“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” — Dr. Seuss
My c-suite and senior-level executive clients work hard with me through my personal branding and job search readiness process.
They’re eager to open up and dig deep so that I can differentiate their unique ROI in their LinkedIn profiles, resumes, biographies, etc., and position them as a great fit for the employers they’re targeting.
They see the value of the process, and are thrilled with the final results of all their hard work – personal marketing materials that get to the meat of who they truly are, and make them stand out and above their competitors.
The vast majority of them understand that branding is more than keywords and descriptions of hard skills.
They know they can’t overlook the “personal” in their personal brand . . . that to generate chemistry, it’s important to communicate their passions, values, personality and how they get things done.
But every once in a while, when reviewing the content I’ve written for him, a client regresses and suddenly fears that he’s being too personal, or coming off as too different. He can’t give himself permission to be authentically “him”.
This is especially true of clients who haven’t been in a job search for many years.
They still want a resume like the one they used in 1998, when hard skills were the sole focus, and “sameness” was the goal.
And they’re uncomfortable using storytelling in their LinkedIn profile content, which is the best way to make a connection with people assessing them through their profile.
They forget, or haven’t fully grasped, that sameness won’t sell them. Differentiation will.
Without true personal branding they’re likely to be lost in a sea of sameness, and face a protracted executive job search.
More Information About Personal Branding and Executive Job Search
Think Like an Executive Resume Branding Pro
What a Personally Branded Executive Resume Does For You
Get Personal With Your Executive Brand Statement
How to Get Your Personal Brand Into Your LinkedIn Profile
Over 50? Is Personal Branding for Boomers, too?
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