Selling yourself.
When I was in the world of academia, this was fairly easy for me. I worked hard and the results spoke for themselves. My professors knew that I was a talented writer and literary critic because of the results I was able to produce. I didn't really have to go above and beyond to "sell" myself.
In the corporate world, this has been an entirely different story.
I had probably the best interview I've ever had 4 1/2 years ago when I originally started working for the company I'm working for now. I even didn't entirely understand what all the job would entail, but I was able to make them think I would be a good fit for the company, and so I have been.
The area that I feel like I've continuously fallen short in in the years since is selling myself - proving I'm not only still good enough to do the job, but that I'm good enough to do more. This isn't to say that I haven't improved or risen up in my position. I have, but I haven't been great at continuously selling myself.
When I was young, my parents tried to instill a philosophy of hard work into me. They succeeded, but as I've learned, hard work is only one part of the formula to success in the modern corporate world.
To be quite honest, I haven't figured out completely the formal to success in the corporate world. I know only with certainty that I haven't quite achieved that success. One reason for this is I haven't been able to convey adequately my strengths, skills, and talents.
Management knows I'm a hard worker. I can produce a lot of work and it's usually high quality. What they don't seem to know is my abilities beyond that, and I haven't been successful in helping them to discover those abilities.
Why? you ask.
I'm not entirely certain. That is something I hope to learn more about as I further explore the intricacies of corporate life.
What are your thoughts on selling yourself in the corporate world?