“I am happy to announce that I just started my internship after learning data analysis for 3 months”.
“I got my first job on LinkedIn”.
Posts like this are what you see when you open your LinkedIn account and you wonder, “I have been learning data analysis for a year now so why haven’t I got an internship yet?”
What you don’t see is the person sharing what they learnt every week from their data analysis course. They just wait until it works out (hopefully) and then announce it.
Showcasing the journey itself as you slowly develop your skills and abilities, both lessons and challenges, documenting your processes, asking questions, correcting your errors, and showing up authentically—that’s building in public.
Understandably, sometimes we don’t want to build in public because we’re afraid of failing in public. We’re worried about the uncertainty that comes with not knowing the ropes yet.
However, because you’re a beginner who is starting out, your mistakes are easily overlooked, and people want to help and correct you.
As a budding professional who is just scared of putting yourself out there. You should consider the following:
- Embrace failure: Setbacks are a part of your growth journey. Yes, you can be distraught if your setback happens in the public space, but how you handle it and build yourself up will show a mark of resilience. And those who need resilience on their team will not miss out on that.
- It is not shame, it is strength: A lot of people shy away from putting themselves out there because of what they think people may say. They feel it is ‘cringe’—and yes, some people may see it as that—but in the end, when you root for yourself, people will go along with the program.
And in the long haul, building in public gets you opportunities and opens more doors than you expect.
Here are my five reasons why building in public holds a lot of advantages for you as a budding professional:
- It serves as a portfolio: Whether the medium you use to showcase your skills and let people know what you do is online or offline, the result is seen in the long term through the reputation you have built for yourself. People will see evidence of your wealth of experience.
- You show up as your true self: What better way to show your true self than to show your journey to self-improvement? You’re happy. You’re doing what you love. Your amazing personality is out there for the crowd to see. When you come as you are, the people who value your personality will want to work with you, and you will build up a great network. Top tip: Managers or bosses appreciate employees who are themselves and show up authentically.
- Shows people what you can do: When people see you bloom in your craft, they realize what you can do, and what to reach out to you for. You could expose yourself to so many opportunities just by building in public. The possibilities are endless.
- The world will be a better place: Picture this—you have amazing talents, some that can heal people, some that can support others; but you choose not to share them because you’re afraid of how you’ll look or what others might say? Imagine how many people can be inspired by your efforts alone.
- Your future will be better for it: A woman recently shared that a video she made on YouTube about 5 years ago on a local snack called puff puff still gives her a passive income of about $100 monthly. This only shows that there is a long-term gain to sharing your talent and skills.
Are you ready to give it a try?