CyberFootprint

Paris Hilton, Sean Connery, Seth Godin and Robert Scoble. They are not ordinary people like you and I anymore. They are brands. That’s right, they are branded goods like Coke, Gucci and Victoria’s Secret.  And because of their branding, they made it big.

Fortunately, you can become a brand too, and I speculate that it is going to help you a great deal when looking for a job. Why should it help you? Look at the job market today. It is full of people looking for a job and the companies have a great deal of choice. Personal branding makes you stand out and be remarkable in one way or another.

So what do you need to do to successfully create a personal brand? David Armano offers a perspective in his Brand U.0 presentation.

Know yourself

Personality tests may help you to identify who you really are. MBTI test is one of the most-frequently used ones. Please note the test (linked to above) is just for orientation. Proper tests must be administered by psychologists and followed up on. Of course, it will not help you to become an entirely different person. You are who you are, period. The test can just help you to name your abilities you knew you had but did not know they actually have names.

Define your USP

Unique Selling Proposition tells the employer why exactly should they hire YOU. It is the ultimate selling point in the job selection process. Everything connected to your personal development starts here. Think very carefully about this one, because if you miss the point, costs connected with fixing it are very high.

Be visible

If a personal brand appears and no one notices it, did it really appear? You could debate this question philosophically, but I would say that there is no reason for creating a personal brand without actively marketing yourself. Get out there, network, blog, be active. You can effectively market yourself, you just have to get the right feel for it.

As you will have completed these three easy steps, chances of being hired rise exponentially. The more time and practice you dedicate to it, the better for you. Personal branding looks simplistic now, doesn’t it? In fact, it is quite complicated, but I tried to give you only a gist of the most important things one should know at the beginning. As time will go on, we will look back and help you to tweak various elements of your personal brand.

The next part of the ‘”Job Hunt“ series will be dedicated to starting with resume writing.