Self promotion. When I say, ‘self’ you say, ‘promotion’…
Self…
SELF!
Other than the cringe (read: Elder Millenial) way I opened this article, when I say ‘self-promotion’—how do you feel?
If it’s anything like the people I’ve spoken to over the last 12 months, it's not great. It’s 2024, and self-promotion still makes people feel icky. It still makes people screw up their faces and groan.
Despite this negativity… I’m here to make a case for a specific type of self-promotion because I think the reason we find it so gross, is we’re focusing on the wrong kind of self-promotion.
There are plenty of things you can do, to get cut through in a crowded job market. What I’d like to impart today, is a specific kind of self-promotion, that you can employ to bolster your efforts when updating your resume or networking.
“Using self-promotion to promote how you're different to others is easier and more effective, than promoting what makes you better than others.”
Why, you ask?
Put yourself in the shoes of a recruiter—they’re looking at 100’s if not 1000’s of resumes a week. And they’re also continually context switching—replying to emails, making phone calls, and setting up meetings and interviews.
If they’re recruiting for a particular position, it’s more likely than not that they’re receiving resumes from people with the same, or a similar, set of qualifications, experiences, skills, etc.
If they took the names and contact details off the resumes, most would feel like the same resume. Sure, some might have a slightly different Bachelor's degree or a few more years of experience… my question though, is how memorable are those things? If you put yourself in their shoes, would you be thinking to yourself: “Let’s go with the person who has 5.5 years experience, rather than 5 years”. For me, that’s not a detail I would remember.
So, aiming to prove you're better than others is not the best use of time for self promotion. Instead, aiming to showcase how you're different, is a great use of time. Not only will it ensure you stand out from the crowd—I personally believe it's easier.
After all, we’re all automatically different. It’s one of the fun things about being human. We’re all unique and no two people experience the same things in the same way.
As an aside, there’s another reason why I think that promoting your differences is easier. People tell me one of the reasons they don’t like self-promotion, is they don’t want to be perceived as cocky, arrogant, or trying to outdo their peers and/or colleagues. Genuinely, people don’t want to put others down as a result of talking about themselves and their achievements.
So my hack for that?
Talk about why and how you’re different. By focusing on what’s unique to you, it removes all comparison.
The next time you’re updating your resume, LinkedIn, or preparing to network—think about what makes you different.
Here are two tips for understanding what makes you different for self promotion:
1. Ask your close friends, family or someone you trust.
Be specific with your questions, ask them directly and explicitly: What do you think makes me different at work? You could ask your mates what makes you different to others in your group of friends, or ask your family why you’re different to your siblings.
The reason we ask those close to us, those we trust, is because typically others find it easier to put this stuff into words. Which is what we can sometimes struggle with, we just don’t have the words to describe ourselves.
2. Perform a 5-Whys root cause analysis on yourself.
Understanding why we do what we do, is one of the most powerful differentiators out there, and typically, the most memorable.
For some, some reflection on why is all that’s needed. For others, some prompting is helpful.
This root cause analysis activity is a problem-solving activity that gets to the crux of why something has happened, or why something is the way it is. I’ve been using it to help people work out what their first why is (their root cause why), and have had some incredible results.
The 5 Whys isn’t a concept I created, I wish. It’s a powerful tool used for root-cause analysis, which is based on a technique developed by Sakichi Toyoda.
- In this version, you start with your initial why, the first thing that comes to mind.
- And then you ask yourself, “Why is that?”
- Each time (approximately 5) you ask yourself “Why is that?” you get closer to finding your true why.
Or, at the very least, you’ll get to know more about yourself, so win-win.
When I did this activity for myself, I got:
I always choose to help people learn new things, because I believe the simple act of sharing what you know with someone, can change the trajectory of their life and generally, make the world a better place.
- Which I then distilled into the first line of my bio:
I help people write and talk about themselves, to get more of what they want in life.
- If you're still stuck, that's fine, with AI—we're never really alone, am I right?
Get some help from AI, like ChatGPT.
Log into ChatGPT, or your go-to AI overlord, and get started. Ask ChatGPT to help you with a 5 whys root cause analysis. Ensuring that you give context:
Each time you respond, ChatGPT will ask you why. Helping you dig deeper into why you do what you do until you get to the fifth reason why—which should shed some light on things for you. Remember, ChatGPT can only help you to a point, you’ve got to commit to being honest and open with yourself first, otherwise, this activity will bring you nothing new.
Learning all this new information about yourself is good, reflect on what you learn, and then use this new info for your self promotion in your resume, on LinkedIn, when networking, and when you’re chatting to people.
“Sharing why you’re different to others is the speediest way to connect and be memorable when self-promoting!”
I’d love to know how you go with your self-promo. Feel free to connect with me online and tell me your success stories!
About the author
I help people write and talk about themselves. I have 15 years of experience in communications, from branding and PR to digital, web and social media, most recently, internal communications and coaching. My clients are from a variety of backgrounds and industries, including mid-senior leaders, Executives, and CEOs. Helping people achieve their goals by providing communication guidance is what I love to do the most. My current focus is helping more people be visible in the job market. The best way to get in contact with me is via LinkedIn.
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