For many people, the idea of self-promotion is tinged with discomfort. However, visibility is essential for career development in the competitive workplace environment.
If you’re wondering how to navigate the fine line between advocating for yourself and coming off as conceited, there’s an art to self-promotion. Learning how to self-promote the right way paves the way for the recognition and opportunities you’ve worked for while maintaining your colleagues’ respect.
Read on to discover how to self-promote plus get strategies to make others notice what you bring to the team.
What Is Self-Promotion?
Self-promotion ensures your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed and that you’re positioned for the opportunities and recognition you deserve. Rather than assuming that people will notice your contribution, you strategically present yourself as an accomplished expert in your field.
It’s true that quality work is rewarded, but work gets busy, and sometimes your achievements might go unnoticed by accident. Once you learn how to self-promote, you can become an advocate for your career development.
Why Self-Promotion Matters
Would you run a business without marketing? Similar to how a company leverages marketing to communicate its value to potential customers, highlighting your strengths and contributions helps ensure you are recognized in your industry.
It isn’t about boasting or bragging. You probably already use many of the tools and skills required for self-promotion to advance your work or team. When you effectively promote yourself, you enhance your visibility and establish yourself as a trusted figure in your domain.
How to Self-Promote Like a Pro
If you’re new to self-promotion, the first step is to understand your goals and current position so you can build a case for career advancement. You’ll also want to consider your industry and the career trajectory you want to take so you know which of your skills and accomplishments will be most highly valued.
1. Your Assessment
Take some time to answer the following questions:
What are my professional strengths?
- What qualities and skills make me a strong contributor?
- Which achievements and areas of expertise make me stand out?
- Who are my strongest advocates or supporters?
- What are my weaknesses or areas for improvement?
- What is the most consistent constructive feedback I receive?
- What steps can I take to overcome these weaknesses?
- What is the next step for my career? How can I advance, and what type of advancement appeals to me?
- What technologies, knowledge, or programs can I leverage to support my career development?
- What are the potential obstacles to my career growth?
- Who among my peers is my biggest competition? What are they doing well? How can I learn and improve based on that?
- What are the skills that are most useful in my current role? My target role?
These questions will help build your self-awareness. Clarity about where you stand, where you want to go, and what strengths you bring lays a solid foundation for strategic and effective self-promotion.
2. Your Value Proposition
Once you’ve completed your assessment, you’re ready to draft your value proposition. You’re writing this to clarify it for yourself, not share it with others. Feel free to be totally honest and even brag. It will be the basis for your self-promotion strategy.
A value proposition is a concise summary of the benefits of a person, product, service, or company. In this case, it is an opportunity to distill the credentials, accomplishments, skills, and attributes that make you a valuable employee.
The next step is to quantify the benefits you’ve written down. What are concrete, quantifiable examples of each? The greater clarity you achieve at this stage, the easier it will be to pitch yourself when opportunities arise.
Here is a sample value proposition for a project manager:
“I have a proven and consistent track record of delivering projects on time and within budget, even when challenged by unexpected problems—from procurement to staffing. I have excelled at anticipating issues and can communicate priorities to my team in a way that motivates them and keeps them on track.
For example, during Project C, our supplier informed us that an essential part wouldn’t be available for six weeks. I got Jack to help me, and we called every manufacturer and supplier of that part around the globe until we secured what we needed with only a two-day delay. For projects R, L, and W, we finished ahead of schedule and 5 to 10 percent under budget. This exceeds anything accomplished by others in my position.
My strengths include organization, communication, motivating action, and recognizing my team members for their accomplishments so they feel appreciated and engaged. I am skilled at prioritizing tasks so they are accomplished efficiently with minimal gaps in the process. I can quickly adapt to circumstances to overcome challenges and achieve our goals.”
3. Start Sharing Your Accomplishments
You are now primed to share your accomplishments as opportunities present themselves. You will notice openings to articulate your strengths and achievements in conversations, meetings, self-assessments, and emails or newsletters.
If you miss an opportunity, take note and commit to speaking up next time. One effective tool is to replay the scenario in your head, this time stepping in and advocating for yourself. Even if it takes a few tries, this simple visualization will help you take action.
4. Articulate the Impact of Your Contributions
It’s not just about what you achieve. Knowing how to self-promote means learning how to articulate your efforts contribute to your team’s, department’s, or company’s success. If you go above and beyond, either in overcoming an expected challenge or by taking on extra work, let your manager know what you did, how you stepped up, and the benefits of your efforts.
You can also share that your motivation for the extra effort is to help the organization achieve its goals.
5. Share Positive Feedback
If you receive positive feedback from a manager, like on a performance review or from a coworker, share it. This is third-party verification and social proof you can use to let others know how you add value.
For example, if you receive an outstanding performance review from your manager, you can share this positive feedback with other leaders in your company or network. It can help them see how you may be an asset to their team.
If you get great feedback from a coworker, tell your team leader and supervisor about it. You can forward it with a note if it’s in an email or a message. If it’s verbal praise, you can send an email sharing the experience (with a note about how fantastic it is to work with the coworker) or let it come up in conversation.
6. Give and Receive Support
Supporting coworkers and asking for insight from mentors, company leaders, and supervisors can be effective self-promotion strategies.
If a coworker needs help and you’re in a position to lend a hand, you can let your manager know that you’ll be helping to overcome a challenge or meet a deadline. If you see a way to save a colleague time and effort (and your input is welcomed), you position yourself as a resource for the team.
Similarly, when you ask an experienced colleague, people from other departments, or a supervisor for a fresh perspective or insight, you loop them into your work. You now have a legitimate reason to share your progress and wins.
7. Celebrate Coworkers’ Achievements
When you set an example of sharing praise, you build on the collaborative spirit of your team and increase the chances that others will also acknowledge you. When someone plays a pivotal role in your success, highlight their contribution publicly and let them enjoy the spotlight.
Your successful career development depends on solid relationships at all levels. If you exclusively sing your praises while diminishing or ignoring others, you will miss the opportunities substantial, mutually beneficial relationships can bring. Collaboration is also often a highly valued skill.
8. Share Your Successes on Social Media
Keep your LinkedIn profile up-to-date with your experience and accomplishments. If you get great feedback or have a reward, share it on your social media profiles.
You don’t want every post to be about you, but if you celebrate your wins in the mix of other posts, people will celebrate with you. By sharing your successes publicly, you give hiring managers the information they need to know your strengths.
READ NEXT: How Perfectionism Can Hurt a Team
Brag Better with These Self-Promotion Tips
If you’ve been feeling unacknowledged or unappreciated, developing your self-promotion skills will help you get the recognition you deserve. When you’re ready to find a new position that advances your career, we can help.
For employers, whether you want to give more effective feedback, create a sense of belonging and cohesion, or find your next stellar team member, we have the expertise and nationwide network to make it happen.