Career Corner:
Selling Yourself Without Seeming Self-serving

Just because you've landed your job doesn't mean you can stop selling yourself. Perhaps your boss doesn't pay close enough attention to your accomplishments or perhaps your job requires you to constantly sell yourself to your customers. Either way, you've got to continually communicate that you are skilled and passionate without sounding opportunistic. You've got to promote yourself without sounding self-promoting.

Practice, practice, practice
Keep in mind that nothing sings your praises better than a job well done. But if your sterling record for results is going unrecognized, you might want to start talking yourself up. Tact and timing is everything here, so be patient and wait for the right moment. In the meantime, create a list of your recent accomplishments and based on that list create a short speech about why you are a great employee. You need to be able to perform when the moment comes, and for many of us getting the words out and clearly making our points is the toughest part. You need to sell you, so practice your sales pitch.

If opportunities don't arise, create your own
Picking the right moment is more art than science. But there are some rules of thumb. For instance, don't ask to discuss your performance while the company is trying to close a big deal. Look for a moment when taking time to talk to you won't be seen as another burden. Also, you might not want raise the issue right after the company suffers a lost account or fails to close a big sale. The easiest way to pick your moment is to ask your boss for a review if it's overdue. Just like in a job interview, it's expected in a review that you sell yourself without seeming like you're grandstanding.

Conversation starters
If you can't wait for a review, you'll probably have to raise the subject of you in conversation. Opportunities to remind your boss about your accomplishments are limitless. For instance, if you have a question about procedure or how to get better results, ask your question and then before he or she answers, add "Because here's the way I've been doing it…" and go into your rehearsed speech. Your boss may not stand up and cheer, but he or she will have heard your speech. And if your boss is serious about his or her business and keeping you as an employee, you will eventually be rewarded.