“Describe yourself in 3 words” is a phrase that has come up in interviews, icebreakers, and friendly gatherings constantly, and I never know what to say. I certainly have words I would like to describe myself as, but how accurate are they really? Listening to Ellie Doyle speak at Griffith College today gave me the opportunity to consider what image I put out into the world of myself, and honestly made me question a lot. As I walk the streets of Dublin, I find myself wondering where all these people are going, what they’re doing, and what they’re like, seeing only their outside appearances for a few seconds at a time. I notice how well dressed many locals are and how they walk with purpose, and find myself wanting to be like that. If I had to describe the image I put out into the world of myself (after a LOT of thought), I would say helpfulness, kindness, and organization. I try to help others around me to the best of my ability and pride myself on being a team player, which especially comes into play when traveling as a group. While being flexible is obviously such an important skill, I find that having a plan to start from helps the ride go much smoother. After Ellie’s presentation this morning on personal branding, it became more clear that these more subjective or “soft” skills can go so much further than knowledge alone. While having a fresh city to walk around where many people around you have no clue who you are is fun, it doesn’t need to end in 2 weeks when we go home. Next time I walk into an interview, I’ll think back to Ellie’s words about how every experience tells you something about a person, and hopefully stop doubting my experience and abilities, no matter how small they may be.

Throughout our visit to Croke Park, I started to think how the pictures I was taking would look once posted online. I know little about sports (especially Irish ones), but do pictures of me being excited in a stadium imply I’m a big hurling fan? As I walked through the stands were rowdy fans once filled the seats, I couldn’t help but wonder how our admittedly tourist-looking group was perceived by others. Or walking through the game room of the museum portion where you could practice swinging a hurling stick, I hesitated at first not knowing how well I would do. But after I finally did, I realized that the way it looked so fun when others did it, probably looked the same when I did. Being worried about how others view you is important to some extent (of course, you want to ensure that you’re being perceived in the right way), but sometimes, just letting go and enjoying the moment is part of that self image too. Posting certain content on social media was something I was already doing, but now realize how they are an extension of my personal brand. Pictures of me smiling and having fun project an entirely different image than the 3 words I listed earlier, because pictures of myself abroad don’t show kindness, for example, but maybe risk taking or adventurous instead.

My biggest takeaway from the discussion on personal branding is that breaking down what mine actually is, is still a work in progress. I think it would take a long time for me to fully analyze my experiences and pick out the qualities that truly encompass the image I want to put into the world. However, this ambiguity of not knowing what my “brand” is could be a good thing because it doesn’t restrict my opportunities. Not knowing who or what exactly I want to be keeps me from saying “oh, that’s not my thing” for something I haven’t tried. Having this flexibility makes me more confident to try new things and not be afraid of failing at something knowing that its part of the process. In job searching, I don’t want to be afraid of trying something I have no experience in, because it may just be something I end up loving. In fact, Ellie’s presentation mentioned that ~65% of jobs in the future do not even exist yet! Imagine if I turned away a job thinking it wouldn’t be a fit for me just because its not what I’m used to? Thinking about the stadium tour today, if I was planning a solo trip, I wouldn’t have thought about exploring sports that much, and would have missed out on some really cool sights and stories. So moving forward the image I want to project is willing to try anything and being flexible, because you never know if something just might be the right fit until you try it.