STUDENT BLOG: Owning your Professional Accomplishments

We’ve all been socialized to believe it’s necessary to stay humble about our accomplishments. Bragging is never allowed, and someone who has too much pride in themselves is seen as obnoxious.

While this is true to a certain extent, over the summer I learned the importance of owning your self-worth and promoting your skills and value in the professional world.

How do you speak about yourself? 

Self-promotion can be a tricky area to navigate if your personality is similar to mine, where I can be guilty of using self-deprecating jokes as a social lubricant. I tend to present myself as a less serious person than I really am to make others comfortable with me.

While it’s good to be able to laugh at yourself sometimes, remember: You don’t need to put yourself down in order to make your coworkers like you!

If this sounds like you, take some time to reflect: how do you speak about yourself to others? If you recognize that you engage in negative self-talk often, try to catch yourself the next time you’re about to make a joke at your own expense and find something else to say.

Are you dealing with imposter syndrome?

It can also be difficult to own your accomplishments if you have come down with imposter syndrome-the feelings of self-doubt and anxiety that can take over and make you feel like you aren’t actually good enough or qualified for the roles and responsibilities you’ve earned throughout your life.

These are feelings that many of us are probably familiar with, and they can come back at many points throughout your career-know that you aren’t alone in having these doubts. Everyone finds different ways to overcome these feelings, so take time to test out different methods that build your confidence and allow you to put your worries aside.

At the end of the day, remember: you wouldn’t have been placed in your role if you didn’t deserve to be there; you are adequate and capable. When there’s something that’s out of your depth, the ability to ask for help or acknowledge you need to learn more about a subject is a strength, not a weakness.

Why is owning your accomplishments important?

Not only is it unnecessary to be bashful about your worth, it also puts you at a disadvantage in your career. There are many benefits to being able to advocate for yourself properly, especially when you are new at a company, whether you are in an internship or a full-time role.

Securing a full time role from an internship 

Internships are often only a couple of months, leaving you with limited time to impress your manager and earn a full time offer. With this in mind, you want to put your best foot forward at all times.

If you don’t take yourself seriously, or aren’t willing to speak about the special assets and skills you can bring to the company, you may be overlooked when it comes to full-time hiring. You don’t need to let this be top of mind in every conversation with your manager, but taking the opportunity to advocate for yourself when the appropriate opportunity arises can make a positive impact.

Advancing further in your company

Whether a company is large or small, you will probably need to do a bit of self-promotion in order to advance through roles and continue to develop in your career. While hard work and relationship building is definitely most important to move up in a company, if people don’t know about the extra effort you’re putting in or the results you’re achieving, you won’t be top of mind for the next promotion.

This may seem like it is far off as we are all still college students, however it’s important to develop these skills early on so that you can utilize them throughout your career. Practicing self advocacy now will help you develop and mature your skills so that later on you’ll be able to progress steadily throughout your career, without ever seeming inappropriate or “braggy.”

Final thoughts

For many of us, self advocacy is not easy. We are young, new to the workforce, and are taught to be modest about ourselves. However, I believe we need to eliminate the belief that undermining your own accomplishments is the most socially acceptable form of self-talk.

When it comes to getting where you want to be in your career, you need to put your reservations aside and learn to own your professional accomplishments. It’s something you can start practicing today, and help others to do as well by uplifting them when they achieve something great, too.

Haley Carroll is a Chase Career Peer – click HERE to access her bio.

By Haley Carroll
Haley Carroll Chase Career Peer