Branding Beyond your Resume
Including personal branding in your resume is a great first step, but it shouldn’t be your last. To make an effective personal brand, it’s integral to have consistency across your resume, LinkedIn, website, and any other asset associated with your job search.
Basic Guidelines on Personal Brand Consistency
Use the same photo across your profiles. Any profile you use in your job hunt should have the same photo, including your LinkedIn and personal email. This not only makes it easy for hiring managers and recruiters to know that they have the right person, but also to better remember you!
Integrate your brand into your website or portfolio. While this can be highly dependent on your chosen asset, try to get some form of your professional summary into your website or portfolio. If you are a creative, utilizing a web format that complements your resume’s format works to create a consistent experience for hiring managers.
Know what your name pulls up in an internet search. You never want to be surprised by what a quick google of your name could divulge to a hiring manager. Knowing beforehand what a search pulls up means you can potentially get something taken down or perform damage control, if needed. Your LinkedIn page and portfolio (if applicable) should also preferably come up easily in this search.
Be purposeful with your social media. If you use certain social channels to share artwork, cool projects, interact with other professionals, or even as a side hustle, it might be appropriate to share your profile on your LinkedIn or resume. On the other hand, if your social channels are less professional, make them hard to find. Quick tip – Facebook even has a setting where you can choose whether you want outside search engines to link to your page.
Building your Personal Brand into LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a key component in building up your personal brand. Your LinkedIn should complement and even add to your resume.
Compose a more robust version of your professional summary in LinkedIn’s ‘About’ area. This is your chance to build upon the branding you built in your resume and really flesh it out. Generally, only the first three lines of your summary will show up on LinkedIn, so it’s important to hook people with your first few lines so they read more.
Include keywords associated with the roles you are targeting in your profile. Many recruiters use keyword-rich Boolean strings when sourcing potential candidates. Centering your profile around certain keywords can help your profile pop up when that recruiter goes looking. Think of it like your own personal LinkedIn search engine optimization!
Create a strong professional headline on your LinkedIn. Optimize your headline by targeting your brand keywords in this 120-character headline. Don’t be afraid to make the headline work for you. If you are a creative, show some artistic flair. If you are targeting a higher-level role, make the title what you are aspiring to.
Ensure your LinkedIn photo is high-quality and not too casual. Simply having a picture on your LinkedIn can mean 21x more profile views and 9x more connection requests. A good picture of just yourself can lend credibility to your profile and make it easier for people to connect with you. Your picture doesn’t have to be professionally done; it could be as simple as you against a basic background in natural light. If possible, have your clothing reflect the job you want. In tech, that may be more casual. If you’re after an executive position, a suit may be more appropriate.
Share content that connects to your personal brand regularly. This helps you stay in front of your LinkedIn connections, demonstrates you’re proactive in staying up-to-date in your industry, and is an avenue to show even more of your personality. Your activity on LinkedIn affects more than your newsfeed, it’s also a large part of your profile and is shown even before your ‘Experience’ section. Make it count!
Ask for recommendations. A recent testimonial touting your great work creates social proof that helps back up your claims of being a stellar employee!
Building your brand will help with more than just your job search – it can help you clarify your career goals, determine your next steps professionally, or simply polish how you introduce yourself at your next networking happy hour. If you’re confused about how to define your brand, we explain the basics of making a personal brand for the job hunt here.
Are you ready to put your fresh minted personal brand to good use? Take a peek at our Jobs page, where your next great opportunity could be waiting for you.