Personal Branding And Your Job Search

Branding yourself is essential to any professional, but for job seekers, it’s an exceptionally crucial tool. With a well-established brand, you’ll create an impressive presentation to get yourself noticed and, more importantly, remembered. In today’s changing market, ensure your personal branding and job search go hand in hand to set yourself ahead of the pool of applicants and land that dream job.

Your resume no longer stands as strongly as it once did. Instead, recruiters and hiring managers now examine you through a variety of mediums. Yes, the resume still counts. But so does your LinkedIn profile, social media, blogs, personal websites, and the all-encompassing Google search results. Establishing yourself across these mediums will not only make yourself more visible, but it will strengthen and validate your brand and provide the first impression you want.

Establishing and creating your personal brand also takes the power into your own hands when it comes to online content. If there is unflattering on unprofessional content of you online, others will see it in your job search. Do what you can to remove it, then work on creating a better presence for yourself through stronger, more updated, and more accessible content.

Zac Johnson of The Search Engine Journal advises job seekers to amp up their online presence with a digital resume, a website in your name, and through networking, Source: Flickr.

Online resumes

As for resumes, gone are the days of word docs. Instead, online marketer Zac Johnson advises publishing your resume online. Of course, there is always the LinkedIn standard. Johnson also recommends Completed.com, or check out The Next Web for more options. These digital alternatives will make your application stand out amongst others and allow you to more fully display all of your accolades and achievements.

YourName.com

Johnson also advises job seekers to obtain their own website. If you haven’t already, secure your name as your domain. If you have a common name, consider adding your middle initial or playing with the .com, .net, or .org. Once you’ve secured your URL, set up a blog or website as a launch pad for your online presence. Try Squarespace if you haven’t already created your own website. Complete with beautiful templates, tech support, and a low monthly price, Squarespace is the ideal platform for job seekers and professionals alike. Plus, your own personal URL will secure your digital presence and promise high visibility in online searches.

Networking

Johnson’s third point of advice for job hunters is to build connections. Networking, as we all know, is essential to any professional, especially those in search of employment. Knowing more people simply provides more opportunities. Make an effort to meet other professionals and work to maintain those relationships. Expand your networks on social media and LinkedIn to make yourself more searchable and visible. Knowing the right people could just launch you into that coveted career.

When it comes to personal branding and your job search, what do you think of Johnson’s advice? Have you had success using any of these tactics? Leave a comment and let us know!

Personal Branding Questions to Ask Yourself

If you’re new to personal branding, looking to recreate your image, or hoping to launch your career, the entire concept can be overwhelming. Yet personal branding is essential to all professionals. To get started, you’ll need to first reassess yourself. American Intercontinental University recently drafted a set of personal branding questions to ask yourself and to begin carving out your brand. Check them out and see what you think!

Defining your brand

Who are you and what do you do? Think of how you want others to see you, what stories you want to share, and where you’ve been. The key here is authenticity. Your brand should be a realistic representation of you. Next, narrow down your desired field. What do you do, or what do you desire to do? Keep this part simple, but then go further with your niche. Identify and develop a specific specialty area to hone in on.

Once you’ve narrowed down your story and what you do, focus on what makes you stand out. Why should people hire you? Why should people respect you? Remember you? What makes you different and what can you offer others? These personal branding questions should be answered with your skills and unique qualities. Don’t hesitate to tie in your background here. You’ll also want to market yourself in a way that makes others enviable. What can you offer others that others can’t? Whether it’s your consistency, your quality of work, or your reliability, play up whatever quality you feel defines you and your brand. Lastly, American Intercontinental University advises you strive to break the stereotypes of professionals in your field. By standing out against the expected, you’ll increase you memorability and strengthen your brand.

Creating the brand

Once you’ve got the blueprints to your brand, the next step is to establish it. In a recent interview, The Creative Group’s executive Director Diane Domeyer broke personal branding down into three steps.

Blog Girl by Mike Licht. Keep your brand consistent online throughout your personal website, blog, and social media. Source: Flickr.

First, make your brand visible and digitally present. Throughout your various mediums and platforms, keep your brand and image consistent. Use your full name on each profile and site to make yourself easily identified. Keep your content and image as consistent as possible to manifest your brand.

Secondly, display your work or snippets of what you’ve done. Domeyer suggests providing around eight samples. Make sure to provide a good variety to demonstrate your versatility as well. To showcase your portfolio in the best way possible, create a clean and easy-to-navigate layout. This can easily be done on your own personal website, which you should design to showcase your personality and style as well. Squarespace provides great templates for displaying your work online and offers streamlined websites. You can even customize your domain for maximum visibility and traffic.

