If you’re looking to get ahead at work, then you need to brag.

In your organisation, you can bet that you’re the only person that knows exactly how much time and effort you put in. And why would they know that you’ve been glued to your desk til 8pm when everyone else left at bang on 5?

And whilst everyone else is enjoying a break away or time with the family, how is anyone supposed to know that you’ve had your head stuck in this quarters’ accounts all weekend?

If you really are going the extra mile for your employer, then you’re doing yourself a massive disservice by not telling anyone about it. Now I know that boasting and bragging are not typically the behaviours you want to be exhibiting in the office, but if you won’t promote the extra effort you’ve been putting in who, will?

I’m not suggesting that you brag like a small child with a new toy to get ahead, but by finding a balance between confidence and humility you can communicate your efforts clearly and reap the rewards.

Sound complicated? Not if you take the following steps…

Keep a record

Making note of what you did over and above the standard call of duty and when is a good starting point. Keeping track this way means you’ll be able to back up your claims should you ever need to.

Offer up information

Choose your opportunities to promote all the work you’ve been doing carefully – start droning on about your late nights in the office out of turn and it can come across as obnoxious and could be seen as point scoring against your colleagues.

The key here is to pick your moment – carefully.

If your boss asks for a project update, now would be the perfect time to bring up the extra time you’ve been putting in.

Just don’t make it sound like your moaning about it, explain the reasons why you’ve been working outside your normal hours and how this has contributed to the success of the project.

Don’t gloss over any accomplishments that are down to your hard work.

Stay humble

Although I’ve told you to blow your own trumpet, it’s also really important to stay humble – unless of course you’re aiming for first place in the office unpopularity stakes.

You don’t have to tell the whole world about all the extra hours you’ve been putting in – some colleagues who aren’t putting in the extra will just see this as sucking up to the management but it’s equally important that your boss or line manager is aware of it.

Take praise where it’s due and give credit to others where applicable and you’ve struck the perfect balance between self-promotion and maintaining the respect of your work mates and managers.

– Emma
I hope you enjoyed my post, for more tools, tips and advice for candidates just give me a call on 01782 338787