Show Your Value
As someone with a background in the life sciences I think it’s fair to say that we get to work on some pretty incredible problems. Making new drugs, solving global warming, fusing AI and genomics…to name but a few.
As I started to gain more skills and work on these cool problems it became clear that I had no idea how to talk about what I was doing. During interviews, for example, talking about my research usually involved a long rambling explanation. Even worse was the fact that when I was able to talk, I tended understate what I had done.
The way I see it, there are two problems. The first is communicating who you are and what you do, in a clear concise manner. The second is being able to showcase your work and skills in an authentic, genuine way.
Effectively doing these two things, means you’ll be able to show your value, regardless of the situation.
Communicating Your Work
In my opinion, the best way to excel at verbally communicating what you do, is to write. It’s a huge part of why I have this blog.
Writing has a number of benefits but the main one is that it helps you to crystalize your thoughts. In doing so you’re able to start taking a closer look at how you communicate instead of focusing on the what. For example, many of my original articles started off as long rambling messes that took forever to get to the point. It was a lot easier to realize this and improve when I re-read the words I had written.
You’ll also notice that you start reflecting more deeply on your experiences. For myself, writing soon transitioned from “what I did” to “here’s how I did it”. Here’s a great piece that provides the reader insight into how I solve a problem.
More often than not, the how involved tenacity, creativity and a dose of batshit crazy.
By seeing how things “sound” on a page, you’ll find verbally communicating who you are and what you do becomes much easier. In addition to that, you’ll also be able to talk about your passion, creativity and the other factors that make you unique. But the best part is being able to accomplish all that while getting to the point i.e. no rambling.
The end result is that people get a much better idea about the type of person you are and what you bring to the table.
Showcasing Your Work
Whenever you have an experience i.e. do something, document that experience in some manner using an online platform.
In other words, Do-cument (fortunately for you my witty repartee is free). Here’s the approach I take when documenting my work.
I use the publication you’re reading right now to write about my research.
YouTube to showcase some projects.
And my programming work is on Github.
Even if you’re someone who doesn’t have a lot of work experience, the idea of documentation still holds. All it means is that you need to use a different set of experiences.
Perhaps you’re someone new to Canada. Great! Write down the top three things you learnt during your first six months here.
Maybe you’re a recent graduate struggling to enter the workforce due to COVID-19. What challenges are you facing and how are you addressing them?
Regardless of what you are documenting, ensure that it provides some insight into how you think. That’s how you show your value.
If this is all new to you THEN KEEP IT SIMPLE. Just stick to one platform. And regardless of what you choose, create something that is relevant to you and your life. You won’t be able to help everyone but I can guarantee that you will help someone.
Lastly, you need some way to group everything together. This is where a personal website comes in very handy. The idea is that anyone can see who you are, what you do and examples of your work in one spot. For example, this is my personal website.
I would leave this step for last, however. It’s much more important to do everything else first.
When it comes to setting up a website of your own, you have a couple options.
If you’re a programmer or have a basic knowledge of HTML/CSS, then Github pages is likely the best option for you.
If you have no interest in programming anything, sites like Squarespace will get you up and running for a reasonable price. You just focus on the content and they take care of everything else.
Setting up a personal website takes time to implement. Hell, it took me the better part of two years just to figure out what worked. But the end result is that people now have a better insight not just into my work but also into how I look at the world.
Showing your value is all about communication.
By exploring different methods of communication, you’ll be able to convey who you are as a person. Not just in terms of your skills but also in terms of your passion, creativity, and the numerous other things that make you awesome.
If you enjoyed this article, and want to read more, just click the link below…
… or drop by my website to check out my research or to send me a message!
Thanks for reading :)
