My Secret Sauce

1. Five ways my human capital is unique:

     - I am a natural leader. Not only do I find myself in organized leadership roles, but within my friends and family I am looked upon as a leader as well.

     - I have a great balance between a creative and analytical brain. I am quite artistic but my favorite subjects involve math and problem solving. 

     - I am very good at working with individuals. I can easily read each person that I am working with and can figure out the best way I can work with that person. Everybody is different, and recognizing qualities and styles of each person I work with helps me excel in what I want to accomplish.

     - I am super friendly. I can go up and talk to anyone and strike up a conversation. I love meeting new people and will always take the initiative to meet new friends. I could go to a party alone!

     - I am trustworthy. Maybe it is my friendly manner combined with my ability to connect with people easily, but I find myself in many situations in which others are confiding in me. I think that I make people feel comfortable which allows them to trust in me and ask me for advice. 

2. Interviews: 

I conducted these interviews by asking each person to give me one adjective that describes a way that makes me different and why.

First, organized. This person explained that my borderline freakish organization is a main thing that I have to my advantage. They knew all about my planner and how I keep track of every little date and things I need to do. This helps me because I rarely forget assignments and obligations.

Second, intuitive. This person described me as instinctive, oftentimes making the right decision when there is not much information available. He explained that using the reasoning based off how I feel generally gives me the correct answer. 

Third, artistic. I loved this one. Many people don't know about my artistic side because I don't really talk about it or show many people. I think it is assumed because I am a finance major that I am not into art, but I am! She explained that it puts me apart from my other business-majored peers and that ti is something I should try and bring up more.

Fourth, confident. This interviewee explained the importance of confidence in everything that we do. From the classes that we take, to interviews, to our careers and even in our relationships, being confident is key. I was very flattered when my friend told me that she thought of me when she thought of a confident person.

Fifth, self-starter. This came to a surprise to me but I think is great in terms of this class! This interviewee explained that she admired my ability to begin work or projects on my own. She said that I really know how to take initiative and get done what I need to get done. 

3. Comparisons

I think the main difference is that when reflecting on myself, I came up with more qualities in terms of my personality and friendships, rather than skills. I was shocked when I heard the word "organized" that I had not thought of it for myself. I would say that is one of my best qualities in terms of human capital and I can't believe I didn't think of it for myself. Another difference was that I think the interviewees were much nicer to me than I was on myself. It took me some time to come up with my human capital but it didn't take the people I interviewed very long at all. This shows that we need to be easier on ourselves and get our skills down pat and utilize them! I think if I were to go back and make a new list after doing the interviews, I would stress the artistic side more. I think it is pretty cool that I can pursue a career in financial services but also have this creative, artistic side to me. That definitely sets me apart and makes me unique I think.