Big Dreams. Bigger Heart.
By Seehum Isa
We are constantly being told that with our dreams and ambitions come a certain way of being if we truly want to truly find success. It’s good to fight for what you want and never stop at any costs, but at what point do you make a decision that makes you question your character?
I want to talk about a professional tactic that will always get you to where you need to be.
Kindness.
Kindness will open all the right doors, it will expose you to the right people and what goes around will always come back around. It is so easy to get tunnel vision on your way to your goals but I can’t stress enough how important it is to stay true to your character. I’m going to be honest though, being kind is not always the easiest route, but it sure as hell will pay off.
I have had my fair share of internships before I landed my first real job in my career as a communicator. As you can guess, I spent a lot of nights rushing to get my resume finalized before applying anywhere – if only I’d known that there were professional resume writers ohio that could have helped me write that standout CV I’d been yearning for, my life would have been a whole lot less stressful. In one internship I was treated by a supervisor as if I was incompetent and not capable of simple tasks. [He or She] for 6 months pretended to not know my name because they felt it would make me too ‘cocky’ as an intern. And this could have prevented me from giving 100% in my tasks. As if saying my name was too much privilege for an insubordinate. They would give me a task and make me repeat it three times to ensure I knew what I was doing. I could go on but I have a point to make with this post. Throughout my internship, I promised myself I would not let it get to me. I am an outspoken person and I will always speak up when I feel there is an injustice being made or I feel mistreated. But I do believe in picking your battles. I made it through that internship by smiling, doing every task correctly, on time and always presenting more than what was given to me. It wasn’t a year later until I bumped into an old colleague that told me I was the first in the program under that supervisor that did not quit.
By sticking it out and absorbing as much knowledge as I could, it helped me land the absolute best internship of my life. This next internship had strong, smart women who were for one another and pushed me to be the best version of myself. If it wasn’t for the first internship to help build my portfolio, I wouldn’t have landed the internship that helped shape me professionally.
Now say you’re past the internship phase of your life, and you are a current professional in your field. I want to speak to you about the power of kindness. The way you speak to the people in your office or the way you interact with clients and vendors says so much about you. It is so easy to tell a client the way it is. To tell them they can’t have something a certain way if that REALLY is their set budget. How you really think the decision they are making will not benefit their business at all. You can say all of that if you take a minute to think about the way you phrase it.
If you work for a company that deals with vendors regularly. Don’t forget to say the simple ‘Thank You.’ Letting them know you appreciate them can result in faster turnarounds for deliveries and strong professional relationships. And if you don’t end up working for that company forever, that professional relationship can stay with you.
If you are the type of person who never likes to mix your personal life with coworkers, that’s understandable. But being compassionate towards people in the office and being kind to them will always make you a better team member. Never speak ill of a co-worker to another one. In my opinion, I do not find it admirable to speak ill of your clients or vendors either. Show your best character in any professional atmosphere. We spend a HUGE amount of time in our lives at work, so our habits in the office are repeated outside the office.
I like to lead my professional life by this quote: (my personal life as well)
“Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
– Frank Outlaw
I hope wherever you find yourself in your life and professional career, you choose to be the best self you know how to be. It will always be worth it.
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