MyJobMag 30 Day Work Challenge: Day 29 - Prepare your report

Welcome to Day 29 of MyJobMag 30 Day Work Challenge. The 30 Day Work Challenge is designed to help you get your footing solid either you are starting a new job or as a new manager. You can tweet at us @myjobmag to let us know how you are doing or if you have any questions.

We are very close to the end of our 30 Day Work Challenge and I must say the journey has been interesting.  I am sure you have learnt a lot and I have also learned a lot sharing my tips with you.

No matter how long or short the journey is, it is important to really start taking stock and I want you to actually think about how you are going to present your report. The thing is that reporting is a skill. Some people are terrible at it, others can get along just fine. 

However, I totally believe that there are three secrets to a good report via

•    Knowing what you want to present
•    Knowing the purpose of the report
•    Understanding who is going to read your report.

Today I want to encourage you to start thinking ahead of your report. What important metrics are you reporting? Who is going to read your report and most importantly, how are you going to present it?

There are two components of a successful report via content and context. The content of a report should be something the recipient should

• Care about
• Easily understand

Don’t prepare a report for yourself; prepare your report for your audience. What the MD cares about in your report may be totally different from what your line manager or direct supervisor might care about supposing you have to present a report to these two people. So think carefully about who is going to be reading the report and what is important to them.

 
Now that is all for today’s challenge. Join us on LinkedIn and let us know how you are faring
 
PS: Missed Day 28 of our 30 Day Work Challenge? Check it out here

Staff Writer

This article was written and edited by a staff writer.