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9 Ways to Toot Your Own Horn at Work
Denise was an accomplished sales manager with a terrific track record. Though she routinely landed the big accounts and her clients loved working with her, you would never hear it from her. If fact, Denise belittled her accomplishments with statements like, “Oh, that was no big deal.”
Like thousands of business professionals, Denise made a career-stalling, sometimes career-killing, mistake. Because she didn’t want to be perceived as a braggart or someone with too big an ego, she chose to be humble instead. After all, nobody likes a braggart in business.
Yet the art of self-promotion is a far cry from bragging. Bragging is obnoxious boasting and is usually done by people to let you know how great they think they are. Tactful self-promotion is a business skill. You don’t want to be obnoxious but learning when and how to speak well of yourself is a key to getting and staying ahead. If you don’t, who will?
It’s imperative that you tactfully and appropriately toot your own horn in all aspects of your career, not only during job interviews but during your regular business activities as well. Here are nine ways you can begin practicing the art of self-promotion:
- Be Visible. Get involved. Join organizations and volunteer for the committees. Participate in activities. Make presentations or volunteer to train. If possible, write articles for your company publications. You need to be known.
- Accept Compliments. When I complimented a VP on his handwriting he responded, “Oh. It’s my pen!” When you negate a compliment you are putting yourself down. You can simply say “Thank you” and then shut your mouth.
- Be Prepared. You may often find yourself in situations when you have to tell others about yourself, like when you are a new member of a group or during a meeting when everyone in the room introduces him or herself. Having a prepared self-introduction, like “I’m Tom Smith, the new director in sales. John Jones brought me in to start the new field service project,” will allow you to be comfortable speaking about yourself.
- When Asked, Do Tell. If someone asks you, “How are things at work?” this is your opportunity to mention your accomplishments. And express genuine pleasure when you do. When I was asked that recently I said, “I have great news. I was just interviewed by a national business magazine!”
- Do Not Use Superlatives, such as “I felt like the greatest…” Simply describe what you did, such as, “Using the new numbers from our field offices, I was able to cut our costs by a quarter.”
- Use Comparisons. I once coached a manager to use her experience preparing for the Boston Marathon as a way to answer questions about how she would prepare for a company’s market expansion. Naturally, the higher ups were quite impressed by the fact that she ran a marathon.
- Weave Your Accomplishments into Conversations When Appropriate. I will use my experiences to illustrate key teaching points in my classes and by doing so I highlight my accomplishments. For example, when discussing how important it is to prepare for an overseas assignment, I will mention what I did to prepare when I was ask to speak at a ground-breaking women’s seminar in Kuwait.
- Don't Mention the Same Accomplishment Over and Over. You can overdo it and this will make you sound like a braggart. Remember there is a balance. You must also speak of other things, not just about what you do well.
- Speak Well of Others, Too. This is a gracious act and usually appreciated by the other person. Plus, when you praise others, your comments about yourself don’t seem unusual. (But don’t praise if it isn’t warranted. Others will know and you will appear phony.)
Barbara Pachter is the author of "The Power of Positive Confrontation" ($13.95 paperback, Marlowe & Co.).and President of Pachter & Associates and can be contacted by email at pachter@ix.netcom.com. For a free copy of Pachter's newsletter, Competitive Edge, call (856) 751-6141 (NJ) or visit www.pachter.com. Published three times a year, it contains tips and strategies for business professionals on a wide range of business communication and etiquette issues.
Published in Networking Today, July 2003.
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