What is one’s professional identity?

Your professional identity is how you show up in your field—it’s the combination of your values, strengths, expertise, reputation, and how others perceive you. In public health, it’s not only about what you do or your technical skills, but why and how you do it.

A clear professional identity can guide your focus, communicate your value, and anchor your career decisions. It answers questions like:

• • What contribution do I want to make in public health?
  • What issues do I care about?
  • Which skills or roles best match my passion and strengths?

Your Public Health Skillset

Public health draws on many disciplines—health sciences, social sciences, policy, communication, and more. Public health work is interdisciplinary and dynamic. Professionals working in public health today need both mastery of core competencies and specialized skills–and a willingness to learn new things and adapt to change.

Example in demand skills for public health professionals today.

As the field of public health evolves, and as communities change, new skills and areas of expertise—such as climate health, health informatics, data science, implementation science, and public health law and advocacy—become increasingly valuable. A broad and adaptable skillset can help public health professionals meet the complex and interconnected challenges of the day. With a strong skillset, you can work across disciplines, respond to emerging threats, and stay effective as policies, technologies, and community needs change.

Your skillset is not fixed: it will expand as your experience deepens. With every job, project, and training you take on, you are developing your skillset. The core competencies, specialized skills, and professional experience you have are hallmarks of your professional identity.

Get Started Guide

Building Your Professional Brand

Your professional brand is not about slick marketing—it is about showing up consistently in ways that reflect your values, expertise, and identity. Your brand is the unique mix of skills, experiences, values, and personality that sets you apart and signals what you care about. A strong brand is authentic, intentionally developed, and consistently communicated—whether online, in person, or through your work. Cultivating your brand helps you stand out, build trust, and open doors to new opportunities as your career grows.

Featured Tools

Explore these tools for practical steps to define your strengths, clarify your values, and consistently communicate an authentic professional brand. They were developed by Dr. Johanna Andrews Adlam, Ph.D., MPH, CPCC, ACC, Founder & CEO of Premexcellence®, and are shared here with her permission.

Get Exposure and Get Noticed

Present Your Work

Presenting your work strengthens your resume, communication skills, and professional credibility while contributing to shared learning in your field. For early career professionals, they are especially helpful to practice at explaining your ideas clearly and get feedback to refine your work. Opportunities are everywhere–meetings of your department or organization, local events sponsored by community-based organizations or local chapters of professional associations, or professional or academic conferences. Presentations can take many forms–from traditional talks, Q&As, roundtables, workshops, lightning talks, poster sessions, and more. Often, the first step is submitting an abstract in response to a call for presentations.

Publish Your Work

As with presenting, publishing your work grows your professional repertoire while also giving your ideas wings. Writing can help you reach new audiences, and establish your voice in the field. lends your voice to the field. Opportunities include blog posts, op-eds, newsletters, articles in periodicals or peer-reviewed journals, and a range of other kinds of publications in various outlets. Some outlets issue calls for publications, while others accept submissions on a rolling basis. If you have something to share, explore different options to find the right fit. You can start small by adapting a presentation or longer piece into a short article or blog post. Partnering with colleagues as a co-author is another approachable way to begin. Posting your work on open-access platforms or sharing through LinkedIn can broaden its reach. Since many outlets ask for an abstract or blurb, being able to summarize your work clearly is a helpful step toward getting published.

Attend a Conference

Conferences are a great way to grow your network, learn about emerging issues, and stay current in your field. For early career professionals, they offer valuable exposure to new ideas, potential collaborators, and career opportunities. Conferences come in many sizes—regional, virtual, or national—and all can offer meaningful opportunities to learn and connect. You might also consider submitting to present—most conferences welcome contributions from professionals at every stage of their career. Make the most of the experience by planning ahead: review the agenda, identify sessions that align with your interests, and reach out to peers or presenters with whom you would like to connect. Volunteering as a moderator, note-taker, or student ambassador is another way to get involved, gain visibility, and contribute to the event.