Professional Development

How to promote yourself at work

Self-promotion has a bad rap.

A lot of us grew up hearing phrases like, “Nobody likes a braggart.” We’re taught that promoting ourselves is bad.

Consequently, the thought of promoting yourself may make you cringe. After all, you don’t want be seen as that braggart you were always warned about! I don’t blame you. But, the thing is, promoting yourself is not the same as bragging. While bragging is about showing off and talking big (maybe even bigger than you deserve), promoting yourself is about marketing your skills and actions to further your career.

You’re letting fear stand in your way.

If you aren’t promoting yourself it’s probably because you’re fearful. You’re scared of the responsibility that comes with promoting who you are, your values, and your strengths. If you promoting yourself you have to deliver, right? My guess is you’re already delivering. So, that begs the question: Why aren’t you promoting?

Why you don’t want to promote yourself:

•    You’re afraid you’ll be seen as narcissistic.
•    You think other people might not like it if you promote yourself.
•    You’re fearful you’re not worthy of the attention self-promotion might bring you.
•    You think that if you’re good enough, everyone will naturally notice.

If you were going to go around bragging about yourself then these might actually be valid reasons. But, they’re not. Because you’re not bragging; you’re promoting.

Promoting yourself will give you a stronger brand position.

Some may think that self-promotion is about tearing others down to make themselves look better. What a bad (not to mention, pathetic) strategy. You can do a lot better than that.

Your goal is simply to position yourself so that others understand your brand. So that they know what you’re working toward. So that they understand who you are, what you’re good at, and where you are going.

Goals of self-promotion:

•    Share your accomplishments.
•    Let others know what you want to do, not just what you’ve already done.
•    Position yourself as an expert on your specialty.
•    Give others insight into your skills, strengths, and talents.
•    Receive recognition for your efforts.

Seven steps to promoting yourself at work

The following seven steps are a low-key approach to promoting yourself at work. While there are a lot of other, much more vocal, ways of promoting yourself, these seven steps provide a solid base for self-promotion.

Step 1: Give yourself permission.

Give yourself permission to promote your accomplishments and goals. Allow yourself the opportunity to this. Understand that you’re not doing anything wrong; you’re simply marketing your brand.

Step 2: Do good work.

One of the bullets above under “Why you don’t want to promote yourself” is “You think that if you’re good enough, everyone will naturally notice.” In an ideal world, that would happen. And, sometimes, even in our regular world, it does happen.

Regardless, you should always strive to do your best work. My guess is that being a producer of quality work is an image you would like to project. Your good work will serve basis for promotion. In other words, if you don’t do good work, don’t bother with promotion. You’re reputation, no doubt, precedes you.

Step 3: Take advantage of small talk and other opportunities.

You have a choice when your boss walks by and, “What’s new with you today?” You can say, “Not much,” and move on with your day. Or, you can say, “I’m almost done with that big project I’ve been working on, and I’ve been thinking about a new solution to that problem we just can’t solve. I’ll be putting some time on your calendar to speak about this.” Promoting yourself is that simple! It’s simply letting others know what’s up. Which one of those responses above seems like a Rockstar response?

You are given these opportunities all the time. They’re a chance to give a brief – don’t keep anyone hostage – update on what you’re doing, thereby promoting yourself.

Step 4:  Speak up

When you have an idea, a suggestion, or even a question, you’re not doing yourself any favors by not speaking up. As long as you have something intelligent to say, simply speaking up is a method of promotion. You will soon be recognized as an expert on the topic you keep talking about.

Step 5: Announce what you’ve done and what you want.

You don’t always have to be asked to give an update. Go ahead and keep your boss, and maybe even your co-workers up to date on your accomplishments. This could be done through a one-on-one meeting with your boss, in an email to your team, or a more formal announcement in a newsletter. Pick a method that feels comfortable for you, and go for it!

Step 6: Promote others.

While I wouldn’t suggest promoting others with the sole purpose of receiving promotion in return, it is helpful to promote others for their efforts. By recognizing your teammates on a job well done, you are essentially saying that you, too, did a job. Promoting others is just a good business and networking strategy (not to mention, a sign of a Rockstar!).

Step 7: Manage your brand.

Once again, it all comes down to managing your brand. YOU are your brand. You must promote it in a way that feels natural and appropriate for you and what you want to accomplish.

There is a lot of value in promoting yourself. When done correctly, its benefits far outweigh any uncomfortable feelings you might feel by implementing slight changes in your daily interaction.

How do you promote yourself?

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