PRICE YOURSELF RIGHT

Guilt is a very complicated feeling, which is bound to return if a lesson is not learned. I too am writing this having been inspired by guilt. I wasn't aware of it until someone mentioned it at just the right time while doing a future career path analysis with me in an interview. 

I was sitting in an interview not so long ago, and one statement really hit hard and brought out a lot of guilt which made me realise all along I had been doing things wrong. "You are selling yourself short in your CV and it is very bad". That statement got me thinking and made me realise that it's not only in the CV but in everyday life. And it is not just me alone, but a lot of people out there, some of whom I know personally. We often make this mistake because we are trying to be humble. Sometimes we sincerely think that's what we are worth, but we end up being insincere. The outcome is usually that we lose opportunities. 

I wasn't going to write this, but I've realised a lot of us youth do not take such a matter seriously. We overprice ourselves on social media but when it comes to real matter we are way below market value. We focus our energy in the wrong places and wonder why we see no fruits for our actions. If we could focus the same energy we put on social media, to make ourselves attractive to business and career opportunities, we would see exponential growth in both learning and finances. On social media we never leave out the details. We make sure they know everything. But on real matters we often leave out a lot. A lot of courses, certificates, related hobbies, achievements, unique features, competitive attributes etc, are all left out. The reality is the people that can help us in those areas aren't supposed to figure it out, we are supposed to tell them. Their work is only to verify. So, if really you have something there is no need to leave it out in the details, no matter how small it might be.

However, do not lie when pricing yourself or make promises you know you can't keep or come close to achieving. This is the other reason why we sometimes undersell ourselves; we are trying not to overprice things. But to say do not overprice yourself doesn't mean you should under-price yourself. Find your right price. Sometimes it takes asking those around you to review your strength and reflecting on those answer, then sifting through it until you build a strong and solid basis. It's not going to be done overnight, but whatever effort you put into establishing your right price will determine the results. 

Go out and price yourself right.

WITH LOVE...

Mbuelo Ramafamba