A key question to ask yourself as you’re working to make a positive name for yourself on campus is: What do I want to be known for? Maybe it’s how you treat people and make them feel important. Or your organizational and administrative skills. Your public speaking and programming prowess. Your emphasis on championing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Or perhaps it’s your energetic, quirky style of getting things done.
Whatever the case may be, how you want to be known can also be called your personal brand. This isn’t necessarily your job title, personal branding expert William Arruda told HuffPost. Instead, it’s about knowing the unique value you create through your purpose, strengths, expertise and experience, who you’re creating it for and the outcomes that people expect. It’s the difference that only you can make as you grow in your career!
Questions to Consider
To think intentionally about how you want to be known in your current job, on your current campus and with your current co-workers, ask yourself a few questions, as adapted from HuffPost…
- What is a career goal that you have for the year ahead?
- What are three ways you can work toward this goal?
- If a student described your impact a year from now, what are a few things you’d hope they’d say?
- If your supervisor described your impact a year from now, what are a few things you’d hope they’d say?
- If a co-worker described your impact a year from now, what are a few things you’d hope they’d say?
Source: HuffPost.com, 9/29/17
To learn more about making a positive name for yourself on campus, as well as many other topics, please check out our How to Thrive in Student Affairs: Self-Directed Courses for New Professionals.
