Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Not a Fan of Self-Promotion? Here’s How to Advance Anyway

Even if you shy away from the limelight, it's good to be on the radar


In many industries, if you can’t communicate your best skills and market yourself, you won’t even be on the radar for the top deals, projects and clients. The element of self-promotion and tooting one’s own horn can mean the difference between getting a promotion or a new opportunity or remaining stagnant.

Writer Josh Fox details the importance of marketing oneself, no matter what profession, and how you can do that even if you like to shy away from the limelight:

It’s common in a lot of professions. Farmers know the other farmers in the district. They help each other, and each neighbor has a reputation, for better or worse. Owners of local businesses have Rotary Clubs, which helps them figure out exactly who to trust to make a deal. Doctors recommend specialists to their patients.
But we software developers, project managers and technical writers have next to none of this. Bosses make decisions about our futures, not other professionals.

It seems to me that we could stand to be a little more like doctors and lawyers — professionals who rule their industries.

Co-workers know who’s good. This social capital can and should become the core of our virtual CVs.
And it starts with collegiality.

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