How to Self-Promote Without Being a Brag

Your boss has no idea what you do all day!

Think about it... on top of managing you and all of your coworkers, your boss also has their own career to take care of, which is filled with meetings, personal challenges, and working with their own manager too.

So you’ll have to let your boss know how much value you add. 

This doesn’t mean you should be the one who never misses an opportunity to pump up his own work. It’s annoying. In fact, you might even condemn it. 

However, if you keep your head down, work hard, and keep the faith that your accomplishments will get noticed and you'll get the recognition you deserve, you’re not doing yourself any favors. 

Like it or not, promoting yourself at work is a necessary part of your career. 

You do need to be able to let your co-workers and your bosses know what you do, what you excel in, and what you accomplish in your job.

Think of yourself as a great product — you may be amazing, but if you don't advertise to the right crowd, no one will know, right?!

If you're not sure how to do this well, here are 3 effective ways to help you promote yourself at work without coming off as a brag or annoying your co-workers (if you like this, then read to the end - I’ll have a special gift for you).

1. Know your best skills and accomplishments

This may seem like one of those things that go without saying, but it really needs to be said. 

Before you can actively promote yourself within your work environment, you need to take note of what it is that you do best. What are you really good in? What challenges have you overcome, personally and professionally? What have you accomplished in your career? What are some of your recent achievements? 

Once you are clear on these points, it will be a lot easier to mention the right thing at the right time to the right person and make a great impression. 

2. Keep track of your accomplishments and achieved milestones throughout the year

Keep a spreadsheet or a note in a note-taking app with a list of your accomplishments. Whenever you have a major “win” at work, or you do something that demonstrates that you went above and beyond, then add it to your list. 

You don’t need to make a record of every single time your boss smiles at you, but do track times when you’re singled out in a staff-wide email, for example, or you help out a coworker with a big project, or you achieved a milestone in one of your key projects. 

It’s important to do so on an ongoing basis so that when a resume update is due or when you’re preparing for a performance review or salary negotiation, then all you have to do is to pull out your list...

If you don’t keep track of your accomplishments you’re more likely to forget about all the situations in which you demonstrated your value and strengths which won’t help you make a case on why you deserve the raise or promotion. 

Bonus tip: if you like tools and apps, then you might like https://idonethis.com/, an online app that emails you at the end of the day to ask "What'd you get done today?" After you reply you can go to your page on the site and see a calendar with all entries. You can also export all accomplishments and download them in a spreadsheet. The service is free for individuals.  

3. Send your boss a weekly “Achievement Update” email 

The third tip is to send your boss an email every Friday afternoon with a short, bullet-pointed list of everything you did this week (e.g. deals closed, connections made, milestones accomplished, ideas presented, etc.), what you plan to do next week, and any challenges you’re currently facing.

I promise that it will take you less than 10 minutes to write but it’s going to completely change the way your boss sees you — for the better.

Learning to promote yourself at work comes much more naturally to some people than others, and that's okay. The fact is that you need to think of it as another part of your job if you want to further your career. Does that mean you need to become a bragger? Not at all. Just continue to find little ways to let your co-worker and your boss know what you've been up to and what’s been successful.

Look at it not as bragging, but simply as keeping them in the loop.

Now, I mentioned that I have a gift to share. If self-promotion is something you know you could get better at, then connect with me here on LinkedIn and mention this offer and I’ll send you an awesome worksheet that helps you get crystal clear on your skills and accomplishments and I’ll include an email template for your weekly “Achievement Update" so you can get started with this new practice right away. 

ABOUT RAMONA SHAW

Ramona Shaw is on a mission to develop confident high-performing leaders and teams people love to work for. Through coaching and training, she helps new leaders embrace leadership behaviors, skills, and habits to develop increased productivity, confidence, and success. Learn more at RamonaShaw.com.

To find out how to become a boss people love to work for, watch her FREE Masterclass here: www.ramonashaw.com/masterclass

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