Don’t Be Afraid To Toot Your Own Horn

Self-promotion - or tooting your own horn - can feel a little strange.

Chances are that you were taught as a child that being humble about your accomplishments was the proper way to act.

Gloating about what you have done or how great you might be at something was a sure-fire way to turn people off and make you come across as full of yourself.

There is certainly a fine line between self-promotion and being pompous - but it is essential that you learn how to toot your own horn from time to time.

As I noted last week, there was a situation at work where I had done enough self-promotion with my direct boss but had fallen short on casting a wide enough net while sharing my accomplishments.

You might be tempted to believe that your hard work and dedication will not go unnoticed. While that is true to a certain extent, there is no sense in taking the risk that people are not aware of your achievements. This is something that I have been guilty of in my career as I prefer to keep my head down and get the work done - ahead of schedule and with the highest of quality. Once the job is done, it is nice to hear the praise that comes with a job well done but it has never been something that I have solicited by promoting my own work.

Not only will this approach put you at risk of people not being aware of your accomplishments, but you also run the risk of other people receiving - or taking - the credit for the work you have done.

When you dedicate yourself to a project and bring in great results while saving the company a considerable amount of money - will you be recognized for being the person to get the work done or will your boss be recognized for running a “tight ship” and getting the team to deliver?

Do you want to take that risk?

I don’t know about you but that is not a risk that I am willing to take any longer. There is more at stake than just the recognition for a job well done. It is feasible to say that you may be passed over for the next promotion or you might have to fight harder for a raise when people are not aware of what you have done. That has an immediate impact on your livelihood and your ability to provide for your family.

Now that we have an appreciation for the importance of self-promotion, I’d like to share a few things with you in an effort to toot my own horn a little bit.

Over the weekend, my personal blog passed the one-year milestone and I am proud of everything that has been accomplished in the first year with that blog.

To celebrate this blogging milestone, I am running a contest on my celebration post to give away one year of free web hosting courtesy of BlueFur.com to a lucky reader. My hope is that by providing someone with free hosting for one year that they will realize what is possible just by taking the first step to get started with their own website or blog.

The tooting doesn’t stop there - ok, that sounds kind of bad.

Earlier today I discovered that Dad Balance has been included in a list of the Top 100 Freelancer Blogs over at Bootstrapper. Dad Balance is included in the section on Freelancing & Parenting - which is quite an honor given the other quality blogs/sites listed in that category.

It is with all of your help that this has been possible and I appreciate the contributions that all of you make. Now…

Get out there and toot your own horn!

Photo credit: dave_apple