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2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
Stop being shy. People around you will not know what you have achieved if you do not tell them.
We were brought up with the attitude that we must raise our hand before expressing our opinion. Before entering, knock politely. That "yakat" is indecent, modesty adorns a person, and "upstart" is not a compliment at all. This is one of the reasons why we are so bad at “selling” ourselves, and yet there is nothing shameful about self-promotion. It is worth learning how to speak correctly about your successes.
I recently had an interesting dialogue with a girl.
- I want recognition!
- From whom?
- From friends. So that they know that I am doing interesting and important work.
- How do they know about it? You have a narrow specialization. Do they understand your work in order to appreciate it? Read trade magazines?
- No.
- Then how do they even know about it?
- ….
- From you! Then the question is for you, what do you tell your friends about your work. This is a purely positioning business. You can say "I am doing organizational shit" (what do you think), or you can say "I am a specialist in document flow and communication with partners, I help the largest oil and gas company to lead important clients."
About Impostor Syndrome
Low self-esteem and a sense of their own insignificance, it is women who often prevent them from moving forward. Sheryl Sandberg, a former COO at Facebook, in her book Don't Be Afraid to Act, cited an interesting statistic: Women only apply for new vacancies if they are sure they are 100% eligible. Men think a 60 percent match is enough.
Today everyone has heard about the impostor syndrome - a phenomenon that makes even capable people doubt themselves, and the fear of being "exposed".
Signs of Impostor Syndrome:
- you think you are "lucky" in your career and life;
- you think that you are unfairly taking your place and that you are about to be “exposed”;
- you think that you do not know anything special and, in general, have not achieved anything;
- it is difficult for you to answer the question, what are you proud of;
- you are fixated on small mistakes and do not remember big achievements;
- you do not consider yourself an irreplaceable person.
There is an interesting and instructive episode in the Good Wife series. One lawyer (man) tells another lawyer (woman) a story: two people accidentally collide on the street and no one is to blame. At the same time, one says "I'm sorry" ("Sorry"), and the other - "Watch it!" ("Look where you are going!"). Here you are, they say, Alicia, a person who always apologizes.
Put yourself in this situation. Who are you: the person who apologizes, or the one who is confident that they are right?
Write your story
Storytelling is a key skill in anyone's life, even if you don't have the ambition of a writer. Learn to tell your story first. Formulate it in three different formats:
- a story about yourself in one sentence;
- a story about yourself in one paragraph (for the situation “a conversation with an investor in an elevator in 30 seconds);
- a funny story about yourself in one paragraph (like in a movie about Bridget Jones, when you need, for example, to introduce yourself to a guest at a party).
As a rule, despite the apparent simplicity, this task turns out to be difficult for many people and takes much longer than it seems. But this skill is universal in its usefulness. It is very important at any given time to be able to formulate who you are, what you do, what is your mission, what you bring to the world.
What else can you talk about
About achievements in work
Incidentally, an important line even in a resume, which many ignore in vain. Even if you think that you are not doing anything useful (which is unlikely), consider how your work has helped other people. Perhaps not to the end consumer, but to colleagues. What is your contribution to the common cause?
About receiving awards and prizes
Surely in your field of activity there are contests, ratings, and so on. Study the market, find out the conditions for nominations, mark the deadlines for applications. And start preparing. If in order to get into the rating you need to read a lecture - look for where you can read it. If you need a publication in a specialized edition, prepare a publication. In most cases, awards are rarely just received. Self-nominating is the most common story. It's strange to wait for a million dollar win without buying a lottery ticket.
About participation in conferences
What is your area of expertise? What knowledge could you share with the world, and for a start - with your colleagues? Find relevant conferences and apply. This is an opportunity to declare yourself in front of a large number of people, demonstrate your professionalism and make new acquaintances.
About personal success
Sometimes interest in you can be caused not only by your work achievements, but also by your personal ones. For example, if you are an experienced marathon runner or have completed Iron Man. This will say more about you as a person than the next overfulfillment of the financial plan (which, of course, deserves special attention). Any hobbies and hobbies are counted, be it floristry or cooking. For example, when I took up the eclair atelier, they began to turn to me more often for interviews and called me on the radio (“How do you manage to do this?”).
About charity (if you do it)
Many stars are often reproached for promoting good deeds. But the truth is, it doesn't matter. The main thing is that these things are being done. Also, do not forget that your experience can become an example for others and start a "chain of good". Treat it this way: you do not advertise for charity, you simply do not hide the fact that sometimes you help others.
How will they know about you
To make yourself known, you can use the following methods.
Social networks
The first rule of self-promotion: information about you must be available. Learn to leave the right digital footprint. First, make sure that you have accounts on all key social networks, they are open and you maintain them regularly. By the way, an Instagram account also counts. Basically, many Instagram bloggers are small media outlets. Start your own media outlet and broadcast what you want.
Word of mouth
Returning to the story from the beginning of the article: what others know about you is solely your responsibility. Pay attention to what you are saying. That you are a tired, worn out person who only does what is waiting for the vacation? Or is a person creative, extraordinary, with a broad outlook, who never sits still and loves to develop?
You don't need to lie and compose. The truth can be told in different ways. A few years ago, I started telling (God knows why) friends and colleagues that I eat a lot and don't get fat. No one doubted this, despite the fact that during joint meals on my tray there was always one and a half times less food than the others. Nevertheless, those around me are still convinced that I have an excellent metabolism. If I knew that attitudes spread so easily, I would choose a different topic for word of mouth.
Pressfeed
A site where journalists leave requests for expert comments. Define your area of expertise and respond to interesting proposals.
Conferences
They can be both the subject of your speech and the channel for distributing information about you. If you're worried that presentations aren't your forte, take a few lessons on public speaking. This is a useful skill anyway.
Internal meetings at work
If your boss is unaware of your accomplishments, it’s because you don’t talk about them. Success is often taken for granted (including by us), and failure is often taken as a tragedy. Change your attitude towards success. Share your small and big work victories at reporting meetings. Or within a week, if there is an unexpected reason to boast. Don't take it as bragging. Consider sharing your joy.
Fame and success don't come to the lazy. And self-promotion is a lot of work. Anyone who says he did nothing to become famous is just good at storytelling. By the way, you can tell that too. Who's in the way?
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