What makes you different than any other job applicant? Consider a hiring manager making a decision between you and one other person for a job opening. You both have the same skills, experience, education, and abilities.
There is a difference between you and that other applicant. You have defined personal traits that distinguish you from everyone else.
How you present your personal brand to hiring managers can help them decide that they should hire you over the other person.
Identify Your Personal Brand
Look over your resume. Take note of the projects you were involved in, understand what drives you to succeed, assess your leadership qualities, and think about the direction you want to go with your career.
Now think about how you can relate this message to recruiters or hiring managers. You can include some of it in your resume but can expand upon it in a cover letter.
Cover Letter
Including a cover letter with your resume is an important component that can help you advertise your personal brand.
You want to make sure your cover letter is well-written and well-organized to make it easy for recruiters and hiring managers to hear your story in a professional manner.
If you are not sure how to format an effective cover letter, by using a cover letter template, you can simply use the design in the pre-made template and add your own content.
The last thing you want to do is submit an unprofessional-looking cover letter to a prospective employer. It will probably end up in the garbage along with your resume.
What is Your Brand Statement?
Create a branding statement that highlights your uniqueness, including your skills and the ways you have used those skills successfully.
This should be your unique value proposition that describes why you are different from everyone else. Think about your skills, goals, work experience, and special interests.
Social Media
We live in the age of social media. This makes it even more important that you use it wisely when creating and sharing your personal brand.
Many hiring managers and recruiters will search names of potential employees to learn more about who they are and how they present themselves online. This is your brand.
Multiple Platforms
Consistency is important when you have a presence on many different online platforms. LinkedIn is considered to be the best social media community for job seekers.
However, most people engage in other social media activity on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Keep this in mind when posting and commenting on all your social media. Before you write something, ask yourself if you want a potential employer to see what you wrote.
Use Good Judgment
You don’t want to pretend to be someone you are not, but you also need to think carefully about what you decide to share or post on social media.
It is important to be professional in your brand personality. You also want to showcase the habits and traits that make you different than everyone else.
This doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun on social media. If you have a fun hobby, talk about it. If you have pets and love animals, you can post images and other content without worry.
You do want to avoid posting things that are risky, unprofessional or make you look incompetent.
Show Off
Did you just finish a big project? Whether it is a personal or professional project, share your accomplishments. Remember to share it across all your social media platforms.
Groups and Discussions
There are a lot of online groups and communities where you can share your personal interests and professional accomplishments.
Think about joining LinkedIn groups to get involved with others who share your passions, goals, and professional aspirations.
Engaging in online discussions will help you build an online reputation. Make sure to interact with others to help show your expertise. Simply posting is not enough.
Use hashtags to help you find relevant discussions occurring on Twitter. Get involved in these discussions. Share your insights, give your opinion, and be active.
Post Often
Update your social media profiles often by sharing posts and commenting on other posts. This will show that you care about your personal brand.
Your social media doesn’t have to be limited to only the professional arena. Remember, it is called “social” media for a reason.
Did you see a good movie lately? Did you eat at a really good restaurant? Go ahead and share what’s on your mind and show off your personal brand.
