Michelle Ji

Board of Directors

Hello, everyone!

When was the last time you talked about your work and accomplishments? If the answer to that question is “never” or “it’s been a while”, then what’s holding you back? Many people fall into the belief system that highlighting one’s work isn’t necessary because hard work–quality work–should speak for itself. Others may believe that promoting oneself is bragging or playing politics.

In a perfect world, people would do good work and be recognized for it. In reality, though, you have to make the additional effort to ensure that your work is seen. Today, I’m going to talk about visibility and promotion in the workplace, why it’s important, and some useful practices that will hopefully help you in your career.

What is visibility and promotion? Why is it so important?

Visibility and promotion can take different forms. It can be as simple as emailing your direct manager with the results of a project you’ve recently completed, or contributing in meetings so that others know you’re willing to share your ideas.

If you’re trying to move up the corporate ladder, open up more opportunities for yourself, or get that pay raise, then it’s important to make your voice heard and your work seen for the following reasons:

Talent doesn’t equal recognition: People other than your manager or immediate team are unlikely to take the time to see who is performing well at all levels of the organization. Moreover, promotions are often not approved by your direct manager, but rather managers several levels higher than them. Thus, it’s important to advocate for yourself to your manager, as well as others in your organization.

It expands your network: Remember that success requires many relationships—it’s crucial to network and make sure that people across the organization know who you are and what you can offer. When people know who you are and the value that you bring, you’re more likely to be asked to participate in projects, lead teams, or take on new roles—all of which can open up more opportunities.

It benefits you, your team, and your organization: While self-promotion is often misconceived as self-serving, it’s really a way of sharing ideas and accomplishments that can benefit your team or organization. The company can use your quantifiers of success to initiate other ideas across the organization. Think of it as selling your ideas to the company: self-promotion isn’t just about you–it’s about you, your team, and the organization.

What are some useful practices for promoting yourself?

Have a positive attitude: To be a team player and successful employee, it all starts with your attitude—a positive outlook and good first impression can make a huge difference. You want to show your new colleagues and managers that you’re excited to be working and contributing to the organization—think of this as laying the groundwork for your career.

Deliver quality work: What’s the point of visibility if it’s for the wrong reasons? If your work is good and full of effort, then you’ll earn a reputation as a reliable, trustworthy, and valued team member.

Actively participate in meetings and projects: Your voice deserves to be heard. If you’re not someone who’s used to talking in meetings, then start speaking up or following up with the meeting host afterwards via email. Doing this shows that you’re interested in the content of the meeting, and gives you the opportunity to share your feedback or ideas.

Document everything: Keep track of every project you’ve completed, as well as information like the result of the project or what you learned from it. When the time comes for a performance review, promotion opportunity, or a new job, you will have a detailed list of completed projects that you can easily reference. Keeping track of awards received or additional initiatives participated in can also help to make your accomplishments more well-rounded.

Step into the spotlight: I encourage you to take on challenging work assignments and high-visibility projects! If one of your objectives is to be recognized by the company’s top brass, then seek such opportunities to interact with senior management in situations that showcase your strengths. When you demonstrate that you have a skillset that is valuable to them and their work, they will be more likely to recognize you.

Prepare an elevator pitch: It can be helpful to prepare an elevator pitch about recent accomplishments or current projects in case you come across someone who isn’t familiar with your work. Think of this as a quick, 30-second sales pitch about your role and responsibilities—after all, you’re a salesperson, and the product you’re selling is yourself and the work that you’ve done.

Remember that increasing visibility takes time and patience. While it may seem unnatural at first, the ability to speak about your work and accomplishments is a crucial skill to develop if you want to better position yourself for success. I hope this advice is helpful, and can benefit you no matter what stage of your career you are in!

My favorite cuisine is definitely Sichuanese food! That’s where I grew up in China. My favorite food is hot pot, as you can have many different types of fun ingredients in there all at once—the “Mala” flavor is very addictive!

Xiangyi Fei, Data Analytics Intern

Vanderbilt University and University of California, San Diego alum

My favorite cuisine is Korean! I love tteokboki, yookaejang, and bunggeopang!

Ella Moon, Graphic Design Intern

High School student

My favorite cuisine is Asian food—Korean to be specific. I think my favorite dishes are the soups: galbitang, kimchi-jjigae, and miyeok-guk.

Sarah Mun, UX and Web Design Intern

University of Washington alum

I think that my favorite cuisine would be Taiwanese—I enjoy eating a lot of Taiwanese takes on street foods and other dishes. Of course, I love boba as well!

Kaylin Lebo, Content Writing Intern

University of California, Irvine alum

My favorite cuisine is Japanese food! I love eating sushi, shabu shabu, and pork tonkatsu!

Ryan Kartiko, Operations and Content Writing Intern

Lehigh University alum

I like Indian cuisine! My favorite dishes are dosa, biryani, paneer butter masala, and naans!

Abhaya Ladalla, Graphic Design Intern

North Texas University graduate student

Asian Student Achievement (ASA) is thrilled to partner with Sugar Bliss once more in honor of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month! From May 1st to May 17th, 15% of the sales of certain in-store products will be donated to help ASA with our mission. From mellow mango macarons to blissfully bouncy boba tea cupcakes, there’s sure to be a confection to sate your sweet tooth in-store!

If you live or don’t live in the Chicagoland area, then don’t sweat it—for the entire month of May, 15% of the proceeds from their AAPI packages purchased online will also be donated to ASA (U.S. shipping only).

A huge thank you to Teresa Ging, founder and CEO of Sugar Bliss, for partnering with Asian Student Achievement! We at Asian Student Achievement greatly appreciate your generosity and dedication to our community. If you are interested in perusing Sugar Bliss’ scrumptious sweets, then you can visit their site below.

Asian Student Achievement is hiring for ALL of our intern positions. Join our amazing team and help Asians/Asian Americans through the pipeline to leadership in the workplace.

Click the button below to find the job descriptions of all our intern positions and send your CV or resume to ops@learnasa.org.

Jolie Yang

Assistant General Counsel, Uniswap Labs

“Shane has been an advocate for Asians and Asian Americans long before Asian Student Achievement was formed. His deep commitment to this space is admirable, and I am thrilled to support it.”

Thank you to Jolie for supporting Asian Student Achievement, and for the work you do to support the APIA community!