How To Sell Yourself Without Bragging

Based on my recent calls and emails, the start of 2012 seems to have stirred thoughts of career change, advancement or movement among a number of health system CIOs.  That is good news. As mentioned in Anthony Guerra’s survey in December (Survey Shows CIO Migration In The Offing), some CIOs are looking for a change of venue or greener pastures. If you can’t move up in your organization, it might be time to move out. Based on findings from the SRA 2011 CIO Survey Report, more than 64 percent of the CIO respondents had mixed feelings of satisfaction about their current position, with 10 percent reporting moderately dissatisfaction. If you are considering a change and have not been in a job search for many years, it would be good to go over some self-promotion tips. How do you give yourself credit, either on your resume or in an interview situation, without bragging?

How do we know you?

During my phone interviews with CIOs, I will always include questions regarding key accomplishments and achievements. Sometimes what they say is not reflected in their resumes. How will a prospective employer or recruiter know what you have accomplished if it is not in your resume? This is not a time to be shy. Keep an ongoing list of your achievements and be ready to talk about them. This is a good reason not to outsource the writing of your resume; you know what you accomplished and can be the best person to write about it. Here are some suggestions for your career folder:

• List your significant career accomplishments
• List your key projects and what role you played
• Identify your greatest challenges. How have you handled these situations? What have you learned?

How much is too much?

Self-promotion and marketing oneself are learned skills. Give yourself credit as needed but be careful of your audience. Being proud of accomplishments is important — just don’t dwell too much on self-congratulations. Practice writing factual key accomplishments in your resume and then practice reading them out loud in preparation of an interview situation. Before an interview with a prospective employer:

• Practice
• Practice
• Practice

When you go for an interview remember to listen more than you talk. For an hour-long, in-person interview with a prospective employer, you should only be talking about a total of ten minutes. Your answers should be less than two minutes long. 

Outcome

Going through the effort to reflect and write down your HIT accomplishments and achievements is a confidence building exercise. With practice, it will become much easier to discuss them and share with others your unique background without being boastful. Good luck and continued success in 2012.