THIS & THAT
Promote yourself but do not border on the extreme
Humility is a virtue we are told to cultivate right from childhood. But humility should not be misunderstood for refusing to talk about your qualities and your abilities. Some amount of self-promotion is certainly called for especially in the professional world. You will not be noticed unless you make some noise.
Self-promotion is important in these tough times, you ought to let your quality show and your value realised especially when the management is thinking about laying off people, putting promotions on hold and on salary cuts. Once the management is aware of your value, they will think twice before deciding to take any such action regarding your future. So blowing your own trumpet does have its benefits.
However, there is a certain way to promote yourself, which does not border on extreme pride or ends up irritating others.
Doing it the right way will inspire others to pay attention and gain confidence in your abilities. This calls for the right kind of sales talk.
Present yourself as the critical component of a bigger ‘value package’ others will get if they decide to work with you.
Such an approach is bound to work whether you are searching for a job, vying for a promotion or even negotiating a sales deal with a client.
Showcase your capabilities in terms of what you have achieved and the milestones you have reached instead of solely pointing out your own skills.
Suppose you were the main player in signing a big contract with a client, instead the focussing the achievement on yourself, you can suggest that you had the opportunity to work with a major client and contribute significantly to the business of your organisation. If you were part of a team, mention that it was possible with the help of a dedicated team. Making such a point especially in your resume will make you stand out and help you in your job-hunt.
Let us suppose you are vying for a promotion with your peers and are asked about your professional goals, you might be tempted to mention that you want to be at the top in your line of work, which others will tend to say as well.
You can be an exception by couching your vision in terms of how it can help your company.
For instance if you are in the sales division, you can state that your goal is to get the top twenty clients to buy your company’s products or services and contribute to its business volume.
This way of presenting your goal will make it appear less as self-promotion while still emphasising on your value. When you are communicating your value to others, remember to pay attention to what others want.
Whether you are talking to a hiring manager or making a sales presentation to a client, concentrate on what the other side needs. Once you are sure of this, you can highlight how your talents can help the company that decides to hire you increase its business.
Or if you are making that sales presentation mention how the service will enhance the company’s productivity.
It all boils down to identifying the needs/goals of others and telling them how your skills will help them achieve those goals.
Self-promotion need not be a tool that should be used aggressively for your career progress.
In fact doing it in a subtle way will showcase your humility and also highlight your achievements.
Such an approach will not make your self-promotion too obvious and irritate others.
Rather it will present you as someone confident, willing to help others and with the right talents and skills to do it.
Do not hesitate to talk about yourself, when you focus on the positive benefits you can bring to the job or the value you can add you have hit on the right way to get ahead.
