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All of us see a brand in crisis mode after some colossal tone-deaf, reputation-damaging blunder and ask, "What were they thinking?" However, few of us imagine a hiring manager or recruiter checking out our brand and asking the same question. They are, and, yes, you are a brand.
Personal and professional branding rapidly evolved when the line dividing the virtual and real worlds vanished. Now, there is no difference between the two. Online, you are a single brand that is a combination of your personal and professional life. It is essential to have an authentic, concise, and well-defined brand that permeates through traditional professional tools, like your resume, and new media channels, like social media. If that sounds like a lot of work, it is, but it empowers you to establish how the world sees you. You get to control your narrative! Give that power away at your peril.
Step One: Create Your Brand
Before you can manage your brand, you must create it. What is a brand? A brand is your story, your work history, your achievements inside and outside the office, your charitable works, and how you spend your time rolled into one memorable mega-pitch. Your brand is how you want others to see you. It’s like meeting someone on a dating app, in that if you meet someone you better look like your photos when you arrive for a first date, or it will be a disaster from the get-go. The same rules apply.
Your personal story is unlike any story since the beginning of time. Like you, it is 100% unique. Before the advent of the internet, your personal brand was called your personality, and, for the most part, the people privileged enough to know the "full you" were limited to family and friends who were allowed to flip through your scrapbook if you had one. Now, online, people post everything they think and do for the world to see – and judge. You may be one of them. If you are, managing your brand is even more vital.
The other half of your brand is your professional life. You want employers and other contacts to know your expertise, how you apply it, and how you are different than other people with similar qualifications. In essence, you want to build a brand that is a demonstrable combination of personal story, work history, talent, and education. It should be authentic, and reflect the full tapestry of who you are why you do what you do. That is an effective brand.
Step Two: Manage Your Brand in the Job Market
Once you determine your brand, you don't want to commit some colossal reputation-damaging blunder. Just like a business, you should be mindful of staying "on-brand" across your online profiles and in your professional realm.
Managing your brand is ongoing but pays the most dividends when you're searching for new opportunities. To effectively promote your brand in the job market, start with a top to bottom review of your professional tools and online presence. You want prospective employers and recruiters to get a full and clear picture of who you are.
Here are some areas that can be an asset or liability to your brand (it’s up to you):
Work history. You can't argue with success. If you have a strong work history with a track record of success, your resume and LinkedIn profile should ooze those achievements and tell the story that is your brand. Create a strong and lasting first impression.
Professional references. Whether a reference on a job application or a reference on your LinkedIn profile, professional references can sometimes be the difference between you and another candidate. However, references can be a double-edged sword. Make sure you know what your references will say about you before you direct people to them!
Your public behavior at meetings and conferences. When you represent your company outside the office, your conduct should have the highest standards. It won't matter how groundbreaking and well-received your presentation was if everyone remembers you as the person who passed out in an elevator wearing a lampshade.
Social media. More than anywhere else, think twice about what you say on social media. While social media can bolster one's brand, it has many pitfalls. It's now a cliché to lose your job, or business, because of something you posted on Facebook or some other social media platform. A general rule for social media: If you don't want it to come up during a job interview or performance review, don't post it.
Interpersonal relationships. "Your network is your net worth," is an old saying. Nurture your business relationships. Don't take anyone or anyone's business for granted.
Favors. If someone does a professional favor for you, respond in kind. People will stick their necks out for you if they know you will reciprocate.
Background checks. Your brand should be honest and authentic. If it's not any falsehoods, a background check will discover any inconsistencies.
Reputation as a co-worker. If you treat people with kindness and respect, that will be part of your brand. If you are impossible to work with, that will be part of your brand. Your reputation is word-of-mouth, which can't be controlled like an Instagram feed.
Achievements. If you can demonstrate the value you've brought to your current or past positions, that says a lot about who you are. Metrics help your overall brand's value and credibility.
Philip Roufail contributed to this article.
Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.
