The Work Speaks For Itself. Or Does It?

I have always been impressed by people who can clearly state that they are good at something. Even years ago, when I interviewed middle school girls for a career video I was making, one of the things that struck me most was their ability to say "I'm good at." It didn't matter so much what they were good at. What mattered was their ability to own their proficiency. I hope that now that they are grownups (the video was almost fifteen years ago), they are still that confident. Not cocky, but confident.
 
I have always found  it incredibly difficult to own my strengths in that way. While I will happily work my hardest or do my best, talking about it is not so easy. And I guess maybe that has been one of the good things to come out of these last few years of job exploration. In order to find work, I have to give a little more thought to what I'm good at. And in order to get and keep work, I have to own the things I'm good at. If I can't own my capabilities, how can I own the work? And if I can't toot my own horn, just a little, how can I expect people even to know that I am here to do the work? It's not about shameless self-promotion, or about credit over substance. It's about self-awareness, and about career survival. If you can't own your own value, why should anyone else even see that value?
 
We've all heard the expression, "the work speaks for itself." Once in a while, maybe it does. Once in a while, people will look beyond the work to see the person who did it. The rest of the time, it can't hurt to throw in a little voice of our own.