Greetings and welcome to those of you entering the workforce for the first time! After many years in the corporate world I began a virtual consulting business a few years back providing fractional COO and project management services. Since that time, I have been managing remote teams. Here are some of my recommendations for making yourself indispensible even when remote. 1. Have a dedicated work space. It does not need to be large or fancy, but it needs to be devoted to the action of working. You want your mind to shift gears toward professional pursuits when you are in that space. Have a decent, supportive chair. Have good lighting. Don't move all over the house. Don't make crafts there. Don't apply make-up there. And DEFINITELY don't work from your bed. 2. Get dressed. Shower. Brush your teeth. Comb your hair. Put the pajamas away. It's about mindset and focus. The employer is paying you and they are allowed to have expecations of you. More importantly, YOU should have expectations of you. You may be remote, but think about the trajectory of your career. Is the person still in the hot pink sloth pajamas with the coffee stain at one o'clock in the afternoon going to be the next VP? Does that faded concert tee you stole from your brother say, "Promote me?" Probably not. We talk and act differently when we are dressed for work. 3. Establish a routine for the whole day. Start work at the same time every day. Take scheduled breaks and a lunch away from your desk. Walk around during breaks. Stay hydrated. Prepare meals ahead of time. Share your routine with your boss and other stakeholders. Then stick to it. Show up on time to meetings. If you say you are working eight hours, be present for those eight hours. 4. Doing video calls? Curate your space. You don't need to decorate, but make sure that the lighting and background are conducive to video calls. Position the camera so that your audience can see more than half your face or can't see up your nose. In terms of what's behind you, less is more. You want to look professional, but 35 business books and six trendy signs means the focus is no longer on you and the value you bring. If needed, use a virtual background to hide the other areas of your space. If someone gives you the option of using your video or not, always use your video. It's the only way they know you are really engaged. Consider noise canceling headphones if you have a lot of distracting noise in the background. Finally, if you are often on calls and have a dog that barks easily or a cat that wants to sit on your keyboard all day, they need to be separated from your space. They're cute, but they don't necessarily seem that way to the others in your meeting. 5. Have a system and keep your desk clean. This isn't about achieving the perfect color-coordinated Minimalist tableau. This is about creating a virtual and/or actual organizational system that prompts you with tasks, gives you space to be productive, and minimizes the anxiety caused by clutter. While your employer may already opt to use tools like Slack and Asana, if they don't, you should consider using something that will keep you on task. Keep your personal items to a minimum. Keep a digital desktop file or have a place to hang anything critical that needs to be in front of you constantly, but do not fall into the trap of using Post-Its to keep your business life in order. Hint: organization via Post-It fails every time and carelessness with information critical to doing your job will limit the success of your career. Especially if you ever have to go back to the office. Don't sabotage yourself with bad systems. 6. Understand how your company uses collaborative tools. I mentioned some common ones - Slack and Asana, but there are different ways to use these tools. Make sure that you understand how and when to use them so that stepping into the existing workflow is as seemless as possible. If needed, go to the tool's support center to find videos and blogs on how to best use what's there. Always use your company-owned computer and internet resources appropriately. 7. Communicate about how often you will be expected to check-in with your manager and what updates you need to provide at those times. If there are tasks that may make it seem like you aren't working because you are not chatting or checking off tasks, make sure your boss knows so that assumptions aren't made about your productivity. If there are others who depend on the work that you do in order to complete their work, arrange regular times to communicate or make sure that they are copied/included in task notifications. 8. Get to know your co-workers. If your new employer does not offer one-on-one or team meetings to introduce you to them, ask for the opportunity. Come with good questions about their role and how yours works together with theirs. 9. Locate your digital resources. It takes about a year to get fully acclimated to any role. Once your orientation is over, make sure that you know where to find the answers to questions about how to do your job. Always go there first before interrupting a co-worker to ask. Online chats can be very distracting to others. 10. Treat your words carefully and download Grammarly. Remote chats, like emails, lose nuance. You can't see a person's face and feelings. Before you click "Send," examine what you wrote. If you aren't sure after that, it might be a good sign it needs work or to be discarded altogether. Always, always, check spelling and grammar. Unless it is the prevailing culture of the company, keep emojis to a minimum. 11. Find a mentor. Ask your new manager or HR about mentoring programs or those in your area who might help you acclimate to success in a work-at-home environment. Impressing a boss can be easier in person than remote, so have a plan about how you are going to demonstrate your value over time. You might do this with a journaling tool or a notebook. I've found that remembering your accomplishments can sometimes be more challenging in virtual work. You will want to present those accomplishments at your annual review and keep them to boost your resume. Good luck!