Personal Statements: The Swagger Mindset

How do you talk about your achievements? You often need to do so for grants - sometimes in personal statements or descriptions of your background.

Many scholars have trouble with this task. Sometimes it’s because it feels like bragging or taking credit for a group effort. (In Australia, people who brag about their achievements are called tall poppies - it’s not a compliment.)

But as Dr. Mallika Nocco says (p. 178 of The Grant Writing Guide), ““People, especially women and those from underrepresented groups, are often hesitant to talk about the impact of their work. Grants are one place where you need to sell your impact. Adopt a ‘swagger mindset.’”

Here are ways to adopt your swagger mindset:

Commit to a mindset shift. This isn’t idle bragging. You are making a case for why your work matters and why you are the right person for the grant.

Tell your story. Help reviewers connect the dots. Share the meaning of information.

• Burying meaning example. “I secured office space at this center.”
• Telling a story example. “Over the course of two years, I attended monthly meetings to forge connections between X and Y departments. Through this commitment, I secured an agreement for a joint space in this center.”

Focus on examples. Examples help reviewers understand and brag about you.

• Failing to give examples. “The connection and space I secured above has been critical to increasing faculty connections.”
• Gives examples. “The connection and space I secured increased faculty connections. I host biweekly networking events. To date, 80 scholars have attended these events.”

Here’s an example of swagger mindset in action. It’s from my successful application to the Gulf Research Fellowship program. The prompt was: Describe a time when you ensured a project or team accomplished its goal or achieved a successful outcome (250 words or fewer).

In closing, having a swagger mindset matters. But I want to acknowledge it’s a terrifying time for grant writing. I continue to hear from readers who are submitting grants and want resources - that’s why I keep writing this newsletter.

So, thank you, for reading and believing that scholars deserve support for incredible ideas. If you know someone who might benefit from today’s newsletter, would you mind forwarding it to them?

Betty

Stay in touch: The Newsletter, Bluesky, and The Grant Writing Guide book.

P.S. I just turned in my book manuscript, The Public Scholar, to Princeton University Press. We celebrated with pizza. Next step in this process - wait for external reviews.

P.P.S. Sydney has amazing playgrounds. Here’s one near us. You can order a coffee and watch your kids at the same time.