Hi !

I hope you are doing well and staying safe. To my Muslim readers - a very happy Eid Mubarak to you and your loved ones! I hope that despite the chaos that is the MCO in Malaysia (or wherever you are in the world), you have had an enjoyable (and safe!) Cov-Eid celebration.

In today's email, I wanted to talk about self-promotion. This has been something that I've been struggling a lot with personally, but in the past couple of years, I have realized that like it or not, self-promotion is something that is important for my growth, be it professionally or personally.

Why do we downplay our accomplishments?

I don't know about you, but growing up, I have been called all sorts of names - arrogant, over-confident, bossy, to say the least.

Because of this, there is a part in my subconscious mind that holds me back whenever I want to talk about my accomplishments. Or, at the very least, I find it super awkward when other people talk about what I have accomplished.

Personally, I think that it is also partly due to my imposter syndrome, and how I feel that at times, I don't deserve to be where I am now, and therefore I do not deserve the praises or compliments that people give.

Have you ever had this thought (or similar ones) running in your head?

"Ala, this is nothing! It's just a small matter - why do I even need to celebrate this thing?"

It might also be an Asian (or at least a Malaysian) thing because we are brought up in a way that looks at self-promoting as a taboo. We're not supposed to brag about ourselves, we are supposed to do our work quietly and somehow wait for others to acknowledge our work and successes.

Hard work alone is not enough - people need to know your worth.

If you are working in a company, chances are that there are a lot of other employees around you. And if you are a fresh graduate (or just starting out in a new company), it may be harder for you to build your name if people do not know who you are or what you do.

If your goal is to climb up the corporate ladder, get that promotion, or be recognized for your skills and achievements - staying quiet about your accomplishments may not be the best course of action.

Do not expect other people to recognize your work or send compliments your way for a job well done if you do not give them a reason to do so.

And, in most cases, putting in the hard work and just expecting people to somehow know what you have accomplished is not enough - they need to hear it from you, one way or another.

Self-promotion does not have to be narcissistic.

Don't wait until your annual (or bi-annual/quarterly) performance review to talk to your line manager about what you've achieved - send them an email to tell them about it as soon as it has happened.

Share your good news or successes in a public forum (your company's town hall meeting, or on your LinkedIn or social media) - along with some learnings or key takeaways that people can learn from.

Of course, this does not mean that you have to overly promote your accomplishments or successes. Overpromoting yourself in some instances may come off as egotistical or selfish, so it's also important to find that fine balance of self-promotion and being humble.

For freelancers or business owners, it's all the more important.

If you are running your own business, whatever it may be, self-promotion is indeed an important aspect of marketing yourself and your business. Your prospective clients need to know who you are and what you have achieved, and why they should choose you over others out there in the market.

I am currently attending a course on personal branding for trainers and facilitators in Malaysia, and I perhaps now realize the importance of marketing oneself to prospective clients. I mean, I know that if I ever want to take my career coaching business to a higher level, I would need to do a lot of self-promotion. It's not something that I am entirely comfortable with, but I know that it's something that I need to learn to be OK with.

Perhaps now it's time for me to revisit Austin Kleon's book - Show Your Work! to get myself in the mindset for self-promotion again.

Note: I'd highly recommend you read it if you are interested to learn more about self-promotion, regardless of what you do! :)

Own your achievements, because no one else will.

Like everything else you do in your life, you have to own your achievements and accomplishments. Be proud of what you have done, no matter how trivial they are. All these successes, from the tiny little one to the super huge success, make you who you are, so own them and share them with the world.

Before I end today's email, I want to leave you with yet another question to ponder...

What is the recent compliment or praise that someone has given to you? What what it for? How did you respond to the compliment? How did it make you feel?

Until I see you again in two weeks' time - stay safe, take care, and stay awesome!

Love,

Nazu xx