You deserve to have your name on something you created.

Wanna hear something depressing? A lot of net-based businesses that promise to pay their employees in “exposure” don’t actually provide visible bylines for their work. I heard a story once about a tiny, no name site that hired writers for “exposure,” placed their names in a tiny, barely visible box in a far corner of the page, and if the writers ever quit, the editor would remove the box entirely. We could do a whole TED Talk on why working for “exposure” is nonsense, but we’ll get to that another time. For now, the important thing is to ensure that your name is actually on the work you create.

As part of making your work more visible to those around you, anything you personally create should have your name on it in some visible capacity. This serves two practical purposes: firstly, in the event someone else has a question about that thing you made or needs to talk to you about it, they can come right to you instead of having to ask around to figure out where the thing came from. It’s a matter of practicality.

Secondly, and more relevantly to your career, having your name on things is good for your professional reputation (assuming you do good work). Even if it’s something minor like putting a PowerPoint together, you should put your name on everything you make because it helps build your reputation as a capable person. “This is my thing, I made this.” You owe it to yourself to let others know that you worked hard for them, not just for the little happy boost in your brain, but that reputational boost will help you to get bigger and better opportunities down the line.

Imagine, boss-man is looking over his document packet. “This is so well made! Who made this fantastic packet? Oh, it’s (your-name-here)! I should get them on for some new projects!”