Why get noticed?
Whatever your specialism, all professionals and executives need to get noticed at certain times in their career more than others.
Being invisible has massive consequences and costs, including being passed over for promotion, not achieving better rewards, not being given or winning high profile work, with reduced confidence and self-esteem as a result. The cumulative costs over a career and lifetime are huge. This is a must master CPD topic!
Rarely is there training for this, hence this blog.
Your ability to ‘blow your own trumpet’ depends on what kind of role you have, e.g. how public facing etc, sometimes legal restrictions, making time for it etc.
Blowing your own trumpet can feel uncomfortable or inappropriate
Sometimes, it can be or feel highly inappropriate to blow your own trumpet, because you are serving the public for example, or you are in a role where you need to be subtle or understated.
Energise research
In Energise research that we conducted, we identified that some people confuse marketing with sales. This makes them ‘allergic’ to it, so they avoid it creating problems for themselves.
Poll 1 key points – blocks about marketing
In a webinar we did recently, the top 5 scores for Poll 1 responding to the question: “What most concerns you about ‘blowing your own trumpet and getting noticed?”, showed that the no 1 barrier with 60% of the sample agreeing, was ‘coming across as arrogant’, the no 2 barrier at 57% was ‘worrying what people will think or say’, the no 3 barrier at 46% was ‘looking stupid or embarrassing myself’ and the no 4 barrier at 40% was ‘feeling self-conscious’. Lower scored responses included: ‘doing it inappropriately’ (31%), ‘alienating peers’ (29%), and ‘not knowing how best to get noticed’ (11%).
Poll 2 key points – reasons to market yourself
The second poll in the webinar, had the question “What is your desired outcome (s) from blowing your own trumpet?” The top score at 71% was ‘to build my personal brand and long-term prospects’, the second highest score at 51% was to ‘attract prospects’, the third highest score at 50% was ‘to be selected for interesting/projects’ and the fourth highest score at 38% was ‘to raise my profile to influence internal stakeholders. Other responses with lower scores included: ‘to gain a pay rise’ (21%), to achieve an internal promotion (13%) and ‘to achieve a better job with a new employer’ (13%).
What are the 5 secrets to get noticed in your career?
The 5 secrets are:
Secret 1: It’s not about you. It is about them.
Secret 2: It is about you. What’s your U.S.P. (unique selling proposition)?
Secret 3: Be strategic.
Secret 4: Do what others don’t.
Secret 5: Be indirect/subtle.
N.B Secret 5 is especially useful if you are an introvert and don’t enjoy being ‘in the limelight’.
Here is a summary explaining each secret.
Secret 1: It’s not about you. It is about them.
Many professionals, as the expert/advisor, tend to focus on and worry about themselves. Instead, you need to start with your target audience ‘them’ and see the problem through their eyes.
The definition of marketing is ‘anticipating and satisfying client needs profitably’. So actually marketing is about insight and being of service, which is different to what many people think marketing is. This reframes the need to ‘blow your own trumpet’ by focusing on your target audience which makes marketing yourself feel much more comfortable for many.
Conducting research is useful to understand the pain and needs of your target audience, whether your target audience is your current employer, target new employer, prospects or referrers etc. You need to see you through their eyes. Secret 1: It’s not about you. It is about them. Which leads us to secret 2.
Secret 2: It is about you. What’s your U.S.P. (unique selling proposition)?
You need to be able to define and articulate clearly and succinctly, ‘the only xxx who….”. Can you?
In a nutshell, to be clear about what ‘territory’ you want to occupy in the minds and hearts of your target audience. You cannot appeal to everyone and marketing yourself and blowing your own trumpet is a lot easier and less overwhelming when you narrow it down and are very focused. ‘Less is more’.’ SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) key words, for example, are getting more and more specific.
Fishing is a useful metaphor here. What ‘fish’ do you want to catch?
What ‘bait’ will you put on your ‘hook’ to ensure that you catch the right ‘fish’ and not the ‘fish’ that you don’t want to catch? (clients, referrers or a new employer) Investing time to get clear on this is time well spent. Doing this will save you a lot of wasted time.
Carve out time to create a plan to blow your own trumpet and clearly and specifically market yourself is wise.
- Do you have a personal brand defined?
- What is your ‘verbal business card’ – what you reply in a succinct compelling way which evokes interest and curiosity when asked ‘what do you do?’
