They can also take an enormous amount of time, turn into pay-to-play opportunities with little value, or just be a frustrating experience. The key is to be strategic about which awards to pursue. Rather than ignore them completely or chase them indiscriminately, it’s important to have a plan. Want to get the most from your awards? Here are XX tips.
- Understand Your “Why” and “How”
Think about your reasons for pursuing awards. There are many professional and personal reasons to do so. They can help promote your business, demonstrate your expertise, highlight successful matters with clients, get you in a room with people you’d like to know better, and be a reward for work well done. Different awards can help accomplish different goals, so it’s important to think about why you want to submit nominations.
It’s also important to understand how much of a priority awards are for you right now. That means being realistic about how much time, energy, and money you have to invest. Awards aren’t free; there may not be an application fee, but they always take time.
One approach is to target one or two meaningful awards a year. Other people—particularly those building a newer practice or expanding into new markets—may choose to be a little more active. There is no right or wrong approach, but your answer helps narrow the field quickly. If you’re only going after one award this year, it needs to be a strong, high-impact one. If you’re pursuing multiple ones, you may be able to balance a mix of aspirational and more attainable ones.
- Decide Which Awards to Pursue
Once you know why you want to pursue awards and how much you have to invest, the next step is identifying which awards are actually worth your time. One of the easiest and most revealing things to do is look at past winners. Ask yourself: Is this the type of firm or organization I want to be associated with? Awards and honors function as a form of positioning. Being listed alongside peers you respect can reinforce your credibility. Being grouped with those that don’t align with your practice—or feel out of step with your market—may not add much value or even cheapen your brand.
And then there’s always the question about pay-to-play. Many awards require an entry fee or sponsorship. That shouldn’t automatically be a disqualifier if it’s within your budget. Some pay-to-play awards have credibility and real networking value. They may put you in the company of people you want to build relationships with. On the other hand, some are just money grabs. If you can’t figure out what the criteria are, who the judges are, or what the organization hosting the award actually does, that can be a real red flag.
And some awards appear free on the surface, but require you to purchase a table or attend an event if you win. That’s not bad, of course, but it is something you need to budget for. The key is evaluating what you’re getting in return for any award: visibility, validation, connections, or business development opportunities.
- How to Stay on Top of Deadlines
One of the biggest stressors around awards is scrambling at the last minute. The way to avoid that is straightforward, but it does require some planning and discipline: track information on an ongoing basis.
This can be a spreadsheet or some kind of centralized tracking document that includes award names, categories, deadlines, and entry requirements. This needs to be a living document. Deadlines often shift. Categories change. New awards emerge. Current ones disappear. If you’re targeting multiple awards, checking in once a month or so is usually enough.
Beyond that, one of the most valuable things to add is something like “Potential Highlights.” This is where you track wins, outcomes, or moments that might be useful later—successful outcomes you are particularly proud of, repeat appointments, or notable feedback.
This is especially helpful because it can be easy to forget details when you’re deep in your work and day-to-day practice.
- Know the Keys to a Winning Entry
A decent submission lists facts. A winning submission tells a story. Judges often review dozens—sometimes hundreds—of submissions. Experienced judges may get a sense within the first few sentences whether they feel your award is a contender. That means your strongest points need to appear early. Don’t save the good stuff for the end. Or worse, the middle, so judges have to dig to figure out why you should win. Instead of starting with your name, title, organization, and years of experience, focus on your winning argument. Open with a compelling introduction that clearly answers the question: Why should this person win this award, rather than another nominee?
Storytelling doesn’t mean exaggeration. It means context. Instead of listing cases, explain why they mattered. Rather than stating outcomes, explain challenges. What made the situation complex? What was at stake? What did you bring that made a difference?
It also means that you have to be willing to promote yourself and do a little honest bragging–don’t sell yourself short! And these stories can often be leveraged and tailored across multiple award submissions. There’s no need to start from scratch every time. That might mean adjusting emphasis, reframing language, or highlighting different aspects of the same experience.
With that in mind, success stories do age. For lifetime achievement or career-spanning awards, evergreen content is valuable. But many category-specific awards have defined timelines, often looking at work from the past 12 to 18 months. Using outdated examples can weaken an otherwise strong submission. And whenever possible, try to be specific. Details and data can tell a strong story.
- If at First You Don’t Succeed…
One of the hardest things about awards is that you never fully know what the judges are thinking. Criteria are usually subjective. Panels may change. People often overestimate how personal the outcome can feel, especially when you know others who won when you didn’t. Failing to win doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t have a strong submission. It may just mean there was an unusually competitive field, or that another submission aligned more closely with that year’s focus.
The most important thing to remember is this: Awards are not verdicts on your worth. They are opportunities. If you don’t win one year, you can—and should—try again.
- And When You Do Succeed
Once you’ve won, it’s time to get the word out! There’s value in promotion and derivative content you get from being named a finalist or to a short list. And if you are named a winner after being short-listed, that’s worth another follow-up. You can highlight these successes in LinkedIn posts, and even press releases or blogs.
Awards can amplify your credibility, reinforce your brand, and support business development, but only when you pursue them intentionally. By prioritizing the right opportunities, tracking the right information, preparing realistically, and telling compelling stories, you can approach awards not as a guessing game, but as a strategic extension of your practice.