Show Notes
Today’s topic is visibility. How you can be more visible in your job and career. As a woman engineer you want to be sure you’re seen and known in the workplace. This is a good topic especially now that many people are working remotely at least part of the time.
It’s rare to find a woman engineer who could not benefit from more visibility in the workplace. We often think we’re more visible than we are.
You might assume everyone knows you because you’re one of few women among a majority of men. This may be true but it’s not necessarily the kind of visibility that helps you.
Or you might assume since you work hard and do a great job that people automatically notice that. Especially if you’re an introvert, you hope that’s the case. But people aren’t paying as much attention to you and your work as you think they are.
We’ll look at why visibility is important, a strategy for more visibility, and some specific activities that will help you be seen.
Virtual Work can Hinder Your Visibility
I’m worried about the recent trend in virtual work. It takes more effort on your part to reach and talk to people. There’s less opportunity to see people in person, so it’s harder to communicate and feel the energy of the conversation.
You don’t have the benefit of walking over to someone’s office to ask a question. And being seen in a Zoom meeting is not as effective as being seen in person.
I don’t think virtual work is very helpful for women who are trying to get ahead in their engineering careers. It’s another barrier to getting opportunities and reaching your goals.
But even if much of your work is virtual, I still encourage you to use the guidance here. Ask for what you need. And find the approaches that work best for you. I’m hopeful that the work environment will evolve to be more optimal for women.
Why It’s Important for Women Engineers to Be More Visible in the Workplace
Why is visibility important? Why do you need to be visible in the first place? There are 3 key reasons:
- So that you become known. So that others know you and your work. So you can network and collaborate.
- To grow your influence and expand your impact.
- To increase the opportunities you’ll have to reach your goals and realize your vision.
These are all vital career assets that visibility provides for you. They enable your engineering career to move forward.
When others know you and your work, you’ll be tied into synergistic projects. When your influence and impact grow, you’ll be likely to make a difference. When more opportunities come your way, you can choose those that align with your dream career.
Strategies for Increasing Your Visibility as a Woman Engineer
You can be more strategic about increasing your visibility in the workplace. You can make it a part of the care and feeding of your career. This will help you build that skill and make it easier. Here are 5 strategies for increasing your visibility as a woman engineer:
- Learn who the influential people are. The ones who can help you attain your goals. Get to know them. Get time to meet with them. Ask them questions. Ask for their advice.
- Watch the people who are very visible. Notice what it is that makes them visible. See what you can learn from them to use in your own practice.
- Talk about your work and impact. Share your vision. Remind people what your goals are. Exchange help or advice.
- Ask your boss and mentors for opportunities to be more visible. (See examples below.)
- Put yourself out there. Take those opportunities. Choose the ones that affiliate with your energetic center.
Now that you have a general strategic approach, let’s look more specifically at ways to increase your visibility. Here is a starter list of examples to help you brainstorm:
- Make presentations;
- Lead or contribute to multi-organizational or other high visibility projects;
- Run meetings;
- Speak up and ask questions at meetings;
- Have a mentor and be a mentor;
- Talk with your boss, your boss’s boss, and your boss’s colleagues;
- Participate in organizational “extra-curricular” activities, such as employee resource groups, discussion groups, book clubs, info sessions, social events, etc.
You’ll gradually become more visible and widely known as you do more of these kinds of activities. You’ll also get practice in a number of areas to positively affect your career, like vulnerability and risk-taking, self-advocacy, building your vision, and networking.
You can start small. You might have to change things up from your current routine. And you may have to practice for a while.
If you want to work on this together and get new perspectives and approaches for your engineering career, apply to my Signature Program. It’s a comprehensive program tailored for you, so that you can master the inspiring career you’ve envisioned.
Now is a good time to increase your visibility in your engineering career. It will set you up for more and better opportunities that keep you on the path toward your vision.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast, we’ll talk about creating your engineering career destiny. I hope you’ll join me for Episode 42.
