How to Create Your Personal Brand.

In an earlier post I discussed how to define your personal brand. The job search process is nothing more than marketing yourself. The best way to market a product – you – is to create a brand. Once you have defined your personal brand, it is time to begin using the tools available to build that brand’s statement.

Here are some of the tools that you should ensure are a part of your brand building tool chest:

Resume and Cover Letter
It is a proven fact that employers are only going to give your resume 10 to 15 seconds of attention. Therefore, your resume must clearly and definitively represent your brand and concisely and effectively convey your brand message. Your resume must tell a story, with facts, examples, and accomplishments of how your brand brings value to a potential employer.

Online Presence
More than ever before, employers and recruiters are using the internet to locate candidates and to check them out before an interview. You MUST have an online presence as a career professional. Create a professional profile on sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+. Utilize social networking to reinforce your brand message and extend your brand’s reach.

Some other opportunities to create a brand presence are blogs, commenting on blog posts, online bios, web portfolios, videos, and using online broadcasts such as Twitter to further create your online presence.

Networking
This is not an area that you can ignore. No matter how wonderful your online presence may be, you have to be able to perform in reality. It is easy to misrepresent yourself online, but much more difficult to do in person. There are countless opportunities to network in your industry. Research which organizations will be most relevant and productive in your brand’s niche.