I recently started an internship with a great branding and marketing firm here in Denver. The principal of the company is an incredibly intelligent, educated, and accomplished professional (and a good friend of mine) with a laundry list of professional achievements and accolades. So, when he asked me to put together a personal bio to be included on the company website, I was super flattered. He wants to include me as a representative of his company, his brand! So I went to work, writing out a list of my accomplishments and capabilities... and hit a wall. All of a sudden, my resume didn't appear that impressive.
So what did I do? I compared myself to a Slap Chop.
She slices, dices, makes tuna salad...! Hilarious, right? I thought so. But, this is what I always do when I'm uncomfortable: I make a funny. Why was writing out my accomplishments and professional experiences making me uncomfortable all of a sudden? Oh, that's right... I'm unemployed, and have written and re-written my resume about a hundred times while applying for jobs, to no avail.
I didn't realize the major toll this had taken on my ego until yesterday, when I literally couldn't get past the Slap Chop comparison. It's not that I don't think I'm intelligent, educated and accomplished, because I am. It's just that sitting down and trying to explain it on paper, again, was really difficult.
In the professional world, one has to be a bit narcissistic. You're selling the greatest product in the world: you! But what do you when your ego has been badly bruised, and all of a sudden that product isn't feeling so hot? That feeling can make or break the search for a job or promotion, and can definitely get in the way of achieving any personal/professional goal. Personally, I'm trying really hard to fake it 'til I make it. Even when I don't feel great, I'm trying to get out there with my chest puffed out and my head held high. Because, let's face it, if you don't think you're awesome, no one else will either.
I'm not going to let my bruised ego get in the way of an awesome opportunity. So I'm going to step away from the bio, go to the gym and come back with a freshly oxygenated brain, and hopefully some endorphins. The skinnier me I find at the gym can't hurt my inner narcissist either.
What do you do to give your professional ego a boost?
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