Don't Chase a Job Title, Sell your Reputation

Jane Genova doesn't believe in waiting around for someone to notice her. She promotes herself, constantly trying to reinforce her image as someone who's got something special.

The Connecticut corporate writer says the trick to success has nothing to do with chasing job titles or steady paying gigs. You have to position yourself as a player.

"How I started to become a player and stop being an entrepreneur, vendor, public relations pro and all those 20th century roles is by taking full responsibility for my own survival," she says on her blog.

Invoking the confidence and media savvy of Bill Clinton, Steve Jobs and Angelina Jolie, she dumps people from her network who aren't actively moving their work and reputations forward like her. She focuses on leveraging her work and self-promotion to give her more influence and saleability.

"Players never evereverever approach the game as simply the need to earn a living.  It's all about leverage.  I don't accept an assignment in order to pay my rent.  I accept it because I know that I will make the contacts, pick up the skills, and understand the concepts I need to land me the next assignment, at a little higher price (than) I billed for the last assignment."

If it sounds crass and creepy, tough. "The best way to morph from earning a living to being a player is to observe other players," she advises.  "Don't judge.  Don't recoil in horror.  Don't try to fix their game.  Just consider where they are and where you are.  The latter you can change."

Does that mean I have to wear my hair like Donald Trump and pretend to be an asshole?

Tags:  donaldtrump  photoshop  promotion  reputation  branding  entrepreneurs 

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Comments

[John Wagner]

What's wrong with being an entrepreneur or a PR professional?

I don't quite understand Jane's point. Sure, take responsibility for your future. But focusing your efforts on trying to convince others that you are a "player" seems counter-productive in today's world.

[Eric Eggertson]

I think the point is that you have a choice to be a practitioner of a craft, or to be an icon that stands out as distinctive and powerful.

The idea being that you have more opportunities to set your price and attract the kinds of clients and opportunities that will increase your perceived value.

Jane's post reminds me of the recent blogstorm about the attitude of some A-List bloggers, who I think share some of the same attributes as The Player that Jane describes.

As some of the A-Listers have found, when you set yourself up as the beacon of wisdom, you don't get a lot of love from your peers unless you share some of the credit.

[Alice Marshall]

Most of us have feet of clay. But most of us have the good sense to try to conceal that fact, or at least not call attention to it. Sheesh.

[John Wagner]

Eric ... I agree with you about the similarities between Jane's "players" and "A-listers."

I guess I just feel that many people see right through the player's efforts to be a player. In other words, they don't fool anybody ... they are just more ambitious about personal power than others.

The question we all have to ask ourselves is, "Do I really want to emulate the type of person Jane puts on a pedestal?"

Not me. There are many different definitions of success.