Personal reputation has played a very important role for me
in the working world. I attribute this to the competitive nature of getting
hired for and holding a job. I think personal reputations become significant
any time there is a situation of competitive selection, so other examples can
include college admissions and scholarship applications.
The situation I will focus on for this post concerns my
summer internship. It was a working situation where I entered as a low tier
employee, a position for which no one scrutinized my personal reputation. Through
hard work, attention paid to my superiors, and self-directed effort, I was able
to build a positive reputation for myself as well as an exterior interest in my
reputation from my peers, supervisors, and superiors. One of the easiest ways
to begin developing a good reputation is through outward appearance. This means
dressing professionally and showing up to work each day looking like you take
the job seriously. When I appeared like dressed as any other professional
adult, my coworkers began to treat me as though I was one of them, rather than
a young and inexperienced college student. Another component to reputation is
being self-driven and independent within the workplace, because no boss wants
to be the one babysitting their subordinates. In order to accomplish this, I
did things for my boss without being asked, and went above and beyond with the projects
I was assigned. Not only was my boss impressed with my diligence and work
ethic, but her boss and other higher ups were also impressed. I ended up being
recruited to work on even more important projects with them as the summer
progressed. Inherent in the idea of reputation is being reputable. I not only
presented myself in a way that was taken seriously, but also went above and
beyond on all my assigned projects on the job.
Some things I did not do in order to maintain my reputation,
was to show up on time to work every day, and moved promptly to begin tackling
my assigned task or project. I did not waste time socializing too much or take extended breaks. My boss could depend
on me being hard at work each time she came by my desk. What made it even
easier for me look like an above average employee was that a fellow intern, who
actually sat next to me, did not build or exhibit the same seriousness in her
work as I did. She was frequently wandering around, socializing with other
employees, and did not accomplish nearly as much output as I did. When
compared, I had built a much more substantial positive reputation than she had.
Building a strong reputation is a self-rewarding system, because based on my
work last summer I have been offered both a pay raise and a position to come
back in partial capacity during breaks and have the option of recommendation
letters should I need them from a variety of managers within the company. My
fellow intern was not made any such offers. Along that line then, I view
maintaining a positive reputation and more importantly self-image as essential
to being a marketable job candidate and staying happy with oneself. I have
never considered sacrificing my good reputation for anything, because in the
long run, it does not seem to be at all worth it. Part of that analysis is also
being a long term thinker, which I understand not everyone is.
Remarking on your comment about dress and reputation - when I was a brand new assistant professor and it was hot outside, I would dress in shorts and a tee shirt when teaching (DKH had no AC then). I did this to send almost the exact opposite message. It was the subject matter of my lectures that mattered. In your case the attire may matter as an entry into the culture thing. It probably ceases to matter that way after a while, as long as there are other ways to demonstrate your commitment to the work. Fashions have changed over time. Women used to have to wear high heals. But it is fatiguing to do so and without any obvious productivity benefit. Form should follow function.
ReplyDeleteYou speak to that by discussing going beyond the assigned work. There is something you could elaborate on here, because I believe this to be more than hustle. There has to be some perception about what other work would be valued. That signifies insight and creativity into what the place is about. If you had cone extra work, but it was busy work, you wouldn't have conveyed the same message. In your response you might detail a bit what extra work you did.
On the socializing in the work situation front, some of it potentially could be productivity enhancing and you should understand that for later when you might become a boss. If you want to understand the motivation of your co-workers or subordinates you need to talk with them. I can't say I'm expert at finding the balance between the two, but I do think it is easier if you you can understand the person in the whole of what they do and not confound the work piece with the whole.
I believe you bring up a very important aspect of reputation when you talk about your fellow intern not being as serious as you were. I never really considered this when answering the prompt, but believe that others may have a role in a reputation you develop. For instance, if your co-worker was slacking off and you were doing everything you were supposed to do, they will recognize you immediately as the better worker. However, if both of you did the same amount of work, the employer may have to look at other things to decide who they will hold a higher value for.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to consider that reputation can be enhanced when comparing to your fellow worker's inferior performance. I also never realized that it would be an important external factor for personal reputation until I read the post. But it is obvious that interpersonal relationship contains both competition and collaboration. In workplace setting, I believe that all employers are under implicit compare and manager will evaluate individuals' performance not only on their output, but also on their fellow's output. It is also an incentive for people to work hard because it is an easier way to prove your value.
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