wouldn’t hurt for you to start browsing some opportunities elsewhere.  At least that way your job loss won’t come as an earth shattering shock.

3. You Get A New Boss.

Managers like to work with employees that they are familiar with.  With workers that they know well, a boss knows what to expect, how far they can push, and which goals that they will be able to accomplish.  The problem with that strategy is for your new boss to make room for new people, he/she has to get rid of you.  A new boss is always a good time for you to brush up that resume and be prepared to be job hunting.

4. Coworkers Begin Getting Fired.

Even if you’re a star performer at your job, if the company starts making cuts on account of an economic crisis nobody is safe.  So if you see a lot of heads rolling at your company, get your interview skills practiced once more, because you could be following suite before too long.

-Firstly, organize everything.  Don’t just make sure that your work environment is well organized and neat, but make sure that your day follows suit.  Set aside time for phone calls and checking your email so that you don’t get bogged down trying to keep up with both, as either could end up dominating your day and interfering with how much actual work you are able to get done for that day.

-Secondly, don’t fall into the work distraction pitfalls.  These include mostly bringing in aspects of your personal life to work.  Such as browsing the internet, making personal calls, having a non-work related conversation with coworkers.  All of these are huge time wasters and will significantly cut into how much work you are able to complete each day.

-Thirdly, try using one single planner for all of your daily goals and activities.  This way you’re never confused or having to check more than one place to keep yourself organized.

-Fourthly, figure out your work strengths and weaknesses, and be completely honest in your self assessment.  This way you can focus on your strengths in a clinch to get work done and done well, and also be aware of your weaknesses so that they do not dominate your performances.  By pointing out your weaknesses you can become a more complete and better worker.

-Finally, know when to take a break.  It’s unhealthy for your body to sit down for long periods of time, as it constricts blood flow to different parts of the body.  Every 60-90 minutes you should be taking a quick 5-10 minute break where you stand up and take a few steps, either to walk away from your desk for a moment or to just walk around your office.  Your mind and body will feel much better, and in the end you’ll get more work done because of that.

Keep yourself motivated, and keep on top of your assignments.  Finish your projects as quickly as possible without compromising the quality of the work you’re putting out.  A fast turnaround time, especially faster than the boss expects, is a great way for the higher ups to start noticing your name on these projects.  Being faster than your coworkers to turn in a project, and especially if you can keep up the same quality your boss would expect, ensures your boss will start remembering your name before anyone else‘s.

Take advantage of opportunities to do work that you may not even be required to complete.  If your boss offers something that isn’t necessarily in your job description/department, do it anyway, and give it your best.  This shows initiative, and commitment to the company, both of which make you a standout performer the next time your boss is considering who may need to be leaving the team because of cutbacks.  The last thing your boss will ever want to hear is “that’s not in my job description”, remember that, because that response will make you look terrible.

Finally, lead as much as possible without stepping on your bosses toes.  Become a standout performer by taking initiative and helping your coworkers as much as possible.  The more that you help others around you, the more your skills will be noticed, and the better they will appear.