How to Promote Yourself in an Interview

Promoting yourself during an interview is about presenting your strengths and value in a clear, confident, and relevant way without coming off as boastful. It’s a sales process – you are selling yourself. Here are 4 ways to “sell” yourself as a must-have-employee to the interviewer:

1. Start With a Strong Introduction (Your Elevator Pitch)

This is your quick, confident summary—usually delivered when they say, “Tell me about yourself.” Include your professional background, key strengths, what you’re looking for and why this role fits you.

2. Align Your Strengths with Their Needs

Promote yourself by connecting what you offer with what the company is looking for. Do this by using keywords from the job description AND speaking in terms of how your strengths benefit them directly.

3. Quantify Achievements

Facts and figures speak louder than adjectives. Use data when possible to validate your claims, such as “I increased…”, “I reduced…”, “I saved…”, “I achieved…”, and add totals and percentages to frame the impact you made. Remember, if you were a part of a team, be sure to discuss YOUR impact (“I” phrases), not the teams’ impact (“we” phrases).

4. Ask Smart Questions

This promotes you as thoughtful, invested, and serious about the role. Link what they’re looking for in a new hire to what you are looking for in terms of your future and challenges/growth. Examples like “How does this role collaborate with other departments?” and “What’s the biggest challenge your team is facing right now?” give you additional ways to show how you can make a positive impact.

Properly promoting yourself during an interview can have a direct impact between an interviewer walking away knowing exactly how you would be a great potential hire or walking away wondering why you were even there. Practice and prepare for the former!

Good Luck, and Happy Hunting!