Unless you're a professional wrestler or hip-hop superstar, chances are low that anyone wants to hear constant discussion about how awesome you are.
At the same time, being too quiet about your successes can have adverse effects on your career advancement and professional reputation building.
Thanks to LinkedIn, professionals have a platform to discuss their accomplishments through strategic LinkedIn personal branding without it being perceived as overly self-promoting. But wait a minute! Just because there is a stage to showcase your professional credibility doesn't mean you should start flexing on all the people in your network — there's proper networking etiquette.
So, what does it look like to talk about your successes without sounding like a braggart?
Why Professional Networking Etiquette Matters
Some might think that by simply sharing their success stories they are being boastful, and in doing so, inherently shows a lack of modesty. We get it. But don't let other people's opinions ruin your ability to talk about yourself in both a positive and strategic way that supports your thought leadership strategy.
Effective LinkedIn content strategy increases your chances of being remembered and builds professional visibility. It reveals a lot about who you are, what you are capable of and creates an opportunity for someone to be inspired and follow in your footsteps.
Take Gary Vaynerchuk as an example of masterful professional networking and personal branding:
Take Gary Vaynerchuk as an example.
Most of us aspire to be humble, but being too humble can have adverse effects on career development strategies as well. Peggy Klaus, Author of Brag: How to Toot Your Own Horn Without Blowing It writes,
"It's those who visibly take credit for accomplishments who are rewarded with promotions and gem assignments."
By failing to discuss your achievements through proper LinkedIn networking tips, you not only show a lack of confidence but a lack of enthusiasm for the work that you've done. All of these things are far too important to let yourself hide behind a curtain of humility simply because others have made a bad name for those who understand effective professional reputation building.
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Flex those skills!
5 LinkedIn Networking Tips for Professional Success
Here are 5 business networking best practices to show the world you are a badass without sounding like a total narcissist (because nobody likes a self-obsessed pos(t)er).
1. Talk About The Accomplishment, Not Yourself
This networking tip seems a bit obvious, but it needs to be said. When implementing LinkedIn personal branding strategies, focus on the situation and outcomes, not yourself.
Next time you post as part of your LinkedIn content strategy, keep these three questions top of mind:
- What were you trying to accomplish?
- What obstacles did you have to overcome to succeed?
- And what was the outcome?
By focusing on the events, and not the characters within them, you create a narrative that becomes relatable and possibly inspiring to those faced with the same challenges. This approach strengthens your professional credibility building efforts naturally.
2. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
Reality check! No one is all that impressed by you. They are impressed by what you do. And there aren't many cases of a person achieving career advancement without influence from others. Effective networking etiquette requires acknowledging the people that helped you get to where you are, even if it is just the emotional support they provided along the way.
Think about any acceptance speech ever. "Thank you to my family and friends and fans and dog and…" the list goes on.
People know you didn't succeed alone, so don't pretend as though you did. This authentic approach to professional networking builds stronger, more genuine connections.
3. Use Humor
A little bit of humor goes a long way in LinkedIn personal branding. Don't get us wrong — you don't have to treat your accomplishments like they're a joke, but adding humor when discussing professional achievements makes your thought leadership strategy more genuine and relatable.
It should be said that you must not get humor confused with humble bragging (i.e. masking a compliment to yourself in a complaint). Authentic professional visibility tactics require genuine humility, not false modesty.
4. Don't Compare Yourself to Others
Nothing is more off-putting than someone belittling another person to make themselves look more impressive. So, it should go without saying that effective networking tips never include putting others down when talking about your own success.
That being said, the opposite is also true. Don't compare yourself to other successful people unless you're looking to make people roll their eyes - because that's about all you'll get from it. Strong career development strategies focus on your unique value proposition.
5. Show Plenty of Gratitude
This networking tip is without a doubt the most important. It also speaks for itself. If you aren't grateful for your success and everything that took place to get you there, do the world a favor and don't talk about it.
It's not difficult to show gratitude in your LinkedIn content strategy. Just acknowledge that you don't think you are entitled to success because of who you are.
A quick mention of a colleague’s help, a shoutout to your followers for their dedication, or simply stating that you are thankful for the opportunities you’ve had to do what you do all show that you appreciate the success that you’ve earned.
LinkedIn Personal Branding Best Practices
Building Professional Credibility Through Content
Your LinkedIn networking strategy should focus on providing value rather than just self-promotion. Share insights, ask thoughtful networking questions, and engage meaningfully with others' content to build authentic professional relationships.
Thought Leadership Strategy Tips
- Share industry insights and lessons learned
- Ask questions that spark meaningful professional discussions
- Comment thoughtfully on posts from your network
- Create content that helps others advance their careers
How to Build Professional Credibility on LinkedIn
Effective professional reputation building requires consistency in your messaging and genuine engagement with your network. Your career advancement strategies should include regular participation in industry conversations and sharing valuable insights with your connections.
Remember that LinkedIn networking tips work best when they're applied consistently over time. Professional visibility tactics that focus on authentic relationship-building will always outperform short-term self-promotion strategies.
The Proof of a Pro Lies in the Execution
With these 5 LinkedIn networking tips on how to discuss your accomplishments without actually bragging, we hope you've learned that if you've achieved something, you shouldn't feel bad for sharing it with someone else through strategic professional networking. You deserve to talk about your successes.
The best thing to do before sharing your next LinkedIn self-promotion is to ask yourself, "Why am I sharing?" If the answer is to impress them or gain their admiration, you're dangerously close to being a braggart. Rather, when you own your success and feel worthy of the things you've accomplished, talking about it isn't about proving your worth; it's about sharing the stories that contribute to your thought leadership strategy.
Your career development strategies should include authentic storytelling that inspires others while building your professional credibility naturally.
Guess what? You just gained a new LinkedIn professional skill!
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