In this mini episode of Promoted, Merit America Career Coach Bekah Thompson explains how to advocate for yourself in your job search.
Key Takeaways
You bring a lot to the table in your job search—your transferable skills, polished resume, certifications, your portfolio. But none of those tools matter without the most important piece: you.
No one knows your story better than you do. Mentors, colleagues, and friends can cheer you on, but they can’t fully speak to your motivations, your impact, or your long-term vision. You are your strongest advocate.
When you take ownership of how you present yourself, you gain confidence and steer your career in the direction you want. Self-advocacy helps ensure your voice is heard, your accomplishments are highlighted, and your next step reflects what you truly value.
In this episode of Promoted, Career Coach Bekah shares how to take control of your narrative and advocate for yourself throughout your job search.
Tune in to learn:
- What self-advocacy means
- Why you need to advocate for yourself
- How to advocate for yourself
Listen to full episode!
Tune in to learn how to take control of your narrative and advocate for yourself throughout your job search.
Podcast Transcript
Bekah: Welcome to another episode of Promoted, a podcast about leaving low-wage work for good. I’m Bekah, a career coach for Merit America, a national nonprofit organization providing a pathway for workers out of low-wage jobs and into well-paying careers with upward mobility. In today’s mini episode of Promoted, we’re talking about how to advocate for yourself in your job search.
According to Procurement Tactics, only about 45% of employees in the US actually negotiate their salary, and over three-quarters of those who do are actually successful at landing a higher starting pay.
You could build your career in a way that aligns with your values and goals while preventing burnout. Fun fact: Workers who communicate workload limits and needs experience lower burnout rates.
Employees who self-advocate for projects, responsibilities, or roles that align with their skills and values report higher job satisfaction and engagement. So, advocating for yourself could also help you build professional and personal confidence.
So, what does it mean to advocate for yourself? Well, advocating for yourself means speaking up about what you do and don’t need, especially for those people pleasers out there. Advocating for yourself means pausing to ask yourself, “Is this something that I want at work?” Advocating for yourself also means not downplaying your abilities just because you haven’t mastered a skill yet, nor is it claiming perfection or mastery. It’s really about showing what you can do and what you’re excited to grow into.
So how can you advocate for yourself? Well, first you want to know your value. Take some time to think about what you bring to the table. Make a point of communicating that value with confidence during job interviews, networking opportunities, and even when negotiating your salary.
Think of those transferable skills that you bring to the table. And while it’s important to highlight those strengths, it’s equally important to frame the areas you’re still developing. So, for example, if you’re strong in certain data analytics skills, like Excel and SQL, but you’re still building skills in Python or Tableau, and you’re not quite at the mastery level yet, you can also share how you’re actively improving those. Maybe you’re taking a course. Maybe you’re working on a personal project. Maybe you’re practicing on real data sets using those tools.
So it’s important that you highlight what you’re learning and show how you’ve already applied it. That demonstrates self-awareness, initiative, commitment to growth, and, of course, self-advocacy.
Be clear with yourself about what you want. Think about what you want from your career, what you’re looking for in a workplace, so you can shape your career journey. Maybe the compensation is important. Maybe you want a workplace with lots of time off so you can maintain a work-life balance. Make sure you’re thinking about what you want. It’s also important to ask questions, especially during the job search. You aren’t just being interviewed for a role at a company; you’re also interviewing the company. You want to ask questions that make you stand out, help you understand the workplace culture, and identify the things that you need in that workplace.
Remember to negotiate your salary. One of the best ways to advocate for yourself is to speak up about fair compensation. If you don’t think the salary for a role reflects the responsibilities or your experience, try to negotiate respectfully and confidently. And remember, a “no” to one request can still be an opportunity for a different kind of ask, such as not getting a higher salary but negotiating more time off.
Also, lean into networking. Your network is powerful. Think about how you can build that network and bring in people who can also advocate for you when you’re not in the room. Networking is also an opportunity to practice advocating for yourself and to share your strengths. When advocating for yourself, keep in mind that it’s all about showing up for yourself so you can build the career that you want.
So let’s recap. Advocating for yourself is speaking up for yourself. In an interview with a company, you want to ask questions that help you understand the workplace. You can also practice self-advocacy by negotiating, leveraging your network to support you, and framing those areas of growth as strengths. Think about what you bring to the table and how you can communicate those strengths. Remember to show up for yourself. Self-advocacy means helping the future you.
At Merit America, we know advocating for yourself during the job search can seem overwhelming. That’s why our program includes personalized coaching from career coaches like me. We’re here to help you advocate for yourself on your career journey. And a career coach can offer you things like personal guidance.
We’re gonna provide you with tailored advice and strategies to help you build your career.
Confidence. We’re gonna highlight those strengths. We’re gonna motivate you to advocate for yourself even when it seems difficult. Goal setting. Together, we’ll define clear, achievable goals aligned with your overall career goals. Accountability will help you follow through on your career plan and ensure you’re taking the steps to advocate for yourself on your journey because your career success isn’t just about getting a job. It’s about building the career that you deserve.
Thank you for tuning in. I hope these strategies give you practical ways to keep moving forward in your career. If you’re ready to take your next step, Merit America can help.Visit our website at www.meritamerica.org to learn more.