To progress in your career it is not enough to be excellent at your job. You also need to ensure that other people know that you are excellent at your job.
Many of my clients find self-promotion uncomfortable, however, your career success depends on other people knowing who you are and what you have achieved.
I am an #IamRemarkable facilitator, an initiative that was originally set up by Google to encourage self-promotion among women.
There is a statement that we share at the start of the workshop that is a gamechanger for those that don’t enjoy self-promotion, and that is: It’s not bragging if it’s based in fact.
Self-promotion is purely sharing the facts about what you have achieved so that other people are aware of them as well.
To be effective in your self-promotion efforts:
Create Your Self Promotion Strategy
What is your overall career vision and how does self-promotion fit into this? For example, if your objective is to get promoted in the next 12 months then you have a clear goal to work towards and motivate you. You can then think about the narrative that you need to create to support you to get this promotion.
- What skills and attributes do you particularly want to highlight?
- What stories can you share that reinforce your knowledge and experience?
- Who do you need to get your message in front of so that you can have maximum impact?
Getting clear on your strategy makes it much easier to get you off the starting blocks and out in the world sharing your message.
To begin with you might not enjoy sharing your achievements but the more you do it the easier it will become. And also the more you do it you will know that you have done all that you can to achieve your goal.
Craft Your Story
Take time to consider what you want people to remember about you and then craft the story that you want to share. You need to understand the value that you bring and the contribution that you make to your work. You also need to truly believe in that value so that you can authentically and wholeheartedly share this with other people.
If you find it tricky to identify the value that you bring then spend time going through past feedback and performance reviews, speak to colleagues both past and present and build up that picture of your key strengths and what people truly value about working with you.
You might decide to work with a coach to help you do that or you may identify a trusted colleague or friend that can support you.
The most important thing is that you truly believe and are confident in the self-promotion messages that you are sharing. If you don’t believe them that will be clear to other people, it will come across as inauthentic and empty words rather than a message from the heart.
Adopt the Correct Tone
The final thing to consider is the tone of voice that you use when you undertake self-promotion. Remember we said it’s not bragging if it’s based in facts. We want to make sure that the tone of voice we use isn’t bragging.
Passionate, enthusiastic, excited – absolutely, yes, all of these things are great. But we don’t want to be over the top and showy.
Let me give you two examples:
“I’m delighted to share that lastnight I was awarded Technology Consultant of the Year at the Management Consultancy Association Awards. It was great to spend the evening with the other nominees and I am truly honoured to be part of such an inspirational group.”
Compared to
“Hey check it out! I won Technology Consultant of the Year lastnight. That trophy is going to look great on my fireplace next to last year’s award. Great evening letting my hair down. Sorry to those that didn’t win – better luck next time.”
Now that second example is rather over the top to prove my point but I hope that you can understand what I want you to appreciate.
Your language matters, and the way you deliver your message matters. Use simple, straightforward language and make sure that you stay relevant and on topic.
To find out how I can support you to develop your self-promotion strategy, book a time to talk HERE.