Whenever I'm working on an engagement...

Question

I go above and beyond to build strong relationships with the client and sell additional work. But I always feel like men get the credit for selling instead of me. How can I claim credit without seeming petty?

Anonymous · Answer

Whenever I am tempted to not point out something great that I have done, I ask myself, 'if I don't tell my boss, who will? when?'  Then I find myself sending a short email or making a note to make sure I bring it up during our biweekly progress updates.  But after I ask myself that question, it's harder for me to NOT say something.

Anonymous · Answer

This is something that I am trying to work on the approach to this myself right now.  One thing I notice about men is that they are very good at self promotion whereas women sometimes have their heads down concentrating on the job in hand. Networking and self promotion is as equally important for your career as getting the job done.

Observe what is happening around you when your colleagues are achieving this credit where might not. What are they doing that you are not?

Here is a real experience that I have observed a few times for example;  a woman washes the dishes for a week because she knows it needs doing and gets on with it. A man washes the dishes on one day and actively seeks recognition for making the effort.  He doesn't acknowledge that the woman has done this already five times that week but merely seeks praise for his completed task.

There is nothing wrong with him seeking the praise but do you see the difference?  He actively seeks recognition whereas the woman has not, she has done this five times but quietly without looking for the glory therefore it's taken for granted and nobody notices.  I believe the same type of thing happens in the workplace but of course on a much more complex level.  You are all bidding for the same glory and you need to sell yourself.

What you might be saying in your question is your considering to fight for the credit at the very end which makes you think it could look petty but maybe you can seek the credits along the way and don't wait until the end of assignment to start to look for the glory.  Obviously I don't know your exact circumstance so it's hard to make a judgement but I hope that my comments are helpful?

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