Who Am I? Differentiating Your Identity from Your Job Title

“Hi, my name is Maddiy. I strive to find a way to make everyone around me smile, and I value honesty, communication, and organization.” This might seem like a bold way to introduce yourself to someone you casually bump into. But it’s also a great way to be remembered.

Think about the last time you met someone. They probably told you their name and their job title or research topic. But do you remember either of those? Did you really learn anything about that person? Did that person stand out to you?

These are questions that Shep Moyle, a senior lecturing fellow in the Fuqua School of Business, explored in a recent workshop that focused on building a personal brand, co-hosted by Pratt’s Ph.D. Plus initiative, Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Duke Career Center’s Accelerate to Industry initiative.

Shep started the session by asking the audience if we were “comfortable being uncomfortable.” He graciously accepted the blank stares and panicked glances in response, warning us that we would be getting to know our colleagues, and more importantly ourselves, better today.

Image

Shep started to introduce himself using his claim to fame: he is the creator of the Tostito’s Restaurant Style tortilla chip. After only one sentence, he had managed to captivate the whole audience. Shep then shifted his introduction to focus on his personal mission: to help people become the best version of themselves. He spoke about his goal of pursuing joy and his realization that teaching made him happier than life as a businessman had. Shep continued to explain that an introduction shouldn’t be about your title, but rather about you as a person: what are your values, your goals, your hopes, your dreams, your fears?

You can imagine that it didn’t go very well when Shep told a room full of Duke engineering Ph.D. students that their title, affiliations, and research topic don’t matter as much as their personalities. This was even more true in this session where most people had similar titles and qualifications.

Shep had the audience try an activity to demonstrate just how much we rely on our job titles as part of our introductions. He asked us to pair up with someone we didn’t already know and introduce ourselves without using any titles. The awkward silence that followed spoke volumes about how much we default to letting our job descriptions define us and how little we actually knew (or were willing to share) about ourselves.

Shep moved on to ask us why we were so scared to introduce ourselves using things like our values, beliefs, and goals. The unanimous answer from the audience? A fear of being judged. While it’s easy to share superficial information like your job title, it’s much scarier to share your hopes and dreams with someone you just met. What if they don’t share the same ideas? What if they think my goals are silly or unachievable? These are the questions we ask ourselves that prohibit us from sharing ourselves with others.

Image

However, Shep explained that we can harness this fear into a superpower: vulnerability. We can use vulnerability to help differentiate ourselves from every other person who has a similar job title and résumé. Not only can this help you be remembered in an introduction or make a striking impression in an interview, it can also help strengthen teams and make you a better leader. Being vulnerable is a good thing because it allows people to connect with you in a way they otherwise wouldn’t.

I left this session feeling empowered and inspired. Not only did I get an interactive lesson in personal branding, but I was also challenged to reframe how I define myself. Next time you need to introduce yourself, I challenge you to reach beyond just saying your name and job title. Take a chance, make yourself vulnerable, and introduce the real you. It’s worth it.

---

AUTHOR

Image

Maddiy Segal

Ph.D. candidate, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

Maddiy Segal's life mission is to improve lives through both big and small actions. She believes that no act of kindness is insignificant, and that little actions add up to make big differences. In her career, she is trying to improve lives by researching the development of new materials for 3D printing and healthcare. Outside of her studies, Maddiy enjoys making desserts to show her appreciation for her friends and hiking with her golden retriever to connect with nature.