These are some of the things that we help our clients with, both individuals and in group workshops and seminars.
So – secret 2. It is about you. What’s your U.S.P. (unique selling proposition)?
Secret 3: Be strategic.
The dictionary definition of strategy means ‘identification of long term aims and means of achieving them’. In other words, where do you want to be and how are you going to get there?
It means having a strategy and plan for your career, analysing competitors, identifying unmet and emerging client and employer needs etc.
In a fast-changing world with much uncertainty, it is important to review this regularly and pivot if necessary, and to have a career plan ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’. Do you?
Most people ‘fell into’ their career. Having a strategy means you are less likely to ‘fall out’ of it, e.g. be made redundant, and if you are, you have a plan ‘B’ and ‘C’. It is important to have a career and marketing strategy for yourself.
Career scenario planning is one of the services Energise offer. This is used by the military and global corporates in their strategic planning, and is an especially robust form of strategic career planning, ideal for uncertain times. Secret 3: Be strategic.
Secret 4: Do what others don’t
Innovation is about being first and being original. Don’t be a sheep. How can you stand out from the crowd – in a good way?
The vast majority of professionals never spend an away day or retreat focusing on their career and how to market themselves. Have you?
Just doing this will set you apart from other people who do what you do. This carves out quality thinking time in your busy diary. It is amazing how much you can achieve in a short space of time by focusing on your career + marketing yourself.
Another simple example of doing what others don’t is sending New year cards to your clients rather than Christmas cards. Why get lost in a sea of Christmas cards when you can positively stand out with the energy of the new year and unexpectedly put a smile on someone’s face? Secret 4: Do what others don’t.
Secret 5: Be indirect/subtle.
Poll 1 results show how the majority of people perceive ‘blowing their own trumpet’ – primarily they see it as negative. ‘If I was successful, I wouldn’t need to blow my own trumpet’ was one block expressed in the breakout room at an event I facilitated. You can get noticed in your career very effectively by being indirect and subtle, for example by sharing client case studies and testimonials, thought leadership, being a podcast guest rather than hosting it yourself, and by your stakeholders e.g. mentor, sponsor and referrers saying how great you are etc.
Secret 5 is especially useful if you are an introvert. It feels much more comfortable and is better than avoiding marketing yourself which sabotages your own success. Secret 5: Be indirect/subtle.
Recap of the 5 secrets to get noticed in your career.
The 5 secrets are:
1: It’s not about you. It is about them.
2: It is about you. What’s your U.S.P. (unique selling proposition)?
3: Be strategic.
4: Do what others don’t.
5: Be indirect/subtle.
Key points
So in summary, learning to ‘blow your own trumpet to get noticed in your career is essential. It is normal to not like doing it – you are not alone.
The opportunity cost of not mastering this skill could derail your career, limit your finances, shrink your confidence, jeopardise your future peace of mind and stop you from getting what you want in your career.
What is your ideal client or employer? If you haven’t defined this yet, it is time well spent.
Some client examples
I helped my client Hilary identify her ideal employer and recommended that she send the decision maker ‘bumpy post’. People are intrigued by bumpy (3D) post, and it is an original way to get noticed in a competitive market. The package contained a professional picture of herself wearing the target employer’s product and was shot in the style of the team on the target employer’s web site. Secret 4: Do what others don’t.
One of our clients Claire wanted to move into ESG. I was writing a chapter for a multi-contributor book ‘The rise of specialist career paths in law firms’ for Globe Law and Business
https://www.globelawandbusiness.com/books/the-rise-of-specialist-career-paths-in-law-firms
and found out that they were looking for someone to write a chapter about ESG, so I introduced Claire to the book editor, and she wrote a chapter. Not only did she have a fast-learning curve researching the topic and interviewing experts which felt comfortable, interesting and instantly broadened her network in ESG, her chapter was featured as the sample chapter in Globe’s marketing for the book, giving her visibility and a career capital asset to contact potential employers with.
As Claire subsequently found out that she was going to be made redundant, with her current employer removing a whole level of senior in-house lawyers globally, Claire’s thinking ahead became even more valuable. Secret 3: Be strategic and Secret 5. Be indirect/subtle.
We hope you found this blog useful to get noticed in your career.
What tips or examples to get noticed in your career would you like to share? We’d love to hear them. Get in touch! https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/contact-us/
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