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How Creating a Personal Brand Will Make it More Likely You Land a Job
Recruiting is a game of information. How do you present yourself to brands? How do brands present their companies to candidates?
Every recruiting decision depends on the data available at the moment. And with recruiting becoming more competitive than ever, it’s essential that candidates stand out from the crowd, have a specific purpose, and show passion for what they do. The best way to achieve this is by building your personal brand.
Personal Brands Thrive on Social Media
Broadly, personal branding refers to how candidates leverage online resources and in-person networks to support their professional development. This is most evident in the newest recruiting frontier, social media.
The value of social media as a recruiting tool thrives on personal branding. Every profile you have can be thought of as a micro-representation of your personal qualities:
- LinkedIn displays your professional accomplishments.
- Facebook showcases your interests.
- Instagram provides a visual snapshot of your life and the imagery that resonates with you.
Naturally, all this data is vital to recruiters for both skill-based assessments as well as for predictions on how well a candidate will fit in the company culture. Active social media pages provide concrete data on candidate qualifications and is a central aspect of personal brand development.
Get active on social channels and make use of the resources available on each site. For example, networking with others on LinkedIn Groups or Facebook’s business pages will help get your name out there and will make it more likely that you’ll get found.
Build a Website
A cornerstone of personal branding is creating a hub where viewers (and recruiters) can learn about you, your business philosophies, and what value you can bring to the table. Yes, your social media profiles provide a good amount of this data already, but having a personal web page takes it a step further.
Personal websites show professionalism and investment in your career; any candidate can have a LinkedIn page, but fewer are willing to pay hosting fees for a website unless they’re serious about making a mark in their industries. A well-designed website indicates professionalism, authority, and a seriousness about your online image—all highly desirable traits sought by recruiters.
Online Resources Maximize Your Influence
The world of personal branding is all about expanding your influence and getting seen by as many people as possible. Naturally, you’ll be more successful when you make good use of every tool at your disposal:
- Start Blogging: Regular blogging is a powerful tool for building out your web resources, proving your industry expertise, and for improving site-wide SEO.
- Create Personal Email Lists: If you want to market your personal brand, you’ll need to think like brand marketers do. Consider leveraging your network of contacts and beginning your own email lists to create more touchpoints with your contacts.
- Stay Current: If you want recruiters to believe in your personal brand, you need to be trustworthy. Stay up to date on emerging resources (Google Alerts is an easy way) and events shaping your industry.
Keep Your Personal Brand Personal
Above all, the most important aspect of building your personal brand is to just be yourself! We know, it sounds like a platitude, but so many people get caught up trying to model their brands after companies with enterprise-level marketing strategies that they lose their voice in the process. Don’t get too corporate, even when on the job hunt. You’ll do best by staying in your own lane and being true to yourself. Recruiters will respond in kind.
And if you’re struggling to put these tips into action, give Urgenci a call. We’ll do a top-to-bottom assessment of your resources and help you push your brand to the next level.
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