Are you active on social media? If so (and you most likely
are at this point) you have established a brand for yourself online. Much like
a company brand it is a portrayal of what you as a person are bringing to the
table and what you are offering literally, to the world.
Personal branding has been a hot topic of late and for good
reason, when done properly it can help to establish your credibility as someone
knowledgeable within your specific industry and it can be a major factor in a job search. When it comes to finding a new job, something that
is often discussed is the tailoring resumes to reflect that of a
specific job and company but, have you made it a complimentary part of your
personal brand?
Your resume is one of the tools used to help you acquire a
new position within the workforce, it is an extension of you, an advertisement
of your abilities that attempts to grab the attention of potential employers. Now
another tool (your personal brand), thanks to social media has become more
significant in the job search process and your resume needs to change in order
to compliment it. There will be different times and places for ways you incorporate your personal brand into a job search such as events, online networking, and
interviews. The resume will most likely be the most professional representation
of your brand, but nevertheless, it should reflect the identity you have
created for yourself online.
As you work to brand your resume ask yourself the following:
- What is your unique value proposition, your core
professional values and personal attributes that you will be contributing to
the company? These are your best characteristics
and you can tailor these to the specifics of the job you are applying for. Are these characteristics present in your personal
brand online? - Does the message you are trying to portray exist
throughout the whole resume, is the narrative consistent? The values that you
say you are bringing to the company should be shown by using “action
statements” that describe not only the duties you performed but how your skills
and personal qualities allowed you to complete them, don’t forget to quantify
your results when possible. Ideally some
of these are highlighted in your online profiles as well. - This may sound obvious but, are you including
your passions and accomplishments? Are
these consistent with what you have discussed/presented online, can they be
verified? - Are you including links to your relevant professional
profiles? Your website, LinkedIn or Github for example. By including these links you are inviting reviewers to see more of your
brand (they will probably be looking anyway) and find out more of who you are.
Your resume and your brand need to both tell your story individually
and also support one another as either could be the first thing a company sees
regarding you. A clear picture of who you are and what you offer them should be
found from both sources. Be assured if one spikes any interest in you the other
will be looked at as well. This is why your brand needs to be told consistently
on all levels, you are giving a full presentation of yourself before you even
talk with a potential employer so give them the full scope of who you are and
what you offer to stand out from the rest.
- A reminder in keeping a consistent brand; Social
media such as LinkedIn can be a great place to detail your strengths and
skills, but you are best off doing so in a way that will show your personality.
The “matter of fact” tone and rigidity often seen on a resume is not as
necessary here. Use the description area to tell your “story” and show some of
your quirks. Not everything there has to be directly relevant to the specific
job you are targeting, but it has to be relevant to the person and employee you
are.