User Post: Bragging Could Be The Best Strategy For Your Career

Forbes' Caroline Ceniza-Levine thinks you should be bragging, and even "gloating" about your professional accomplishments.

As a career coach, former management consultant and recruiter, she as found that women have a harder time speaking up about their successes, and in not being able to do so, end up selling themselves short.

She admits that it will take practice because at first it seems unnatural - for some people. She also suggests constantly reminding yourself to brag, recap your professional achievements in your head, so as not to forget that you really do have something to offer potential new employers, clients and anyone with whom you want to work.

Ceniza-Levine says:

"It is only when I outright tell them to brag, boast, and even gloat, do I get the confidence, enthusiasm, and moxie that really differentiates and attracts. Therefore, consider yourself warned: you need to go farther than you think. If you don't feel like you're bragging, you're probably underselling yourself."

She points out three major factors to help in getting all this bragging down to an art:

1. Have written evidence of your accomplishments. Go line by line citing every project, every professional connection and every impact you've made. Don't be shy, so all but scream it from the rooftop exactly how much you've accomplished.

2. Create a memorable story. When in the hot seat, create a story that is engaging. Avoid sputtering off a laundry list - that's for your own personal use - and weave a story that encompasses all you have to offer and stresses times when you overcame obstacles. "An engaged listener wants to hear more, is more likely to spread the word, and can more accurately represent you," says Ceniza-Levine.

3. Practice regularly this bragging. Practices makes perfect, so practice until it flows from you just a easily as anything else you've mastered in your career. Every time you have a chance to show off your skills and accomplishments, is one more time to fine tune your approach, clean up the rough edges and solidify yourself as a bragger who knows what she's wants.

It's in making yourself heard (the squeaky wheel gets the oil, as they say) that you make an impression. So go out there and brag. And if someone calls you out on it, kindly tell them you're worth every second of that bragging.

You can reach this post's author, Amanda Chatel, on twitter.

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