I am going to throw this out there right now, I do not have a college education and I graduated from a small town high school. When I made a decision to take a corporate position, I really thought my options were limited to how high I could go on the corporate ladder. Never would I have thought a small, green icon on my desktop could have proved me so wrong.

In order to improve my position, I taught myself programs other individuals in my field didn't even want to look at and I increased my skill set in the programs that our upper management needed. Most importantly, Excel. I learned to create dynamic charts and discovered ways to tell the financial stories everyone needed to see. Not only were my graphs unique, I also added my own personal flair to them. Anyone looking at a chart would immediately know it was create by Suzanne. Not only that, once they saw it they felt confident that the information was correct.

The graphs in question were wonderfully colored, simply told, and were completely ME! In two months time, I doubled my salary, I was given a promotion, and my sole purpose in life was to create metrics for our executive staff and to present them to our customers.

As simple as it sounds, becoming an expert in a specific program that is NEEDED at your place of business can set you apart not only where you are right now, but it can also increase your value to where you want to go. For me, it was Excel and its graphs. I didn't stay with the default charts and colors and I didn't settle for the status quo. What I did was set myself visually apart from everyone else and kept a smile on my face and helped where I was needed!

Determine where your company is lacking, identify what is needed, and then make yourself indispensable!