The last suggestion Domeyer provides for personal branding is to establish yourself throughout the many mediums of social media. While sites such as LinkedIn are more professional, the lines are more blurred when it comes to Facebook and Twitter. Infusing your profiles with personal updates are alright, though Domeyer advises keeping an overarching theme of professionalism. The other key to social media is to update it regularly. For those of us without an abundance of time on our hands, remember quality over quantity when it comes to updating. Put some thought into your posts to keep them engaging and relevant.

Whether you’re just starting out or revamping your career, ask yourself these personal branding questions and see where you’re at. Reassessing yourself and your career will help you to narrow your focus, optimize your efforts, and strengthen your brand. Let us know what you think of these branding ideas. Start the conversation below!

Personal Branding Expert Advice

Swedish entrepreneurial blogger Navid Moazzez recently gathered input from 37 successful CEOs, strategists, authors, entrepreneurs, creators, consultants, influencers, and everyone in-between on what it takes to master personal branding in an entrepreneurial world. We’ve narrowed down the bulk of this personal branding expert advice and condensed it into the most widespread results. Learn from their success and soak up these sage words of advice!

Be authentic and translucent

Almost every contributor in this collection advised readers to be true to themselves. In order to be authentic, you have to first know yourself. Is there a separation between your self image and how others see you? Study up with some self reflection and ask those around you for input as well. You need to be memorable, but you also need to be believable. Personal branding is about sharing your story and your personal touch with the world, in whatever fashion you choose to share. It’s about putting your best foot forward. Be upfront about your interests, passions, experience, and even your faults – these will offer you the best connections with people around you. Being personal is a great quality that attracts far more than inauthenticity, and people will appreciate your visibility.

“Personal branding is not about being someone you’re not. It’s about authenticity.”

— Odalis Salazar Mullins, CEO of Promethean Brand

Focus and find your niche

Another pattern in the personal branding expert advice was the attention placed on focus. Many contributors stressed the importance of finding your niche. Excelling in seven different areas is unlikely, but focusing your efforts and energy into one thing is doable. By having one strong area of expertise, you’re establishing your brand and making yourself more memorable. Once your niche is created, ensure it finds itself consistently throughout your work and life.

Find yourself in good company

Network and make an effort to meet people. Surround yourself with individuals that share your interests, beliefs, or ambitions. As contributor Adrienne Smith advises, “Build great relationships along the way because these are the people who will be your raving fans. They’ll be eager to support you, share your content and refer others to you.” Be engaging both in person and online. Find a mentor and build your audience. Your networks will expand and strengthen, and your brand will gain attention.

“Aligning yourself with other individuals that stand for things you believe in and that share similar beliefs will amplify your exposure and elevate your personal brand.”

— Greg Hickman, author of The SMS Marketing Handbook

Create a platform

Many contributors also referred to the importance of having a digital platform, i.e. a website. Having a website in your own name both allows you to design a page that visually reflects your brand, and it allows you to share your background, thoughts, and ideas in your own way, whether that be through text, video, or other media. Web expert Caleb Wojcik referred to a website as a “‘home base’ for everything you do.”

“Make your personal site more into the form of a landing page, that links to other interesting pages on your site to sort of take people on a journey about you and your unique offer to the world.”

— Nate Bunger, founder of Dream Life Academy

Many other contributors also stressed the importance of the visual. Craft a website that’s aesthetically appealing and a representation of you. Hire a professional photographer and make sure the layout of the site is clean and concise. After all, you’re painting a picture of your brand. Give Squarespace a try if you’re interested in following this personal branding expert advice. It’s an easy-to-use platform where you can have a site in your own name and up and running for about ten dollars a month, and it will give your brand a fantastic “home base.”

Personal Branding Tips for Introverts

What do Charles Schwab, George Stephanopoulos, JK Rowling, and Warren Buffett all have in common? They, along with Larry Page, CEO of Google, and Bill Gates, past CEO of Microsoft, are all hugely successful. And they’re all introverts.

Commonly misinterpreted and undervalued professionally, introverts are essential to any company or organization. And like any other professional, they need to maintain their brand. Here are some specialized personal branding tips for introverts.

