5 Tips for Self-Promotion Savviness

In just the past week, I’ve had a half-dozen conversations with eager career changers and job seekers all dreading the same thing: talking to others about themselves! I tell them, “Are you aware that 85% of jobs are filled through networking?” Linkedin statistics reveal that 52% of professionals don’t keep in touch with their own network. Don’t be included in that group!

This month’s Stronger is not about crafting your own personal pitch — that was covered in the an earlier newsletter. (Check it out to learn what a successful pitch includes and about my grad student, Aboira, who bravely let me help craft his.)

Networking is a key component to succeeding in today's professional world. If you're squeamish about promoting yourself, I’m sorry to tell you that you can't avoid it and that you may need to enhance your self-promotion savviness. Here are five self-promotion tips for building your brand that don’t require face-to-face interaction.

1. Get Rockstar intros and recs When social scientist, best-selling author and LinkedIn Instructor Steve Martin spoke on my LinkedIn Live about persuasive presentations, he talked about the value of rockstar introductions. If you’re new to a group or giving a report in a meeting, ask a well-respected member of the team to introduce you. Be sure they know you well enough to be specific about how your expertise brings value to the group. Don’t be hesitant to lean on their influence to raise yours. This strategy is similar to LinkedIn recommendations. If you’ve worked with someone who knows the value of your work or your result-driven work ethic, ask them to share a few words about it on your LinkedIn profile.

2. Showcase your non-work talents & hobbies Recruiters often ask about your interests and hobbies, but I recommend you take that one step further. Devote 20% of your posts on the LinkedIn platform to topics outside of your work and career that you’re passionate about. Whether it’s sports, cooking or crocheting, try to make a connection between your work skills and your hobbies or other leisure-time activities. I often post with the #mondaymotivation hashtag about experiences and events to inspire or give me energy for the week. The posts often have no obvious connection to the communication, cross cultural or resilience skills content that I create, but learners on the platform have told me how these ‘self-disclosing’ posts make me more real and authentic. You may think a post about a weekend event raising funds for the community or an amazing dish you cooked up for friends wasn’t important, but your connections might feel it informs them about your initiative or values.

3. Post your skills portfolio True story: when my daughter was looking for her first job after graduating from college, she labored countless hours designing her project portfolio before posting it on LinkedIn. It seemed like a chore, but she persevered. Not long after, a recent contact saw it and messaged her about a position that might be a good fit. She applied and eventually landed the job. Whether you have 2 or 10 projects, it’s worth putting in the time and effort to showcase what you’ve accomplished and learned, and why they’re important.

4. Keep a brag journal I won’t include links to actual brag journals on Amazon, but there’s a reason they exist. Many of us are hesitant to shine the limelight on ourselves. You can get better at this if you develop a habit of tracking your accomplishments and successes, so you’re able to call them up at the right moment. Keep a notebook listing your accomplishments in and outside of work, and include important details and lessons learned. Turn this into a succinct list you can bring to annual evaluations or reviews. I have a system of tagging emails of praise, thanks, and congratulations that I can easily put together for my own annual work evaluations. Peggy Claus, author of “The Art of Tooting your Horn Without Blowing It” describes what she calls ‘brag bites.’ They’re concise and engaging statements that highlight your accomplishments and strengths in a way that feels natural and comfortable. If your boss asks you how the past week went, instead of just saying “it was great,” you can succinctly offer the details, “We hit it out of the park and got three top clients to renew for another year.”

5. Uplift others Renowned author Gore Vidal said, “Heroes must see to their own fame. Nobody else will.” That is likely true but you can also gain energy by lifting others around you. For in-person situations, this might involve introducing someone to the meeting leader or company representative. On the LinkedIn platform, you can promote and uplift others by sharing their content on your feed, commenting on their posts, providing a meaningful recommendation or tagging them on relevant content.

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LinkedIn Live | Monday, Aug. 26 at 1:00pm EST Please join me to discuss this topic and much more with my friend, AJ Eckstein ?? . He’s a TEDx Speaker, LinkedIn author, and newly-minted founder of the start-up, Creator Match. AJ’s a master of self-promotion strategies, building his brand alongside a professional consulting job. He’s intentional, engaged and always strategic. I’m sure you will learn a lot! Sign up here.

As always, I appreciate you reading Stronger. Follow me on LinkedIn and be sure to send this newsletter to a friend you think might benefit.