By Khalilah Starks

Just as every company markets its services to its potential customers, every professional should be marketing their knowledge, skills and abilities to potential employers. This is what career management professionals refer to as Self-Marketing. Self-Marketing is simply the act of demonstrating your knowledge, skills, achievements, and likelihood for success. Whether you are actively seeking or happily content in your career, you should always be self-marketing. Because one day, you’ll likely outgrow your current position and be ready for a new challenge. Self-marketing can heavily influence your ability to land a new position quickly, once you decide to move on.

One of the most common forms of self-marketing is the resume. However, a resume is something that you use when you’re actively looking for employment. Today’s career savvy professional can employ several other techniques that can be more impactful than just a resume and market your talents while you’re happily employed. Here are some to consider today!

Get LinkedIn. This is an easy one. Think of LinkedIn as your online resume. It’s your virtual resume where you can continuously display your skills and achievements for your professional connections. You should always keep your LinkedIn updated with your employment experience and achievements. Be sure to update your network with your latest career achievements (i.e. awards, attendance at seminars, interesting projects) with status updates.

Facebook Fun. Facebook makes it super easy for you to market your talents. Occasionally update your friends with your personal career related information with a status update. Let them know about your latest career achievements, just as you would on LinkedIn. Share some knowledge related to your field that could be helpful to your friends.

Tweet Away. In 140 characters or less, tell your Twitter followers about your achievements. And, share knowledge related to your field that can be helpful to your followers and show your expertise. The great thing about Twitter is that you can connect with people that you don’t know, but share a common interest with. Once you start following them, there’s the possibility that they’ll start following you. And, then voila, you’re marketing your talents to people who could be instrumental in you landing that next position.

Start a Blog. Of course, I’m partial to this one. But, what better way to show the world your level of expertise! While blogging can be definitely time consuming, it can open your world up to new contacts and serve as virtual proof that you know your stuff. Not interested in starting your own blog? Start commenting on blogs that are relevant to your career and industry. Many companies have their own blogs that you can visit and comment on posts.

Public Speaking. While frightening for some, public speaking can be an excellent way to market your talents. Public speaking can boost your reputation as an expert in your field and immediately increase your number of contacts and visibility in your industry. Even if you’re not a natural, presentation skills can be enhanced. Join clubs like Toastmasters to enhance your public speaking skills. As you begin to successfully self-market your talents, public speaking opportunities can follow!

Connect with Professional Associations and Social Clubs. In addition to getting virtually connected through social media, it’s important to stay physically connected with professionals that share common interests. Attending networking events and professional association meetings will allow you to expand your professional connections and share information about yourself. This can lead to public speaking and professional panelist opportunities. A great self-marketing strategy is enhanced when you’re connected to the right people.