Establishing yourself as a Professional

When you are starting out in your career or starting out as a Consultant / independent Professional You end up asking yourself how you can get your name out there.

Here is what worked for me:

1. Get active in the Network:
   1. Ask questions during Networking events
   1. Make a point of meeting 3-5 new people every event. Take their business cards and contact them the next day, connect with them on LinkedIn
   1. Offer to speak during an event
2. Get active online:
   1. In LinkedIn – share articles, write articles, comment on peoples contribution – the more you are active the higher you will be in any search
   1. Update your profiles on LinkedIn and on professional website, include projects and specific achievements. Put a value to them.
   1. On professional websites like www.projectmanagement.com you can start discussions, do polls etc. – also you can do the same as on LinkedIn
   1. Keep your Twitter professional, leave the chitchat etc for Facebook.
   1. Work with hashtags, to appear in the right networks.
   1. Copy professionals in and ask them to comment
3. Volunteer:
   1. In your professional network / your professional body they always need help during events. If you are volunteering at the registration desk or the welcome team, everyone will get to know you and you get to know everyone.
4. Start writing:
   1. articles – a more scientific piece, where you establish yourself as an authority, and talk about a fixed topic, should be about 1500 – 1800 words and clearly structured
   1. blogs – a personal opinion or experience about a topic, written in a more informal way, should be 500 – 1000 words.
5. Ask for mentorship – look for people you admire in your profession, then approach them by sending them a contact request with a personal note. Ask them one specific question about your profession. Then when you have started the conversation, you can continue building the relationship. Once it is established, you can ask for general mentorship
6. Start mentoring young people – for free

This is not only very fulfilling and makes you rethink your own practice, but it also helps you to learn vocalizing your opinions, your expertise and the professional knowledge you have. For me it has been an amazing experience. I have met amazing people. I feel honored to have played a part in their growth and have loved watching them grow and spread their wings.

For you to get paid as a mentor – you need to be well experienced and established.

• As you grow, read up on what coaching really is and train to be a coach.

These are simple things I have used successfully. My network has grown and I literally have friends all over the world, who are professionals whom I can reach out to. With many we have never met, but when we do – usually at a conference or Leadership meeting, it is like meeting an old friend. I have also gotten amazing opportunities, just because of being out there and being seen as an authority in my field. For example I was one of the chosen few who got to attend the PMI Leadership Master Class and graduated in 2018. Another example is that projectmanagement.com asked me to attend the PMI EMEA Congress 2019 as a Community Correspondent.

Even as a introvert, like I am, you can get involved and get your name out there. The first comment during an event, the first blog post, the first article is hard. But just timidly send it out / do it. Then analyze the response you are getting and learn from it. It gets easier and you become more comfortable putting yourself out there.

Have fun with it!