Financial Careers and Career Strategy - The Art of Promotion

Financial Careers and Career Strategy - The Art of Promotion  by: George Mentz, JD, MBA, CWM ®

Over the years, I have studied the art of promotion.  Unfortunately, if you don't market yourself, nobody may ever know about your attributes of  excellence.

I distinctly remember reading the book Brag by Peggy Klaus.  This bestseller discussed the art of self promotion without over-doing it and the full title of the book is "Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It."  In her book, she states, " When done with grace and style, bragging promotes your best asset-you!."

This reminds me of an interview that I had years ago with a Wall Street Firm executive .  The executive of an NYSE traded company kept asking me what else I had achieved and what other credentials I had earned.  Later, I discovered that the interviewer  was looking for reasons to give the job to me over another similarly qualified candidate.  When I told the executive that I also had membership in another organization and credentials from a relevant industry institution, he was sold, and I got the job.  The moral of the story is to keep adding feathers to your cap and as Dr. Covey of the famous book "7 Habits of Highly Successful People" promotes, keep sharpening the saw.

Your  resume has pertinent sections for degrees, training, certificates, diplomas, memberships, charitable endeavors, designations, awards and other distinctions.  In the professional ethics courses that I teach, many students have difficulty legitimately claiming their skills, experience, or attributes.  For example, many students do not add relevant summer work to the totality of their work experience. For whatever reason, many applicants  do not consider part-time work or volunteer work part of their resume's experience; however, most job candidates are smart enough to add this type of experience to their job applications. The bad news is that many competent applicants lose out because of this type of hyper-humbleness.

In the end, each of us should take a hard look at winning resumes styles and model ours to mirror what works.  We should ethically add to our resume anything that helps sell our abilities to get that job or customer.  Also, we can join industry organizations, join college organizations before or even after graduating, volunteer in an area of interest to gain experience, take courses online, earn certificates or supplemental diplomas, learn another language, and even engage charity to better ourselves.

Self promotion also includes your style and methods when dealing with customers.  I remember one company president who said that customers shop several providers before picking his firm.  He told me that all of his brochures illuminated some  extra accolades that his company had achieved  and he also provided one or two extra  documents  to each potential client explaining the benefits and safety  of doing business with his company.  Invariably, this extra consideration in the interview paid off and many clients came to his firm because of the value added attention to detail.

If you read Robert Green's "The 48 Laws of Power", you will find that it takes skill and mastery to negotiate the kings court while moving your status upward. In the same way, the job seeker must treat  each decision maker with respect while letting them know how you will help them with their success and the company success.

Remember, learn to promote yourself and guard your reputation.  Practice interviewing, discuss with another person what should be included on your resume or your sales pitch, and most of all, learn how to convey your best qualifications, ability to serve,  and your relevant experience.

*George Mentz can be retained as a conference speaker for your events at: www.gmentz.com