Build Authenticity During a Job Search With On-Line Personal Branding

I ran across a great post on personal branding over on the Shoestring Branding blog that advocates leveraging on-line technologies to achieve an authentic voice and become the candidate of choice for employers seeking talent. The blog's publisher, Mario Sanchez, discusses how many candidates in search turn their candidacy into a commodity by posting on multiple job boards rather than building a personal brand that showcases their unique value proposition and focuses on the key competencies that make them a real catch.

As Sanchez puts it, job seekers need to "come across as a real person in a low trust world." He recommends registering your name as a URL, setting up a personal website, and blogging on your brand or niche area of expertise.

If you're not ready to take these big steps yet, consider implementing one or more of these baby steps to create your on-line personal brand.

1. Post comments on other people's blogs. By commenting on other people's blogs, you become a part of the discussion, build credibility, demonstrate your passion for your area of expertise, and create visibility. You can find blogs relevant to your profession, industry, and areas of knowledge by setting up Google Alerts on key words in your field.
2. Set up some business networking profiles. On-line networking sites help you connect to a lot of people, 24/7, all over the world. They offer certain efficiencies that can't be duplicated in the non-virtual world, and while on-line networking should not be seen as a replacement to in-person networking, it is certainly an excellent add-on that every job seeker should take notice of. Linked In is great for business networking. Spoke, Ecademy, and Xing, are other sites that can add value to your business networking strategy.
3. Build on-line identity through others. Zoom Info, Naymz, and Ziggs allow you to create professional profiles and bios and upload a photo. Ziggs even has a feature where you can answer certain interview-like questions and post your responses.

What have your experiences been with building your professional identity on-line? What works best for you and which groups or strategies give you the most personal satisfaction? Let us know.

Free Personal Branding Summit, Thursday, November 8

Tomorrow is the "lollapalooza" event of the personal branding world. Over two dozen branding experts will share a wealth of information on branding strategies for businesses and job seekers via an all day teleconference and it's absolutely free!

Topics of interest for job seekers include:

• Branding Your Resume, Bio, or CV
• Building Your Online Brand for Career Distinction
• Brand, Networking, and Communication
• Changing Careers to Pursue Your Authentic Personal Brand
• Using Personal Branding to Take Your Job Search From Zero to 60
  

To view a quick schedule and register click here.

Does Your Resume Pass the Hiring Manager's 30 Second Test (Part 2)

THE CREATIVE WRITING TEST Strategies for Showcasing Your Personal Brand

Create a professional identity

A professional identity is not the same as a job title. The professional identify conveys your personal brand and the scope of your responsibilities through a few targeted words. When placed in bold near the top of your resume, your identity calls attention to your candidacy much the same way that a catchy headline on the front page of a newspaper grabs the attention of the reader.

Offer a mission statement or personal quote

What are your goals and dreams and how successful have you been at attaining these objectives in different business environments? Share your value proposition with your reader to build rapport and establish a connection between your successes and the goals of the company.

Discuss business environments

Have you worked in particular business environments that have helped shape your brand? Were your achievements focused in a turnaround, high-growth, or international environment? Have you worked across several businesses or across multiple industries? This may very well be part of your value add and it is certainly information that will gain your reader’s attention and encourage them to read on.

Name drop

As a hiring manager scans your resume, he will be quickly looking at the companies you have worked for. If you have worked for several Fortune 1,000 or fast-growing start-ups and your association with these firms is part of your brand, add the company names to your headline to build credibility and interest in your candidacy. If you have worked for lesser known companies, but held account responsibilities for well-known firms, showcase the names of your clients if this is not considered proprietary information.

Add a testimonial

One great way to build authenticity into your profile is to showcase a quote from a senior executive or customer. Content for these testimonials can be found through a variety of sources including performance reviews, 360 assessments, and customer satisfaction surveys.

Part 3 will be posted tomorrow!

Wanted: Companies With Strong Employer Brands

Personal branding has become a hot topic among savvy job seekers over the past few years. Organizations with forward-thinking recruiting strategies are now applying the concepts of personal branding to attract top talent and many marketing experts including Seth Godin have blogged on how to market a job opportunity.

Ultimately, employers want to create an employer value proposition (EVP) that is so strong that the employer becomes a magnet employer. Rob O'Keefe of TMP Worldwide, a leading recruitment advertising agency,blogs about how to become an employer of choice; one where everyone knows their employment brand and many want to work for the organization.

O'Keefe suggests that creating a compelling employer brand proposition is critical to attracting top talent and appealing to both active and passive job seekers. And it seems quite likely that employers who create a strong employment brand will have a captive audience. According to a 2005 Conference Board Study, over 50% of the workforce is unhappy in their current job. This presents an enormous opportunity for companies to position themselves as the employer of choice and garner exceptional new talent in the process.

In their book Talent Force, authors Rusty Rueff and Hank Stringer refer to a company's website as their virtual lobby. The virtual lobby is a good indicator of the company's employer brand.

When a prospective candidate comes to a company’s website and submits a resume online, what type of response do they receive? Is the message welcoming, does it say we will call you if something comes up, or is there no reply at all? According to the authors, many corporate websites ask for a great deal of personal information as part of the job application process. Companies with this type of interface lose 98% of their visitors before capturing any information about them and most never return. Instead of making the process cumbersome and invasive by asking for a resume, the authors recommend that employers simply invite candidates in, allow them to remain anonymous, and ask for minimal information. If they acquire just a first name, email address, and area of interest, they can begin to establish a relationship with the candidate and they can engage with them on their terms.

So what does all this mean to the job seeker? By targeting companies that present a strong employer brand, you are more likely to find the culture that speaks to your values and future career aspirations. By studying company websites and career portals, you can determine if an employer has a strong employer brand and one that matches your employment expectations.