When you’re in the supermarket, you buy the brands that you find valuable, right? In the labor market, employers buy the brands that they think will add value too. This is especially true when times are tough; hiring decisions are made so carefully.

Do you know your personal brand? If not, now’s the time to figure it out and market it.

The notion of a personal brand was first coined by Tom Peters in Fast Company magazine more than a decade ago; today, with constant organizational change, lack of job security, and a tight labor market, your brand is a key tool to help you stay confident, competitive, and successful in the working world.

So what is a personal brand? As defined by Kirsten Dixson and William Arruda in their book, Career Distinction (2007), it's your "unique promise of value." In other words, what makes you special and how it makes a difference to your current or future employer.

The challenge with personal branding is that it's hard at first. It takes some time to figure out, and you may resist discovering how special you are. Some symptoms of this syndrome: under-appreciating your talents ("everybody can do that"), under-recognizing your experience ("I was just a volunteer when I did that" or "other people have done this kind of thing for more years than I have"), and not fully seeing the impact/contributions you have made. But I urge you to push through the initial barriers and find those words.

The key is to uncover what is authentically YOU and how people consistently experience you. This is NOT about "spin" or coming up with something you think others want to hear. Some helpful tools for gathering insights into your brand include: past performance reviews, results of personal assessments (like Myers-Briggs, Strong Interest Inventory, and others), 360-degree feedback, and self-examination/reflection. You can also answer questions like these (and ask others to give you input too):

• What makes you different from others who do work that you do (or that you want to do)?
• What do you do (or have you done) that you are most proud of and/or can brag about?
• What do people compliment you on? What do people turn to you for?
• What have you developed a reputation for?
• What do you really enjoy?
• What do you want to be famous for?
• What do you do that adds measurable, distinctive value?

Ultimately, what you're shooting for is to distill all the ideas/information and arrive at a clear, concise statement of your brand - your unique promise of value. The whole process can take some time; you have to dig deep, past the quick and easy points, and allow the most meaningful insights to emerge from all of your reflection, discussion, and writing.

With time, your brand becomes both a way to orient/present yourself when you're searching for a job (it shows up in your resume, cover letters, networking conversations, and interviews) and also a tool to help you communicate (and believe in) what makes you special and valuable every day at work.

Make the investment of time and energy to uncover your personal brand. It will help you be more confident, competitive, focused, and effective -- vital qualities in today's marketplace.