Back in the day, all you needed were a couple of good credentials, a firm handshake, and proper attire to land a job. However, in today’s fast-paced job market, things are a bit different.
Before you even get the opportunity to speak to the recruiter or interviewer, in most jobs, those very people will conduct some research about you using the internet. Everything there is to know about you is likely already available, which leads us to the topic of discussing how to create a personal brand identity to make yourself an attractive choice to the market.
“Personal branding” is a term that’s thrown around a lot in today’s workplace. It’s an integral part of building your professional reputation and should be a top priority if you’re looking for a job. But what is personal branding and how does one build up their own professional brand?
If you’ve been asking yourself these questions you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we take a deep dive into personal brand identities, figuring out what they are, and how you can start building your very own personal brand.
What is a Personal “Professional” Brand Identity?
Personal branding involves a series of different strategies and techniques that professionals use to shape their professional identity (particularly on the internet) in the hopes of attracting employers.
If traditional brands exist to attract customers, your professional brand exists to bring in employers. To build a personal brand, you need to put in a lot of hard work and dedication. For most people, it takes years of consistent effort to build up their brand, but in the end, it is always worth it. With a proper professional brand identity, it will be much easier for you to land jobs, grow your network, and move forward in your career.
5 Tips to Creating a Personal Brand Identity to Support Your Job Search
Building your own brand can be hard, especially if you’re new to the professional field. To make things easier for you, we’ve compiled five tips that you can use to build a better brand and attract future employers.
1. Figure Out What Your Brand is About
A lot of times, people start creating their brand without knowing what their brand is about. This is a common mistake that you can avoid by taking the time out of your day to really think about your brand. Soul-searching is going to be a major part of building your brand, so ask yourself, what do you want to do, what is your brand about, and what makes your brand stand out from the competition.
Think of ways to describe your personality and work ethic. That way, it will be easier to build around these core concepts. Another thing you might want to do is dive even deeper into your current field. Experts are highly attractive to employers, so while you are building up your brand, try and gain more knowledge of your field so you can label yourself as an expert.
2. Build a Solid Network
Networking has always been a major part of living a professional life. And when building your brand, it’s always best to consider your network as well. By meeting different professionals in the field and creating your own network, you also get your name out there and allow more people to get to know you and understand what you offer.
Networking online also provides a great opportunity to build your connections. Instead of going to different social events to meet with other professionals, you can comment on social media posts, send them a message, and build relationships online with different professionals in the field.
3. Make Your Presence Felt
Once you’ve established your brand, you must ensure that other people know of its existence. When navigating through the professional field, people are going to search for you on the internet, and you wouldn’t want irrelevant Facebook posts from 10 years ago to be the first thing that pops out, right?
Also, you should always audit your social media and be aware of your past “history” on the given platform as the digital footprint is large and long-lasting.
To really establish a presence when creating a personal brand identity, we recommend using the internet to really get your name out there, which brings us to our next tip.
4. Market Yourself Through the Internet
There are many platforms where you can market yourself on the internet. You can do it through LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and even YouTube. It would be great to use one or more of these platforms to market your professional brand because of the large user base on the platforms.
However, we also recommend setting up your own personal website or blog, that way, whenever someone searches your name on Google, your blog that contains your full professional brand will be the first result to pop up.
5. Ask for Feedback
Lastly, no personal brand is perfect, especially at the start. When you’re creating a personal brand identity, always ask people close to you for feedback. This could be friends, family, or even your significant other.
Tactics to Help You Brand Yourself to Prospective Employers
Creating a personal brand is one thing but getting your name out there is something completely different. There are many personal branding tips for job seekers out there that can help you build a brand, but you also need to make sure employers are aware of you and what you have to offer.
You can brand yourself to employers in many ways. However, we highly recommend personal statements and CV’s as these are great ways to speak to employers directly. Here at Morgan Law, we can even guide you on how to write a personal statement for a job.
To get your brand known, it’s best to use the multiple methods that we mentioned above. Aside from building your online presence, you could also try elevator pitches or making a statement in a job interview.
Having worked through the pandemic, we have seen a lot of challenges and change and as a result, there has been a significant shift in career ambitions as well as many unique professional experiences. Currently, we are experiencing an unprecedented demand for highly skilled talent, and we are actively encouraging you to update us on your job search status and achievements on your CV.
If you would like us to update our files and hear about current vacancies click here to send an email including your CV and contact details – one of our consultants will get straight back to you.
Conclusion
Creating your personal brand can be tough, especially if it’s your first time. Just remember to trust that all the effort you put into building your brand will be worth it in the end as it will help you land more job opportunities in the future.
Once you’ve created your personal brand and feel confident in it, the next step is to show it to employers and get your name out there. For many people, this task may be even harder than building your brand.
At Morgan Law, we’re here to help. We connect employers to different professionals in the field who could be just the right fit for their company or workspace. Head to Morgan Law today to search jobs and offerings in your field to increase the chances of the right employer stumbling on your brand.