No matter where you work and what you do, chances are you’re not 100 percent jazzed about your job. Even if the overall mission of your organization is something you believe in, there are few people involved at the strategic level making decisions about what and how things are done. You may feel like you do little to contribute to the organization’s overall mission even if it’s as profound as feeding malnourished children around the world.
Whether you are working in the social impact sphere, schedule meetings for an executive, build PowerPoint presentations for your team or meet with print vendors, there is a purpose behind what you do. When you speak to friends, family and your professional network about your work, you should do your best to speak proudly about it. Too many of us discount the work we do when asked to describe it. Reframing what exactly it is you do in your mind will help you communicate it better. And this could make a major difference in helping you find your next gig.
[See: Tips for Surviving a Career Transition.]
Define and Reflect. Before you think about how to talk about what you do, define it and reflect upon it. Say you work in accounting and run the monthly invoices and reconcile client accounts. Ask yourself: “Why is this important? What would happen if I or my team wasn’t doing this on a monthly basis?” Easy. If you don’t make sure bills are sent out and paid, your organization of X number of people won’t get their paychecks. There may be other effects on clients and production as well. Ask yourself these leading questions for every task you do. This will help you define the significance of your work.
Collect Your Small Successes. Then you’ll want to take stock of what you’ve accomplished in a set period of time — in the year to date, six months or three months. Did you have set goals — either personal or in a formal performance review — to complete? Even if you didn’t, look back through emails and your work over this time frame and figure out what you’ve achieved. Everything counts — nothing is to be considered too small a task.
Adjust Your Mindset. Now that you’ve looked at what you do more critically, you have a new way of thinking about what you may otherwise consider mundane work. You should also remember that what you do may not seem exciting to you but is to other people. Many times you’ll hear someone say, “Wow! That sounds fascinating!” in reaction to a person telling someone what they do or what their workplace is like, only to hear a response such as: “Well, it sounds good, but it’s not really that thrilling; it’s a lot of administrative work.” Don’t be a Debbie Downer. If you come across that way when talking about your work, who is going to refer you to their company? They may not even want to introduce you to a colleague who could help you.
[See: 10 Ways Social Media Can Help You Land a Job.]
Speak Proudly. You may still feel like what you do is boring and not worthy of anyone’s attention, but you shouldn’t communicate that when asked what you do. Based on your recent successes and reflection on the importance of the small things you do, how can you answer that question from now on? Referring to the accounting example above, you could say: “I make sure the bills go out and get paid so my co-workers and I get our paychecks on time.”
Other examples:
“I arrange meetings for my leadership with C-suite executives from major banks to help our company finance deals.”
“I create presentations for our business development team to pitch our products, which have landed us $1 million in revenue this quarter.”
“My job is to meet with print vendors and make sure the marketing materials we create are accurate and appealing for our Fortune 500 clients.”
[See: 8 Ways Millennials Can Build Leadership Skills.]
Though it may seem ironic, even when you are at the management level your day contains a lot of administrative work. While you can speak in metric terms more easily than an entry- or mid-level colleague, such as how many people or projects you oversee, you may still struggle with speaking proudly about what you do. In that case, think about people whom you’ve mentored and have been promoted, or the purpose of the projects you manage. You can even think of what work you do for your community.
No matter your level, when you take a step aside and begin reframing your workday, you can communicate more powerfully about what you do, leaving a more lasting and positive impression with your network. And that’s important for expanding the list of who you know and the future of your career.
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How to Speak Proudly About Your Work originally appeared on usnews.com
