Trainer and Careers Counsellor FRANK NEWBERRY continues his series on methods to help you get on in your chosen career. in this issue he looks at the challenge of marketing your most valuable asset - yourself.


Will YOU be making an ‘exhibition’ of yourself at SALTEX?


YOU may by now have concluded, with some regret, that after a lot of effort you are finally at or near the top of your game. Perhaps you are one of the very best groundsmen or greenkeepers in the country, but for some reason the world still doesn’t beat a path to your door and bombard you with fabulous job offers. You may now even suspect that the world wants you to beat a path to its door, leave a note of your e-mail address and your mobile number and then wait for a call. Wouldn’t it be nice if Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous misquote was true today? “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door”. For the record, Emerson (1803-1882) apparently wrote: “If a man has good corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell ... you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house.”


Nowadays, if you want to get on, you have to actively promote yourself. Just like those exhibitors at SALTEX, you have to look for opportunities to display and ‘sell’ yourself. You could, of course, wait patiently for advancement at work to eventually happen. Unfortunately (and I have bitter experience of this) your competitors are not waiting around to be promoted or hired. Alarmingly, your own managers could actually see your patience not as a virtue but as a vice. It might even be seen as a clear sign of your apathy, an indication that you’re not interested in advancement. In fact, they might even believe that they are doing you a favour by not promoting you! Meanwhile the proactive amongst your competitors have already raised their profile (in the eyes of your managers), networking and ‘selling’ themselves on their good points and making it clear that they want advancement in order to demonstrate that they’re better than you and everybody else.


Perception is reality


The first thing to accept about self- marketing is that it is not about how you see yourself but how others see you. Your success is down to how well you can


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shape the way that others see you. The first question you might ask yourself is, do you know how others see you? Do you know how you come across to others? Have you ever asked for feedback on your image as a professional? If ‘yes’, then have you acted on it? If ‘no’, then perhaps this should be your starting point.


There is research that has calibrated just what it is that contributes to your advancement and promotion in organisations. The results show three main characteristics: First - your ability (which accounts for about 10% of your impact). Second - your visibility (your


reputation or how well known your ability is - which accounts for 25% of your impact). Third - your image (whether you look the part, whether you make a good first impression which accounts for 65% of your impact). These results are only disturbing to the point of realisation that the people who make decisions about your career may know little or nothing about turf management. These people may assume that you know your stuff (your ability) and, if they know you at all, they know you only by reputation (your visibility) and by the impressions you give them when you meet (your image). If this is really true, and every


groundsman and greenkeeper I have asked about these results thinks they are largely true, then you must learn to ‘play the game’ or ‘work the system’.


One step ahead ...


Where can you start? A good place clearly is to ‘Plus One’ your physical image. This means that you should dress to a standard that is one higher than the standard people in your job would normally adopt. Instead of going to SALTEX in jeans and a tee-shirt, wear a crisp, smart shirt with clean trousers and footwear. Get your haircut by a good barber and trim any facial hair. Learn to ‘work the room’ and have something positive to say to people (no whinges)


when you meet them. Smile, shake hands briefly and give good eye contact, especially when you are listening. Take an interest in their day and nod whilst they speak to show your interest and approval. Have business cards to give out to people and tell them you hope to spend more time with them soon - then move on with a smile.


When you meet someone you really want to chat to in more depth then ask if it’s a good time or, should you meet up with them later. Offer them a drink and have something to ask them about, something you want to discuss, something you want their opinion about. People are flattered when you want their input but keep it short, don’t take over their day. You could ask to see them at another time and place. Give them your card and/or ask for theirs. Make a note on their card of when you met them and what you talked about, so that when you call for an appointment it’s fresh in your mind.


If you’re worried about your ability to speak confidently then review your reading. You may need to upgrade to a newspaper that will stretch your vocabulary. You don’t have to give up your favourite tabloid but you should read a quality paper one day per week. The Times is a good one to start with and you may wish to try out the Independent, Guardian or Telegraph later on. Again the ‘plus one’ rule applies. Your challenge is to expand the range of your visibility by mixing confidently with people who do not know you or do not know you well. As far as your current job is concerned you should put it in writing that you want better work, more responsibility and more involvement in decision-making. If your employer is nervous about this then suggest a trial period for the arrangement.


FRANK NEWBERRY is an accredited selection consultant and has recruited (and rejected) candidates for positions in a number of major organisations including BT, the Post Office and the DVLA. In the next issue, Frank looks at how to market yourself through the format of your CV and how to tackle interviews.


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