It’s no secret that to get ahead in life, people need to promote themselves to let others know what they are all about.

Unlike earlier, self-promotion is not considered in bad taste anymore. In fact, people now love to big themselves up for jobs, promotions and even relationships.

A survey by international research group Catalyst has found that self-promotion is the single most effective key to women’s success, not just in business but romance and friendship too. Those who did the most to make their achievements known advanced further, and were more satisfied than those who didn’t.

Management consultants and recruiters have always reiterated that people need to speak up about their successes and should not end up selling themselves short. So how important is self-promotion?
Dinesh Wadhwa, a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, feels that in this day and age when only the loudest voice gets heard, it is important to promote yourself as far as growing in your professional life is concerned.

He says, “If candidates brag about their achievements in an interview, they are most likely to be selected compared to candidates who remain tightlipped. When an employee is vocal about the amount of hard work he’s putting for the organisation, promotion will come his way sooner than expected. So, marketing yourself is quite significant for growth.”

It is perhaps a misguided belief that people who self-promote are low on self-confidence. We do self-promotion all the time, says author and media consultant Faraaz Kazi and adds that self-promotion instills a certain level of confidence and makes people strong enough to face the world.

“Remember that 93 per cent of what we communicate is through our body language. The image that we convey through our behaviour, actions, dressing, signs and signals can make or break a lot of things in life. So when we communicate just 7 per cent with words, it becomes very important for us to utilise it properly. From the Indian writing industry that is seeing a surge in number of new releases each month, how do you think an author can make his work stand out?” he explains.

However, it is equally important to pull the brakes on time without sounding too boastful. Posing as an extrovert and excessive bragging can actually have an adverse effect. One has to toe the line, cautions independent recruiter Ankit Juneja.

“One cannot just go on praising one’s work or talent. Anything that works, works only when it is balanced and done in the right manner. As they say, excess of anything is bad,” sums up Faraaz.

Who joins the league of global thinkers

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare is one of the five Indians who figure in the Foreign Policy magazine’s list of Top 100 Global Thinkers that is dominated by revolutionaries who have been the driving force behind the Arab Spring.

Anna Hazare, who is leading a popular campaign demanding tough new laws to curb corruption, features on the list at number 37.

“The simplicity and single-mindedness of Hazare’s crusade has awakened millions of middle-class professionals who are fed up with India’s pervasive culture of graft,” the magazine said.

When will rock bands stir up a storm

Delhi is set to rock with the most awaited rock fest of the year, the South Asian Bands Festival, which starts today and will conclude on December 4 at Purana Qila. While India is being represented by duo Salim-Sulaiman, what is going to be the highlight is the girl-band of Zeb and Haniya from Pakistan.

Zeb and Haniya will also interact with nearly 100 students from various schools and colleges in Delhi on the first day of the festival to discuss cultural relations between the two countries.

Where democracy is being welcomed

Egyptians cast aside worries over a new wave of unrest and waited patiently in long queues to vote in the first parliamentary elections since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, determined to reap the fruits of their uprising and have their choices count after decades of rigged polls.

Since the uprising that forced Mubarak out nearly 10 months ago, Egyptians had looked forward to this day in expectation of a celebration of freedom after years of stifling dictatorship. The huge turnout was the biggest surprise so far in these elections.

The voting process, long and complicated, is staggered over the next six weeks across 27 provinces, divided into thirds with runoffs held a week after the first round in each location.

What is the buzz on Facebook

Over 1,50,000 fans have signed up to the New Star of India campaign to help Ranbir Kapoor and an automobile company find the next Bollywood superstar.

The campaign launched one of the world’s largest online talent hunts, with fans uploading a short clip of them dancing for a chance to appear alongside Ranbir in the three-minute Bollywood blockbuster — New Star of India.