My Dad has a GED. He always advised me, āItās not what you know; itās who you know.ā He learned this through his various odd jobs. Hereās what Iāve learned.ā¦ā¦
āItās not what you know; itās NOT necessarily who you know, but rather WHO KNOWS YOU.ā
People have to be able to see you as a leader, and that takes a lot of networking, personal branding, and promotion.
I struggled with networking, personal branding, and promotion early in my career.
I didnāt get a dean's position in my early 20s. When I visited with the VP to gather feedback about why I wasnāt selected, he said, āyou come in early every day, put your head down, and work hard, but no one knows what you do.ā I was shocked and saddened. What I had learned and implemented from observing my family had not proven to benefit me in a professional higher education industry.
It was a pivotal point in my career.
I had to reflect on and challenge my cultural upbringing. My Mexican-American upbringing taught me hard work, loyalty, obedience, grace, and passivity. My Mom, Tias, and Tios all worked and didnāt ask for anything more than their paycheck. No promotions, no additional responsibilities, twenty-plus years of commitment, and they were content with stagnant pay.
I wanted something different; I wanted to be promoted and take on additional responsibilities. I wanted to impact the institution on a grander scale. I needed more pay to pay back my student loans.
I committed that day that I would be uncomfortable and challenge my cultural norms.
I challenge you to think about pushing yourself to be more uncomfortable. Here are some asset-based counter perspectives: networking is the ability to connect with purpose, personal branding is cultivating and influencing how people perceive you and your work, and promoting is not bragging - itās intentionally crafting a story behind your accomplishments and sharing to inspire.
Iāve learned so much from my culture and wouldnāt be here if it wasnāt for hard work (primarily influenced by my family and cultural upbringing). In the end, I found that networking, personal branding, and promotion are frowned upon in my culture, but in my industry, they are required.
Make sure PEOPLE KNOW YOU. Find opportunities to network in person and digitally. Itās okay to share your work with others. Itās okay to share your accomplishments.
āItās not what you know; itās NOT necessarily who you know, but rather WHO KNOWS YOU.ā
People have to be able to see you as a leader, and that takes a lot of networking, personal branding, and promotion.
I struggled with networking, personal branding, and promotion early in my career.
I didnāt get a dean's position in my early 20s. When I visited with the VP to gather feedback about why I wasnāt selected, he said, āyou come in early every day, put your head down, and work hard, but no one knows what you do.ā I was shocked and saddened. What I had learned and implemented from observing my family had not proven to benefit me in a professional higher education industry.
It was a pivotal point in my career.
I had to reflect on and challenge my cultural upbringing. My Mexican-American upbringing taught me hard work, loyalty, obedience, grace, and passivity. My Mom, Tias, and Tios all worked and didnāt ask for anything more than their paycheck. No promotions, no additional responsibilities, twenty-plus years of commitment, and they were content with stagnant pay.
I wanted something different; I wanted to be promoted and take on additional responsibilities. I wanted to impact the institution on a grander scale. I needed more pay to pay back my student loans.
I committed that day that I would be uncomfortable and challenge my cultural norms.
I challenge you to think about pushing yourself to be more uncomfortable. Here are some asset-based counter perspectives: networking is the ability to connect with purpose, personal branding is cultivating and influencing how people perceive you and your work, and promoting is not bragging - itās intentionally crafting a story behind your accomplishments and sharing to inspire.
Iāve learned so much from my culture and wouldnāt be here if it wasnāt for hard work (primarily influenced by my family and cultural upbringing). In the end, I found that networking, personal branding, and promotion are frowned upon in my culture, but in my industry, they are required.
Make sure PEOPLE KNOW YOU. Find opportunities to network in person and digitally. Itās okay to share your work with others. Itās okay to share your accomplishments.
