In life, it’s important to go after what it is you want. From that romantic interest you’d love to spend more time with, to that recipe you hope to learn, much of the value in our lives comes from unapologetically considering our desires and making a plan to achieve them. This approach also means we’ll never be out of challenges to face and victories to enjoy, and you don’t have to be brittle or only goal-oriented to enjoy such an approach. As a famous climber once said, we climb Mount Everest solely because it’s there.
As such, deciding what it is you want from your career and managing yourself to put your best foot forward can always be a healthy use of your time. But how can you offer the best impression, put yourself first, and build connections that last for an entire career? In this post, we’ll discuss how to put your professional foot forward, and how this can help some people look at you more positively:
Polish Your Professional Image
It’s all about defining how you want to present yourself, and how that can optimize the work you do and value you bring. For example, realtor headshots can help you humanize your realty business, putting yourself up front and center with your best smile and sharpest outfit. This shows that you’re an approachable presence ready to help clients unlock the next chapter of their lives. Something as simple as a well-curated image (which isn’t all that simple to craft in the first place) can help support you through a blossoming career in all the ways that count.
Perfect Your Interview Skills
Not everyone is a master at interviewing, but the truth is you don’t have to be. You simply need to know who you are, what your business ethics and principles are, and how to communicate achievements that showcase various skills you have. If you can work on easy-to-recall summaries and aren’t afraid to be personable, nor to ask for clarification when needed, you would be surprised just how easily you can impress employers in the interview room. This is a lifelong skill, and so working on it now (like perfecting your signature) can last you for decades.
Curate Your Portfolio
Odds are, you have some portfolio of work you’re proud of. This doesn’t have to be the same as a graphic designer’s image gallery, it can simply be a list of achievements or projects worked on, your role in it, what you learned, challenges you faced, and how that rounded you into a better professional. You can then place this on your website if hoping for a more public-facing presence, or summarize them effectively in your resume. Being able to update your brief index as a professional may open doors that would have been closed otherwise, not for lack of experience, but a lack of communicating that experience correctly.
With this advice, you’re certain to put that professional foot forward in the healthiest possible way.
