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Your success in your study or current employment lays the foundation for future growth and progression. A future employer will look for a track record on which you can build. One way to develop this is to focus on your P-I-E – Performance, Image, Exposure.

 

Performance

  • What gets you noticed (e.g. in your CV or a job application), and what builds your professional reputation.

  • Is the most common thing for which you will be compared, e.g. in a promotion process.

  • Signals your ability to take on more or different responsibilities.

  • Must grow with you – the bar is always being raised as you progress.

 

Image

  • Your ‘personal brand’ – how others perceive you.

  • It’s the message you send before you speak, whether you intend to or not. Your image should say “I’m ready”.

  • Includes how you dress, your confidence, and your demeanour – practice meeting people.

  • Develops early in your career. Every interaction counts – try to make them positive.

 

Exposure

  • How others know about your good performance.

  • Be visible to those who can support you in progressing your career.

  • Can be influenced by a network of employers, colleagues, champions and other contacts.

  • Allows you to engage outside your immediate network, and have a greater professional impact.

  • Can be good or bad – explore your opportunities and make choices that align with your values and career goals.

 

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits use, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is cited and it is for non-commercial purposes. Please contact us for other uses.

How to cite

Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (2021) The ‘P-I-E’ approach to career success. Available at www.rgs.org/careersresources/PIE. Last accessed on: <date>

 

Featured image: @nullplush / Unsplash