Promoting Yourself
It's not who you say you are, it's who you want to be.
I was talking with a friend about my coaching practice. She asked what kind of help it was that most people were looking for through coaching.
I thought about it for a minute, and I answered:
People sometimes need to be given permission to call themselves what they already are.
Is it appropriate for you to call yourself a “leader” when you’re not a people manager. My definition of leadership is “the opportunity to influence the choices of others.” Does that sound like you, at least part of the time? Then you’re a leader.
When is it ok for someone1 to call themselves an “executive?” The definition of the term is “Someone who makes decisions and puts plans into action.” So yes, if it suits your purposes, go ahead and call yourself an executive.
One client was reluctant to call themself a “designer” because they had not yet held that specific job title. Do not fall for the trap of “I can’t because I haven’t” — it is a self-fulfilling prophecy that leads you nowhere. Everyone must do everything for the first time.
If this means giving yourself a promotion, do it. You have my permission to use the job title that describes the job you want to do. In effect, you’re not doing anything worse than search engine optimization folks who ensure the content contains the same words that your prospective customers are using to search.
And, this is a decisive step you can take today in committing yourself to your career intention. It’s nota life-altering decision to adopt a new title in your LinkedIn headline, although your parents will be delighted when you tell them “Hey, I’ve decided to be a Senior Program Manager.”
It’s like borrowing an outfit from a friend — just try it on and see how it looks on you. You don’t have to wear it to the damn club! You can change it back in a week, or a month, or whatever.
If it doesn’t work for you, you can always give it right back and try something else.
Coaching Exercise
Here’s the first stage of the career coaching regimen that I am using for most clients these days:
Spend an hour window-shopping for job postings on LinkedIn. Search using relevant keywords: verbs that describe your work, and adjectives that describe the role, company, or industry you want to work in. (For now, we’ll completely ignore the requirements, location, money give in the job description, as well as the real-world likelihood of getting hired. We’re not there yet. Just pick out the postings that make you say “Hey, yes okay, I’d like to do this job for money.”)
Notice the job titles that appear in the postings you select. If one appears more than once — boom! Take it, it’s yours. Go and put it in your LinkedIn headline, and publish it to the world. Do it right now!
I know what you’re thinking! “Wait, I can’t do that. The headline is supposed to say what I am, not what I want to be.”
Friends, step in closer and listen up for a moment. I am not supposed to be telling you this — I could lose my license! I have checked with the relevant authorities2, and I have consulted all of the textbooks. There is no actual law that says what you can and cannot put in your fucking profile.
It’s marketing. You can say whatever you want in your headline, and you cannot be prosecuted in any jurisdiction.
So, who is to say you’re not already who you want to be? Not me.
Be Yourself
My post on “unicorn theory” made the uncontroversial assertion that hiring managers want to find candidates who are a “perfect” fit for their role. Let’s see how this “promoting yourself” business works in that context.
Imagine two talented young people, both with BFA’s from a fancy art school, both with snazzy portfolios full of work from their internships, coursework, and some freelance gigs. Both want to get jobs as Product Designers in a tech company.
The both apply for the same job, and the hiring manager receives their application and a link to their LinkedIn profile. The first candidate’s headline is:
Innovative and passionate creative with multi-disciplinary skills and relentless focus on the customer.
Now imagine that somebody else sense a profile, and this time the leadline is:
Product Designer who loves to make things that look good and work well.
The latter contains the job title in the first two words. It’s concise, and it has just a whiff of personality. The first candidate things they’ve said something interesting, but to me that headline could just as easily be a UX Writer, a marketing analyst… it’s not bad, but the second one is about ten times more likely to get my attention.
Go for It
When I encourage people to take this kind of creative license in marketing themselves, I hear three objections:
One
First, they’ll say that it’s not true and they’re not comfortable lying about themselves. This objection reveals that you are a probably a good person, so you shouldn’t feel embarrassed about your reluctance to exaggerate. There is a time and a place for humility, modesty, and sticking strictly to the truth — for example, if you’re filling out an application for a background check at the CIA. The time for humility is not now, and the place is not your LinkedIn profile.
Two
Next, they’ll worry that they are being too specific, and that they’ll be pigeon-holing themselves. This is a rational worry, but I don’t think it’s realistic. There are hundreds if not thousands of candidates for every open position. While it might be true that a “generalist” profile will be found relevant to a larger number of positions, I think it’s also less likely to lead to a “perfect fit.”
Three
People often tell me that they worry about what their co-workers will think about the choices they’ve made on their profile. For example, if they describe themselves as a “Product Manager” while their current or previous role was something different or less — will people think less of them?
It’s normal to be concerned about something like this, but when I notice someone who is running with a slightly amplified interpretation of their experience, I think “Hey, bad-ass coming through!” not “Liar!” I’ll bet people will think the same of you.
Also, try this experiment: Think about the LinkedIn profiles of the people you work with. What’s that, you’ve never looked at them? Exactly. The people you’re worrying about don’t know or care what’s on your profile. And even if they do, so what. It’s not for them.
Why it Matters
When it comes to your Headline, About, and the description of your experience on your LinkedIn profile or resume, I want you to study each one while asking this question:
Does what I’ve written here support my journey towards getting what I want from my career?
Make deliberate, intentional, and specific choices that will improve the way you are perceived by a potential future employer. This will make your search shorter and more effective.
Also very important: it feels good to make choices like these when they’re constructive and intentional steps in crafting your professional image.
In my experience, most people who fail to find a new role do for the same simple reason: they quit trying. It feels good to be decisive, focused, and intentional in your work, and the better you feel the more likely you are to give what it takes.
Oddly, no middle-aged white guy has ever asked me this. If you think you need permission from someone to market yourself as the person you need to be, consider it given. Go with God.
I am the relevant authority, because it says so in my LinkedIn profile.