Professional Networking Tip of the Week: Know Thy Self

Do you really know who you are? If someone asked you to describe yourself in less than 30 seconds what would you tell them? Right now, think about what you would say.

What did you come up with? If you said something that someone else had told you about yourself then you should take the deep dive your personality. Figure out what it is about you that helped them have that impression about you. There is a really easy way. Take a personality test! Personality test are a great way to gain better insight into who you are. Typically, these test help you put words to the things you do and make it easier to communicate the type of person you are. They especially help with developing online profiles, cover letters and when going to networking events.

There are some great free personality tests online you can take to get started with developing that powerful 30 second pitch about yourself. I visited 41Q.com. This free personality test asks you 41 questions where you chose the best of two options. At the conclusion of the test you will be presented with your personality type and a paragraph describing it. Also they will inform you about what types of careers these personality types fit best with. If you want to view an example you can view my results here.

In conclusion, knowing thy self will lead to a more confident you. That confidence will come out when meeting new people at networking events, job interviews, business meetings or even a date. It will help you stand up straighter and present a firmer hand shake. Imagine if just a few more people were confident about themselves. It would change our world.

Networking - Best Practices