16A - Whats Your Secret Sauce?
1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human
capital that is truly unique. What is it about you, exactly, that
makes you different? Write this up in a detailed list.
1. Persistence
a. One way I believe my human capital is unique
is because it is driven by a high level of determination. I believe it doesn’t
matter how talented or skilled you are if you don’t work hard at whatever it is
you do.
2. Problem Solving
a. Going hand and hand with persistence, I feel
as though I am a problem solver, and I try to look at challenges from all
angles until I can figure out the best solution. In this way I can open more
doors for myself and learn more skills along the way.
3. Communication Skills
a. I have worked in many different settings that
have helped me develop my people skills and my understanding of how to do
business with others. I am also learning a second language which helps
tremendously. I believe being able to connect with people is a very valuable
skill for any person to have.
4. Enthusiasm
a. Whenever I start a task, I go at it with 100%
of my energy due to the enthusiasm and excitement I have for any task I start.
I believe if you are passionate about something, even just getting good grades
or learning something new, you will be much more likely to succeed.
5. Creative
a. Out of all of the things I am interested in,
many of them revolve around the expression of imagination and the arts. I love
painting, playing piano, reading, singing, and more of the sort. I feel as though
my involvement with these things helps in both work and school, for example, when
I do writing assignments or when I have to work on creating marketing
campaigns.
2) Interview the five people who know you the best. Ask
them what they think makes you different -- remember,
focus on your knowledge, skills, abilities, emotions -- in other words, your
human capital.
Interview 1: Lexi Mendes
In the interview I did with Lexi, she said I am well-spoken,
passionate, open-minded, and that I have a big heart. I would not normally
expect her to say I am well-spoken as I usually see her in more casual settings
as opposed to formal academic settings, but I am glad that is a trait that
stands out.
Interview 2: Mom
When I spoke with my mom, she said I am persistent, smart,
empathetic, a natural leader, and a person who thinks outside the box. I believe
that her interpretation of me, as well as my father’s, are very in line with
the traits I have picked out for myself. However, empathetic is not a trait
that I would have thought of immediately.
Interview 3: Dad
In the interview with my dad, he said I am empathetic,
intuitive, and a quick learner. Both my father and mother shared the viewpoint
about me being empathetic which definitely stands out to me the most.
Interview 4: Caroline Jungels
My roommate Caroline said I am hardworking, dedicated good at
problem solving and good at accepting failure. Normally I would not choose the
trait ‘good at accepting failure’ to define myself but I am not surprised my
roommate did, since she (being one of my best friends) is very eager to capitalize
on my failures.
Interview 5: Ryan Shuman
In the interview with my brother, Ryan, he said I manage my time
well, I am a hard worker, and a fast learner. I thought it was interesting that
he believed that I am a fast learner, but this is likely due to the fact that
he has seen me take on many new jobs/positions and adapt as quickly as possible.
3) Reflect on the differences.
One of the things that stood out to me the most about
interviewing my closest friends and family was the fact that everyone had a
slightly different perspective and opinion. However, I can understand everyone’s
perspective based on the parts of my life that each person is more directly involved
in. For the most part, everyone’s opinions were fairly similar to mine, just worded
or interpreted differently. Overall, I believe the most common opinion was that
I really care about my loved ones and I am extremely willing to work hard no
matter what I do, which I agree with.
Hi Nikki,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience when doing the interviews. I got a good range of perspectives on all the different aspects of my personality and the impact i have on others. I also had pretty similar answers to what my interviewees had regarding what makes me unique. There were a couple of things that I hadn't thought of, but nothing I disagreed with. Overall, this was a cool assignment, and it's interesting to see that you had a pretty similar conclusion to me.
Nikki,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and seeing the differing perspectives on your human capital. While reading, I see you got varying perspectives. I think that it is important to realize that different people will see you in different situations. For example, your parents have been with you for your whole life but most of your friends have not been with you that long. I think it is interesting that both of your parents said you are empathetic. In my experience, my friends said skills that would be more useful in a career but my parents said more personal traits.
Hi Nikki, It definitely seems like your interviews back up your own claims about your human capital. I also think that it's great that people see you slightly different. It probably means that you can act different to make people feel comfortable. It seems like you have the ingredients for your secret sauce. When asking my closest friends or family for my human capital they also slightly differed.
ReplyDeleteHi Nikki,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed listening and reading through this blog post. It is a good thing to get everyone’s feedback on your human capital because no matter what job you are going to partake in, the one constant will always be you. The more you know about yourself through yourself and other people, the more you can work on polishing your personal brand.