Without sounding too big-headed and boastful, you probably do! You know who I am because I have a fully completed profile on LinkedIn, Researchgate and other social media. When you meet me, I’m probably wearing a badge or have been introduced by a host at your institution. When I write to you, I use a professional signature and, of course, I publish this monthly blog.
But, do people know who you are?
More often than not, I receive anonymous emails from PhD and postdoctoral researchers asking for my help, giving no clue about their identity. I receive LinkedIn requests from people with no profile picture, title or description and I see researchers wasting valuable networking opportunities by not identifying themselves at meetings.
As professionals – and that is what you are – you need to start taking yourself seriously and making yourself more visible, so that people (including potential employers) know who you are and what you do. You can do this in a number of ways, and I’ve listed 5 below (I’m sure you can think of others):
- Ask a friend to Google your name and see what comes up. Are you getting the exposure that you want, or is it just personal Facebook posts that are at the forefront? You can remedy this by fully completing your professional profiles on platforms such as LinkedIn, Researchgate, Orcid and your University webpage if you have one. Just make sure that they are showcasing you in the best way possible and that your information is up to date, reflecting your interests, skills and experience.
- Email is one of our most favoured modes of communication, so make sure that you enable the signature, so that it appears automatically after your name. You can label yourself, for example, ‘PhD student’ or ‘Postdoctoral Researcher’, followed by the name of your department, institution and its logo. You can include your LinkedIn name and any other additional profile addresses (but don’t overdo it).
- When attending conferences, consider taking a business card, especially to large international meetings. It’s common nowadays to swap business cards and you can use them to write notes on the back about what you spoke about during your conversation. Then, when you follow up with your new contact afterwards, you can refer back to this information to remind them of who you are.
- Also on the subject of conferences, here’s a neat trick to help other delegates recognise you more easily: Take the long lanyard with your name badge at the end (hanging around your waist) and tie a knot in it behind your neck, so that it hangs higher up. Turn the name badge around and write your name on the blank side in bold letters so people don’t have to squint to read it. It also means when you sit at a table for lunch, your name badge is still visible! In my experience, the practice becomes contagious and other people copy.
- Finally, consider your reach. In Academia, the extent of your reach tends to be very narrow and limited to highly specialist journals or scientific meetings. You can make yourself more well known by communicating more widely with, for example, the public or the media. You can do it in person, online, writing articles, blogs, press stories and so on. You may be posting pictures on Instagram about your research, or you may even have your own Blog or YouTube channel. Depending on the subject of your research, you can make yourself relevant to broader audiences who would like to hear from a researcher’s perspective.