Quiet excellence doesn’t pay the bills.

Doing good work is no longer enough.

If you want to truly excel in your career, you have to learn to sell.

The product that you’re selling?

↳ Yourself

Which, as you’re reading this, is probably making you cringe inside.

You’re probably thinking, “I don’t like talking about myself. It’s so arrogant!”

But hold that thought.

Let me challenge you on that assumption.

Is it truly arrogant to be talking about yourself and your very real career achievements?

Let’s explore the following scenarios :

👀 I’ve been overperforming for years. Why do I never get promoted?
👀 Why does my colleague always get noticed by the bosses? He only talks and never does the work!
👀 Why are all my younger colleagues getting promoted over me? I was the one who taught them all that they know today!

The reason for the scenarios above, if you haven’t already guessed, is simple: You haven’t been selling yourself effectively.

By keeping quiet and staying modest about your career achievements, you’ve undervaluing yourself.

And allowing other people to control the narrative around who you are.

Which is the worst thing that you can possibly do.

Value, not modesty, is what truly matters.

And in my experience as a career coach, I’m willing to bet that you have very real skills and achievements to boast about.

You just need to:

✅ Believe in yourself; and

✅ Learn how to verbalise your achievements (without sounding too cocky)

So here’s 4 ways to sell yourself without coming across as a douchebag -

Focus on the impact
Highlight what this project led to - is it $x generated, x% improvement in customer retention, etc.? By stating facts, we take the bragging emotion out of the equation.

Make your achievements relevant to the company’s goals
No one cares about what you’ve done if it doesn’t benefit the boss / the company in some way - so make sure you always tie it back to metrics that the company cares most about

Give credit to the team around you
Highlight the work each individual in the team has done. You’d be surprised - by focusing on them, it often reflects positively back on you

Define your personal brand
Be deliberate about the narrative you want to share (I know it may sound ingenuine!) but your personal brand is being built whether you like it or not - wouldn’t you want to control the story rather than let someone else dictate it?

With a strong personal brand - you’ll get more opportunities (internal or external) and be top of mind for the projects that you’d actually want.

I believe in you.

And it’s time that you, and your bosses, start believing in you too!


P/S: Need help selling yourself? Don’t know how to build a personal brand? Contact me “BRAND”

I’ve coached clients from DBS, Accenture, Unilever and more to get opportunities they never thought possible. Let’s help YOU sell your story too!