The notion of ‘selling’ yourself can sometimes have a negative connotation attached to it. Both the acts of selling, and of thinking and speaking highly of you, are often frowned upon in our societies. However, to get anywhere in your career and your job search, you will, at some point, need to learn the art of selling yourself – being confident about it.
In tough and competitive job markets it’s important to find a way to stand out from the crowd; to really progress and to have some choice about where you might want to be and who you might want to work for. Without projecting yourself in the right way and knowing your own USP, it’s hard to break through the ‘noise’.
We are talking about “self-promotion” or “self-marketing”, and you need to think about it from your boss’ or potential employer’s point of view. If your boss gives you a promotion, it’ll cost the company extra money in increased wages and benefits. If an employer hires you, they’ll make a contract with you that’ll cost the organisation money in terms of salary, training and insurance. In a way, employers ‘buy’ the value you have to offer. In order to convince them that your value to the business is worth having, you need to show them what you’re worth and that you are indeed worth having around. This can take some planning, some confidence building and some learning about yourself and who you’re talking to, in order to fully understand what approach you may want to take.