Are you facing a job search? Or are you already in the middle of one, at an impasse, and anxious to get it behind you and get to the serenity of a great new career opportunity?
It’s time to get on the brand wagon and get it working for you and moving you in the right direction.
The job search process can be discouraging and depressing, fraught with rejections and letdowns. It can cause you to doubt that you have any real value in the marketplace.
If you get lost in the shuffle of so many others competing for the same jobs, how will you ever land? Everyone wants (and needs) to stand out in a job search. Branding is the best way to do that.
“Branding is the Ultimate Differentiator”
I say this a lot, because it encapsulates the inherent value of branding. Branding is an exciting approach to differentiating yourself from the competition. It also jazzes you up and helps you deal with job search better.
What’s so great about branding is that it sends a clear, consistent message about who you are and what you have to offer. A strong, authentic personal brand helps you become known for what you’re good at. It sets you apart from everyone else and can position you as a niche expert.
Creating a personal brand statement instills comfort and confidence in who you are and what sets you apart. Fortify your job search efforts with a clarified understanding of yourself.
Authenticate Your Brand
Get started on your brand statement by canvassing the people around you – at work and in your personal life. The true measure of your brand finds a voice in what others have to say about you. Ask them what they see as your greatest strengths and positive qualities – the things they rely on you for and consistently come to you for.
I briefly touched on this practice in an earlier blog post: Tune Into the True Measure of Your Brand
It can be difficult to ask people to tell you how wonderful you are, but this is the only real way to assess how you come across. I think you’ll be surprised by how willing they are to help. You should see consistencies in their feedback and be able to reach a consensus in defining your key brand attributes.
Doing the work to craft your brand statement forces you to pinpoint with utmost clarity your authentic self. It reinforces the things you’re good at. No one else has your unique combination of strengths, personal qualities, and brand attributes, so no one else can claim your exact brand statement.
What a boost that can give you, moving you closer to serenity, just when you need it most – when you’re mired in a protracted, defeating job search.
Make Your Job Search Work Better
Navigate your job search armed with your unique brand and you’re working from a position of power. You know who you are, the value proposition you offer, and what you can do for your next employer.
Don’t forget to pop your personal brand statement into the very top of your executive resume. Let your true value be immediately and abundantly clear to recruiters and hiring decision makers considering you.
Branding breathes life into an otherwise flat document and into your job search. What a vivid way to generate interest in yourself. And the more interest you generate, the faster you’re likely to land where you want to be, at or above the level of compensation you’re looking for.
When your resume is branded, it’s much more likely to compel the reader to want to meet you than a standard, boring resume. A well-crafted, branded resume will hold the readers’ attention and help them see whether you’re a good fit for their company.
Doesn’t it make sense that the chemistry you create with personal branding will attract people to you and draw them in?
