Give & Take: Set Yourself Up for Success in 2017
The holidays are the time of year when people are eager to volunteer, and Prosek is no exception. From putting together Thanksgiving baskets for the Sterling House Community Center to gathering gifts for New York Cares Winter Wishes, Prosekians have been busy giving their time and treasure to beloved causes.
A team favorite every year is the HOPE Program interview project. Employees are paired up with HOPE’s students to practice critical interview skills and refine their personal message. These sessions help students highlight their skills and accomplishments in order to position themselves as the best candidate for a new job.
The HOPE Program interview project was a great reminder that knowing how to tell your own story is a key factor to success. While for most communications professionals, promoting their company or clients comes naturally, self-promotion can be a challenge.
Here are a few tips to get yourself ready for 2017:
- Prepare Your Highlight Reel: Knowing how to articulate your biggest wins will always come in handy. No matter the job or situation, having a series of stories in your back pocket that clearly depict your strengths can help you quickly weave them in when the opportunity arises. Rather than reactively trying to think of the right response when speaking to your boss or an interviewer, you can turn to your highlight reel to showcase your successes.
- Master Networking: Building relationships is an important part of setting yourself up for success. While the thought of business networking makes most people uncomfortable, it doesn’t have to be all about awkward cocktail hours and power lunches. A good way to meet people is to offer your skills and expertise on a project. Whether it’s inside or outside of work, lending a helping hand can be a great way to bond and let people see your talent in action.
- Stay Social: Posting beautiful photos from your weekend or funny shots from your childhood might be crowd-pleasers, but including a few career boosting posts might help you get ahead. Share a quote and link to an interesting article relevant to your industry. If you’ve written a blog post or published a paper, post about the key insights and include a link to your work. This will keep your social network informed about your career and the industries you’re interested in.
Remember, perception can be reality, so take control of your personal message. 