How Bragging Can Get You What You Want. Or Not.

The more I work, the more I realize how important it is to develop smart career strategies. I’ve heard a lot about the idea of working smart, not hard, which advises you to prioritize tasks, work efficiently, delegate properly, etc.  This is all great advice, but I think one of the more important aspects of career building is making the right work product known to the right people. In other words, don’t brag about being good at things you hate doing!

But, as you are probably thinking, it’s very tempting to show people that you can be good at EVERYTHING! Don’t do it. Remember that your career path needs a focus, unless you want it to turn into a maze of short, unpaved trails. (Use this step-by-step process by Jenny Blake if you still have no idea what you want in life)

Here is some advice on how to communicate a “custom designed” skill-set to people that can give you projects to match it:

Make Your Work Known to the Right People

Always do your best on ANY project that comes your way but copy your superiors on emails and other office communication (presentations, conference call, team meetings, etc.) exhibiting your skills and knowledge on projects that matter to you and fit your career focus. Similarly, don’t be a timid wuss and make sure that you are attributed proper credit by your peers.

Give Credit to Others

If you were not the only one working on a project, then don’t hog all the credit. You WILL be found out and this will reflect poorly on your reputation. Thank others for even minor assistance – they will do the same for you.

Make Yourself Available for the Right Projects

This is a tough one. But, remember, patience is a virtue. So do not over-commit yourself to projects that provide no or little personal value and leave enough room in your schedule to jump on opportunities that matter to your career growth.

This is hard to do without appearing picky, so make sure to always do the following:

Establish concrete time commitment targets.

If you are only able to commit 2 hours of your time/week on a project, then make sure others are aware. This will prevent meaningless work “over-swamp” and allow you to stay flexible.

Realize that creating career focus takes time and commitment

No one will staff you on an interesting project if you have no prior experience. Sometimes, you will have to start from the bottom to establish your reputation and to show interest. So don’t brush off seemingly unimportant projects – they may be small steps towards your goal, but they may make a difference in the end.

Communicate your career goals to your advisors, managers, and peers.

This will ensure that your team is aware of which projects you would potentially be interested in and your name will be more likely to pop up during staffing decisions. This is when you SHOULD brag about what you are good at and how you want to apply your “goodness” to benefit the firm.

To sum up, make sure that you feed your office network with the correct and up-to-date information about your skill-set. You are the only one fully aware of what you can do, so COMMUNICATE this to people that matter and you will see results.

Advertisement