Introversion in the Workplace

Introverts carry a stigma of being shy or antisocial. However, shyness and introversion are two very different characteristics. Introverts are defined by their need to recharge alone. They can socialize just like any other extrovert, though engaging with people for long periods of time can wear them out. They tend to process better through reflecting or writing more so than speaking. They are better listeners and tend to contemplate before speaking. Despite their quiet strengths, an introvert’s reserved nature can sometimes be seen as an impediment in the workplace.

Like any professional, introverts wants to establish a personal brand. Identify your introverted strengths and use these to your advantage. Then scrutinize yourself to see what areas need work. In a recent post, career expert Heather R. Huhman identified three specific areas in which introverts can can improve to better their profession wellbeing.

Public Speaking

The first area of improvement for the introvert is public speaking. Because an audience typically remembers mostly their impression from the presentation rather than the actual content, improving on your public speaking skills is essential. In a Washington Post article, editor Lillian Cunningham suggests desensitization to combat nerves and strengthen public speaking abilities. Reach out to your connections to find more speaking opportunities. With practice you’ll face your fears head on and target your weaknesses, strengthening your brand.

Public speaking is an invaluable tool for all professionals and is one introverts should concentrate on to better their brand.

Networking

Another area of improvement Huhman suggests for introverts is through networking. Essential to anyone’s brand, this traditional method of meeting in real life most often yields the best results, though mingling with hoards of professionals at networking events can at times be overwhelming. However, Huhman advises you skip these networking events and go straight for the contacts you wish to meet. Find an event they’ll be speaking at or one they’ll be attending and seek them out. This removes much of the stress of a networking event and will get you the contacts you really want.

Online Presence

The third area of improvement for introverts according to Huhman is through their “digital presence.” A lot of prestige can be gained through a strong presence online. Whether it be your own blog, a LinkedIn profile, a Twitter account, or personal website, create a unity in your image to brand yourself across the board. A recent post on Career Realism stressed the importance of having a personal website. With a reported 56% of HR professionals citing it as the most impressive self promotion an applicant can have, creating your own website is an essential to your brand. Websites allow your own space to tell your story and your ambitions. They allow you to elaborate on your achievements, interests, and set you apart from the masses. Squarespace, an award-winning company, makes publishing online easy and affordable. Check out the templates and start your trial. See where it takes your brand!

Do you have any more personal branding tips for introverts? Post them below and start the conversation!

Branding Yourself Online in a Digital Age

Brands, companies, and individuals in the public eye closely watch and manage their image. By doing so, organizations control, or at least manage to their best ability, their reputation to the public. This maintenance is branding, and you too can do this. Branding yourself online allows you to take control over your image and how the world sees you.

Why is branding yourself online essential to all professionals? A look at Under Cover Recruiter’s statistics shows just how central your online presence is – 78% of recruiters google you and 63% look into your social media profiles. These statistics shouldn’t alarm you. Instead, see it as an opportunity to put your best face on. Branding yourself online is empowering.

In a recent post, entrepreneur and author Ceren Cubukcu discussed tactics for empowering yourself and your brand on the web, which has grown increasingly central to displaying and building your brand. Here are her four key points of advice for managing your online presence.

1. Give it a Google

That’s right, google yourself. What you find is what others will find when they google your name too. More than likely your LinkedIn, social media, blogs, websites, images, and other ancient relics of the internet will appear. So will people who share your name. Consider adding a middle initial to differentiate yourself from others. If you’re not appearing as much as you’d like, become more active in your websites and profiles by updating them regularly.

2. Clean it up

Does your online presence wholly represent you and your brand? If not, take some action. Remove what you can from old posts on your websites and social media accounts. For the pages and photos to which you have no direct access, ask the webmaster to remove the unsavory content. You can also take advantage of Google’s

A personal website sets you apart from the crowd and builds the foundations for your brand online.

3. Build your brand

While you will never have total control over what’s online, what you can do is outweigh the bad with the good. Amp up your LinkedIn profile to boost its visibility. If aren’t creating content, such as a blog or webinars, consider this the time to begin, as creating content was recognized as one of the best branding techniques for 2014. Posting your own information regularly will keep you visible and build your brand.

4. Get a webpage

Cubukcu’s final and most essential piece of advice is to seek out your own website in your own name. While seemingly simple, this necessity can hurt your brand when overlooked. Owning web content in your own name strengthens your online presence and takes your brand to the next level, and it’s easy to do on Squarespace. For around the same price as Netflix each month, you could be solidifying your brand, your future, and your professional wellbeing. Talk about a good investment.

What do you think of Cubukcu’s tips for branding yourself online? Have you found more success using other techniques? Let us know and leave a comment below.