Graduate Development Programs

Build Your Profile & Manage Perceptions

Starting on the Graduate Program in your first job after college, you will sometimes encounter a feeling of helplessness about the level of influence you can have on the working environment.

That may not be a problem for some, but soon enough your colleagues will begin to form their views about you. Regardless of how informed these views may be, your colleagues will share them with others thus creating a profile on your behalf and perpetuating these perceptions about you.

If this sounds like it is out of your reach of influence, it can be to begin with. But that does not mean you give up on influencing the process. Indeed there is much you can and should do. The sooner you begin the better. Graduates are highly visible, which gives you the opportunity to take control of your profile and have it work for you.

First of all, I will to take you through the process of building your profile and the organisational forces that make this possible.

What is a Profile?
Your profile is made up of perceptions perpetuated by others on your behalf. It is what people think of you when your name is brought up and is made up of the following:

- Name Recognition
- Business Location
- Function/Skills
- Winner/Loser
- Good/Bad Guy

A very short summary of what people care about in the office. Who, where, what do they do, are they any good and are they likeable? This pretty much covers all the bases except for “is he/she hot”. I will leave that one for your social life!

In a discussion, it will sound something like this:

“Oh you know Julie, from Consumer Finance. She’s a really good analyst, very intelligent. Just been promoted into Bob’s team in the north-west region. Nice girl too”.

Why is it important?
The power of your profile is in how it utilises the social dynamics within the organisation to magnify your strengths and put you in the spotlight. Your profile can move fast and reach people you don’t even know yet thereby influencing your prospects.

Let me give you an example of how this works:

After crunching some sales data, you provide Betty the Account Manager with some insights on her customers. Excited by the opportunities you have identified, she tells her Assistant Manager Andrew that she was delighted with your work. Wanting to add to the conversation, Andrew tells her that he was cc’d on a presentation that you had emailed and that he too thought you did a good job.

They both walk off having had their opinions validated and with a stronger inclination to speak highly of you to others and so on.

Betty then goes to make some tea in the tea room and gets talking with Mario from finance. She tells Mario (who doesn’t yet know you) that her team is looking to make use of your good work by making some new proposals to underperforming accounts. Mario asks to take a look at the analysis and after doing so, sends Betty an email cc’ing both the Head of Finance and Betty’s Account Executive with your presentation attached, to concur on the sales initiatives.

Since you have put your name on the cover of the presentation, you now have the Head of Finance, Mario the Finance Manager and a Senior Executive having formed a positive impression of you, without even having met you. Not only that, but you have established a positive profile with both Andrew and Betty, who have gone onto become advocates for you. Beautiful work!

Now let us take a look at the factors at work here:

Seeking Social Proof
People have a strong desire to relate to one another at work and will look for common ground on which to base their bond. There is a social element to this, however “fitting in” is at the heart of survival and success in any group.

When talking about other people and their ideas, unless it negatively impacts your work, it is far safer to agree with the initial statement or say as little as possible. Dissent can signal you are not on board the same bus. This could be why Andrew was quick to agree with Betty.

Once something or someone has received external acclaim from an authoritative source such as a decision maker, it becomes “safe” and even desirable to agree. Associations influence perceptions, which is why some people go out of their way to interact with senior management. Not only do they become more familiar with decision makers, it also makes them appear to be more influential than they actually are.

Few people are comfortable saying “I don’t know”. So when asked an opinion on a person, they will either relay someone else’s opinion or agree with the preceding opinion. When talking about something objective like the weather, a book or movie, often it’s the discussion that enables one to relate to another, not the opinion that is expressed. So disagreeing in this instance is socially acceptable to most people.

Working the Hierarchy and Social Network
Some positions in an organisation have a far reaching circle of influence through the formal hierarchy, while other individuals have an influential role to play in the informal social network. Either way it is important to get a grasp on the organisational “reach” each person has within your company.

Information travels down faster than it travels up and it also carries authority and influence, so raising your profile through colleagues who have access to senior figures can have a powerful cascading effect.

Note that there are different requirements in the formal and social hierarchies. The formal hierarchy is primarily concerned with your usefulness, so it is important to demonstrate your value to senior figures.

The social hierarchy is primarily concerned with relationships so establishing rapport, sharing information and sincerely relating to your colleagues is of most concern. Pay attention to this aspect of your relationships as it can mean the difference between being resented for your success or being congratulated by your colleagues.

In the next article we will go through some common mistakes people make in building their profile and why it can be self-defeating to focus all of your energy on senior decision makers.

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