5 Ways to Self-Promote Yourself with Ease

Career self-promotion is for everyone - not just for the extroverted. If you feel uncomfortable, “tooting your own horn” so to speak, this article is for you.

To effortlessly self-promote yourself you should take the following five actions:

1 – First, determine your strengths. While public speaking may perhaps not interest you, you most likely have other equally marketable skills. For instance, if you are a good writer, you can write for career-related publications and showcase your skills.

2- Network via social networking sites – if you are not one to enjoy bragging about your accomplishments in a social environment, you should definitely consider marketing your skills via social networking websites. While LinkedIn is an excellent site to network at a professional level, Twitter and Facebook are also great social networking sites to have a presence on as well.

3- Consider attending in-person networking events. While you initially may shy away from these types of events, in-person networking is also a great way to expand your network and obtain possible job leads. If you do not want to attend these types of events on your own, you can also bring a friend or colleague with you to help break the ice.

4- Always be prepared. Whether you are attending a networking event, a job interview or other career-related event, it is a great idea to always be prepared. In the case of a networking event, you should be prepared to converse with a variety of interesting people. Simply asking people questions about themselves is an excellent way to encourage engaging conversations. When it comes to talking about yourself and your services, simply state the facts and try to determine how you can help that individual. This way, you will not feel like you are bragging or engaging in blatant self-promotion.

5- If currently employed, ensure that “higher ups” know what projects you are working on. In addition to your direct supervisor, you should also ensure that your boss’ supervisor knows what your valuable contributions are. To ensure that your supervisors know your accomplishments, you can set up meetings with them and/or email them the appropriate information. To become even more visible in the organization, you can write articles for the company newsletter and/or the company blog.

All in all, yes, you can effectively self-promote yourself – regardless of your personality type!

Larisa Redins is a full time writer and editor with degrees in both Arts and Biological Science. She writes about career issues for PhillyJobsBlog.com and other topics for a variety of international websites and magazines. Please visit her other blogs at PhillyJobsBlog.com and view job posting at Beyond.com.