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Successful self-promotion is critical in today鈥檚 competitive, hyper-social work world. Especially for women looking to get ahead and make their mark in IT, self-promotion is no longer just a professional advantage 鈥� it鈥檚 become a career survival skill.

鈥淵our career success depends on your ability to promote yourself correctly. Yet many people have a blatant inability to properly express their value to higher-ups and hiring managers. Employers must know your real value. Otherwise, you鈥檒l find yourself on the losing end professionally. You won鈥檛 get the job, the raise, the promotion, the respect and recognition you deserve,鈥� says, career consultant, speaker and author of Promote! It鈥檚 Who Knows What You Know That Makes a Career.

Thankfully, self-promotion is a skill that鈥檚 easy to master. Here鈥檚 how to do it right.

Whether you work six feet or 6,000 miles away from your boss, it鈥檚 unlikely he has more than a general idea about what you do beyond the minimum he expects, Gillis says. 鈥淵our boss probably has countless other responsibilities than his direct reports, and is increasingly stretched too thin. And you think he knows exactly what you do? Not a chance. It鈥檚 up to you to actively promote yourself by updating him or her on your activities, your accomplishments and your experiences whenever you can,鈥� he says.

LinkedIn can be a valuable resource to help you tell your story, too, says Leela Srinivasan, chief marketing officer at recruiting solutions software company . 鈥淲omen can do well by having others help tell their story. LinkedIn recommendations can be hugely important. Current and past employers are in a great position to talk about your impact and value, so reach out to get those kudos,鈥� says Srinivasan.

As a kid, you were likely taught that modesty is the best policy 鈥� better to let others discover your greatness on their own, right? That sounds good in the hypothetical, but in reality, that won鈥檛 happen unless you practice self-promotion, Gillis says.

鈥淭his is especially true for women, who often are socialized not to shout about their accomplishments. Don鈥檛 be shy about sharing your accomplishments, content you鈥檝e developed, finished products and achievements on social channels. Contribute to discussions on LinkedIn or on blogs and join discussions within professional organizations you follow. You鈥檒l showcase your opinion, and highlight what you care about professionally, and that can not only boost your profile in your current job, it can catch the eye of recruiters if you鈥檙e trying to land a new role,鈥� says Srinivasan.

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In any workplace, you鈥檙e seen first as a commodity, not a person. Accordingly, you need an inventory of your on-the-job accomplishments 鈥� the things that express your commercial value to the business, Gillis says. 鈥淵ou want to keep a short list of your most recent or most impressive accomplishments in the front of your mind. You want to be able to rattle those things off the tip of your tongue anytime, anywhere and to anyone,鈥� says Gillis.

Consider keeping an accomplishments journal, too 鈥� either hand-written or digital 鈥� so that when it鈥檚 time for your performance review, you can easily access and show what you鈥檝e done in the near-term and in the long-term, he says.

You were hired because someone believed that you鈥檇 produce more value for the company than you鈥檇 cost, Gillis says. Arm yourself with data about how much you鈥檝e made the company, how much you鈥檝e saved the company and tie that to your value as an employee, he says.

鈥淐onsider, for instance, a payroll clerk I once worked with. In the first run he ever did at his company, he cut 6,000 paychecks alone, on time, with zero returns. Think of the cost savings created by an error-free check run of that size. That鈥檚 value,鈥� Gillis says.

Unless you are just starting out or have a superhuman memory, you鈥檒l need to do some heavy lifting to track down your past accomplishments 鈥� end results, problems solved, projects completed on time and on budget, and so forth 鈥� but it鈥檚 worth it to do so, Gillis says. To begin, look at old resumes, business planners, performance reviews and journals. Then reach out to family, friends, managers, co-workers and customers, preferably by phone to avoid generic responses, he says. You can also use LinkedIn and social media, says Srinivasan.

鈥淎gain, LinkedIn is a great tool to use for getting recommendations. Make sure you鈥檙e accumulating about one to three for each role you鈥檝e had 鈥� any more than that becomes overwhelming, and turns off potential readers,鈥� says Srinivasan.

[ Related stories: How to diversify your IT hiring pipeline ]

Your accomplishments must be crafted into a single three-part statement with a distinct beginning, middle and end, and it should be backed up by concrete data you can point to during conversations with your manager, Gillis says.

鈥淵ou鈥檒l be able to quickly and clearly convey what you did, what that resulted in, and the value or net result. For example, 鈥業 created a digital filing system that resulted in a savings of 300 man hours per week, enabling the company to save $6 million annually,'鈥� he says. That clearly and concisely shows your value and your worth as an employee, and can help you land that next promotion, raise or even a new job.