Who are you?

Whether you’re looking for a job, setting up your own business or thinking about doing some voluntary work to get experience, you need to know WHO you are.

In the last article we looked at the idea of career planning and finding out what your key human values are. Once you have this in your head, you can think about the type of organisations you might want to work for or the type of business you want to run. Another important step is to be clear (and positive) about your key PERSONAL QUALITIES.

Often our response when someone says ‘Tell me about yourself’ is to talk about what we do but not so much about who we are, but, when you go for a job interview for example, you will be expected to talk about your strengths. In marketing terms, you need to know what your USP is (Unique Selling Proposition)!

Today’s challenge is to write a list of 10 POSITIVE qualities about you. Find 15 minutes in the day when you can sit quietly and make you list and don’t forget, a quality isn’t the same as a skill: being a good listener is a skill as it’s something we can learn but what qualities do you need to have in order to be a good listener? You probably need to be patient, supportive …. Get the idea?  So if you come up with things like ‘I’m a good friend’ ‘I’m a great mother’, ask yourself what qualities lie behind this.

As you’re writing your list avoid the mental qualifications of “but I’m not that all the time” or “I’m only like that if things are going well” etc etc!!  If this quality is something you express generally in your life, then put it down!

And don’t give up when you’ve got 4 because it’s difficult!! Press on and make sure you get at least 10 qualities. I have used this exercise with groups over many years and it is almost always a struggle for women to get to 10 whereas when I do the exercise with men, they have no trouble coming up with a list of 15+!!  No, this doesn’t mean that they have more qualities than us but it does demonstrate that we, generally, lack confidence in oursleves and what we have to offer the world. Don’t be modest; get that list written.

If you want to add to your list, why not show it to a friend whose opinion you trust? I guarantee they will agree with everything you have put and will be able to add more.

And when you have your list, what do you do with it?  Certainly keep it so you can take it to interviews and meetings with the bank manager. I know of women who have typed out coloured versions and keep in next to their computer,  written it up on big sheets of paper and stuck it to their bathroom mirror or put post-it notes all over their fridge! Even if you have to keep it in a drawer as you don’t want your family to see it, get it out and read it when you are feeling low and remind yourself what a great woman you are!

Maybe when you’ve written your list, you’d like to tell us how you use it?

Kate Cobb

email: Kate Cobb
0033 (0)4 93 20 68 94
www.executive-onlinecoaching.com