5 signs that you should be marketing yourself

Here are the signs:

1. You've been turned down for a promotion more than once. If you know you have the skills to do the job, as well as the dedication, but you keep getting passed over for the promotion you want, perhaps you're not standing out from your competitors. If there are others with the same abilities and experience as you competing for the same promotion, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself from the pack.

   Consider how you're "packaging" your unique strengths and examine your personal brand from the perspective of the employer. Think about how you want to be perceived versus how you're actually being perceived and find ways to bridge the gaps.

2. You keep being given minor projects. You feel like you're not really making an impact in the workplace because you are working on insignificant assignments. You want your boss or your team to trust you with projects that really count - you just need the opportunity to show people what you can do.

   Find ways of proving the value you could add to a project. Ask for the chance to take on a bigger initiative, and then be ready to back up your request with examples of how you solve problems and develop solutions that would be beneficial to the project. Use testimonials from trusted individuals who will vouch for you.

3. Key people don't acknowledge your areas of strength or expertise. You're the best at what you do in your field of expertise, but the senior executives don't seem to know that. Or maybe you're frustrated when your company hires external consultants to do work that you would do brilliantly. Perhaps you sit in meetings and listen to other people talk about things that they know less about than you do.

   Many technically skilled people assume that their good work will get them the recognition they deserve, but even if you do the best work in your organisation, if nobody knows about it, you'll remain invisible. Come up with ways to market your strengths to key people, whether it's writing a white paper or offering to lead a training session workshop for colleagues in your field of expertise.

4. You are not involved in any projects that are 'stretching' you. You're bored of doing the same old work day in and day out, but you haven't been given the opportunity to try anything new on the job for a while. Perhaps you haven't marketed your other skills? Maybe you're a PowerPoint whizz, a great speaker or a brilliant facilitator, but you're stuck behind your desk doing paperwork because everyone knows that you're good at putting together reports.

   If you're itching to do something outside of your current job description, start marketing your strengths in the areas where you want to operate. Volunteer to put together the presentation for the next board meeting, introduce your team to a facilitation technique you've been reading about or take the lead in the next sales pitch your agency makes. Think of ways to become more visible and to demonstrate the value you can add in new projects.

5. You haven't been head hunted recently. At one point, you had fairly regular calls from people looking to recruit you for your skills, experience and credibility. Perhaps you investigated the opportunities they offered and perhaps you didn't. Either way, being head hunted regularly is a good sign that you have a sought-after personal brand and that your personal marketing activities are effective. It's a nice reminder that people value you.

   So, if you haven't inspired any interest from recruiters lately, maybe it's time that you invest some energy into marketing yourself, whether it's through speaking at industry events, starting a blog, attending networking events or offering to write a column for your industry's trade journal.

By spending some time rethinking your personal marketing plan, identifying ways to market your unique skills to your target market and then going out and doing it, you'll not only ensure you avoid these five warning signs, but you'll also boost your personal visibility and cement your credibility, ensuring that people know you for what you do best.