One important part about career development is understanding the your value at work. With so many jobseekers in the market, it is important for you to be able to stand out. When you know your value, it can help you to pitch yourselves better and more confidently to potential employers.
This Twitter thread brought up a very good discussion, and an important point for anyone focusing on growing their career. It does not matter if you are an intern, a fresh graduate, or an experienced professional. The one important thing that you have to remember is…
You need to know your value and worth.
At the end of the day, companies are profit-driven businesses. They have a goal (to make money, to drive sales, etc), and they are looking for people who can support that goal. And, yes, even the non-profit organizations look for people who can help them be more profitable or save cost, so they can run more efficiently.
As a jobseeker, it is important for you to know what you can offer to the company that will be of value to them.
When you know your value and worth, it will be much easier for you to find a company that:
- Aligns with your personal values and belief,
- Allows you to utilize your own strengths,
- Believes in you and will value what you can bring to the table.
When you know your value, it will also help to boost your self-confidence and self-esteem. You will be in a much better position to negotiate and to pitch your skills in any job application.
“But I don’t have any experiences, what should I do?”
As a student, seeking your first internship or full-time job, you may feel like you are lacking in experiences. This is a comment that we get often from our career workshops and coaching sessions.
But, the thing is, no one is ever really ‘useless’ in that sense. Everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences. You just have to learn to think about them in a different way, which may take some practice.
For instance, you may have had involvements in various student clubs or voluntary activities during your time in university. These experiences should’ve given you useful transferable skills, such as leadership, interpersonal, communications, and marketing/data analytics skills.
Your task is simple. How can you talk about your student activities in a way that relates back to the job that you are applying for?
Employers are well-aware of the fact that most fresh graduates will have little to no real world work experience. After all, everyone has to start from somewhere, no? But that does not mean that they are willing to take in just about anybody. You have to find a way to talk about your skills in a way that relates it back to the job.
If people can see your value, they will be more open to negotiate to get you in.
When people are confident in what you have, it will be much easier for you to convince them to pay you a certain level of salary,
When you can successfully prove your worth based on your past experiences and the skills that you have, it is much easier for the companies to see the value that you can bring to the table.
And when you know your own value and worth, it is much easier for you to fight for your rights, rather than leaving it up to chance and potentially being exploited by some unethical companies.
So, as you go about your day, have a think about what you are good at, and how you can utilize your strengths to support you in your career development.
If you’re not sure on how to get started, come and schedule a coaching call with us and we can work things through together!