Last blog entry I spoke about recognition through the multiple awards programs that are out in business land. We have established that the awards process can be a meaningful and profitable experience for you to do. So the question now is where do you start?

If you are in a large corporation or government organisation the first place to start is with internal awards. In the university system there are teaching awards, research awards, department and university wide awards. The same goes for most larger organisations where achievements are recognised on an organisational scale. Even within a small business there can be weekly or monthly awards for best employee.

Outside your organisation, to dabble your toes in the water so to speak, I would be looking for local and industry based awards that recognise your business or your profession.

For example many local chambers of commerce have business awards in their local areas. Every industry has its own awards - education, property, manufacturing, hairdressing, office administration – you name it there are hundreds in every profession. These local awards give you an idea of how you rate against others on a smaller scale. It also enables you to practice writing an award submission, a very valuable skill, as what you are doing is learning to sell yourself or your business.

Once you have a couple of small awards under your belt it is time to look at state and national awards. Again these can be industry specific or they can be gender based like the Telstra Business Woman of the Year or specific recognition of personal attributes such as the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year or Australian of the Year.

Often people start applying for awards when they are not really able to demonstrate notable achievements over a period of time. Keeping a diary of when you do really notable things is a great idea and gives you the fodder you need for the award submission. For example starting a business is an achievement but the longer it is running and the more clients you service and the reputation you build is the substance on which awards are built. Winning lotto is arguably an achievement but you wouldn’t write an award submission for it. Instant success is not the stuff of legends.

Writing an award submission is like writing a job application. These are the key points to take note of:

1. Make sure you understand the awards criteria - What is the purpose of the award and what sort of person are they looking for? Are they looking for a role model or are they looking for a unique and compelling story that typifies an industry?
2. Don’t overstate your achievements but also don’t understate them. Many people feel embarrassed to talk about themselves and their achievements. I hate to tell you this – judges are not mind-readers so be specific and pretend you are writing this about a colleague you admire.
3. Think about the submission from the judges’ perspective – what particular points will make you stand out from the crowd? This is just like a job interview in that a judge must choose someone for the role. What will be your point of difference?
4. These applications are read by a range of people from a range of backgrounds so don’t assume they will understand your industry or your journey unless you describe it well. Remember this is a story and unless you engage the reader or interviewer the points you raise may be missed.
5. Answer questions succinctly and with good spelling and grammar. A badly written submission will likely be binned.
6. Don’t have someone else write your submission. If it goes to interview it will be very obvious to the judges and that will go against you. However do have someone edit your finished work
7. Keep your award submissions and use them as grist for the awards mill. You can recycle what you do, add to it and improve on it in other submissions.
8. Read your submission before going for the interview as many times you forget what was in there and be prepared for questions on what you have written.
9. If you don’t succeed try and try again. Many a time awards have been won after multiple entries over years. Just keep going. What is the worst that can happen?

So now you need to research and see what awards are out there for you. I have added a few example links for you to start. Of course these may not be the awards for you however all you have to do a ‘Google’ search on awards in your profession or industry. Good luck!

http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/Australia/Entrepreneur_of_the_Year_-_Welcome

http://www.businesswomensawards.telstra.com/?PageID=248

http://www.telstrabusinessawards.telstra.com/home.aspx

http://www.liswa.wa.gov.au/pba.html

http://www.exportawards.gov.au/

http://www.australiantrainingawards.gov.au/

http://www.tourismalliance.org/tourismalliance/TourismAwards.html

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/austawards.html

http://www.australiaday.com.au/awards/default.aspx

http://www.sai-global.com/improve/awards/

http://www.achiever.com.au/

http://www.awardsaustralia.com/RACA_nsw.html

http://65.182.104.91/champions/

http://www.awardsaustralia.com/YAA.html

http://www.sa.engineersawards.com/

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