Personal Branding to Fire Up Your Job Search

This blog post is part of the Career Collective monthly series.

If you have been searching for a new and challenging career opportunity, it may be time to ignite your job search by creating and promoting a personal brand. You might be wondering what personal branding can really do for you?  Think Cartier versus Timex. 

To paraphrase Wikipedia, personal branding is a method to mark yourself as a brand (similar to the watches mentioned above). In the case of a professional working to advance their career, this may include clothing, appearance and/or knowledge. Wikipedia further mentions that personal branding is becoming increasingly prevalent to improve online social networking via Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.

Here are a few great ways to implement a personal brand strategy and fire up your job search:

1. Make sure all your career related documents (résumé, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, professional bio, etc.) reflect your brand in a positive way.  If you present yourself as a valuable commodity, you will be perceived as one. Your documents should look aesthetically pleasing and be error free. They should send a clear message about who you are and what you do best.
2. Participate as an active member on LinkedIn Groups and internet forums that pertain to your area of specialization. For example, if you are in the financial space, you can join a variety of finance related communities and add your personal expertise to further your brand.
3. Consider having your own regular blog to share your expertise and further promote your professional brand.  If you are unable to spend that level of time and commitment, you may want to reach out to well known sites in your field of expertise and become a guest blogger.
4. Create a digital résumé. Digital resumes are a great choice for personal branding because in addition to photos, you can use graphs, charts, audios, and even videos to convey your brand.  My newest find when it comes to digital résumé sites is DoYouBuzz.  As the unusual name implies, a digital résumé can help you to create a ‘buzz’ surrounding your personal brand.

It is critical as you are creating a personal brand to determine not only what you are good at, but what career roadmap is going to make you happy. We work with clients to help them assess their capabilities and preferences and create a personal branding strategy that works for them.

I have seen firsthand the positive results that an effective personal branding plan can bring. Those executives who carefully position themselves can make great strides toward maximizing their careers. It does take some effort, but the dividends can pay off for many years to come and be very lucrative, indeed.

 Below are additional articles written by the CareerCollective.  We encourage you to read on.

---

Succeeding in a “Final Jeopardy!” World, @WalterAkana, http://www.threshold-consulting.com/threshold_consulting/2011/03/succeeding-in-a-final-jeopardy-world.html

5 Steps to Retool & Jumpstart Your Job Search @erinkennedycprw http://exclusive-executive-resumes.com/resumes/5-steps-to-retool-and-jumpstart-your-job-search/

Your Job Search: Let's Just Start Again Shall We? @GayleHoward http://www.theexecutivebrand.com/2011/03/09/your-job-search-lets-just-start-again-shall-we/

Checklist for Spring Cleaning Your Job Search @careersherpa http://careersherpa.net/checklist-for-spring-cleaning-your-job-search/

5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Job Search @heatherhuhman http://heatherhuhman.com/2011/03/5-ways-to-spring-clean-your-job-search/

Ten Surefire Ways to Organize Your Job Search @KatCareerGal http://www.resumesandcoverletters.com/tips_blog/2011/03/ten-surefire-ways-to-organize.html

Put Spring Into Your Job Search @EliteResumes @MartinBuckland http://aneliteresume.com/job-search/put-spring-into-your-job-search/

Toes in the Water @ValueIntoWords http://careertrend.net/toes-in-the-water

How to Revitalize a Stale Job Search @KCCareerCoach http://coachmeg.typepad.com/career_chaos/2011/03/how-to-revitalize-a-stale-job-search-.html

How to re-think your job search @Keppie_Careers: http://www.keppiecareers.com/2011/03/09/how-to-re-think-your-job-search/

Wake Up and Smell the Flowers: Spring Cleaning Your Resume @barbarasafani http://www.careersolvers.com/blog/2011/03/09/wake-up-and-smell-the-flowers-spring-cleaning-your-resume/

Spring clean your mind clutter first @DawnBugni http://write-solution.com/2011/03/09/spring-clean-your-mind-clutter-first/

Managing Your Career 2.0: On Giving Something Up To Get It Right @Chandlee http://emergingprofessional.typepad.com/best_fit_forward/2011/03/no-hoarding.html