In Part 1 of this series, we covered the first steps to creating your personal brand. Thinking about the image you want to present to professional contacts is crucial to long term networking and job success. People are always trying to find out who someone is, what they stand for and what they are able to do. Your personal brand allows you to answer those questions in a well thought out and well presented package. We all have a brand, whether we realize it or not, and taking control of yours is one of the best ways to show a potential employer why you are someone they can't afford not to hire.
Here are the next steps in creating your personal brand:
- Attend as many professional event or industry conferences as you can- It doesn't matter if it is a job fair, a charity fundraiser or an industry event, whenever you have a chance to go and network with other professionals, both in and out of your industry, don't pass it up. It is a good idea, depending on the type of function, to take pictures (or be close to any media photographer who may be covering the event). Take pictures of yourself with influential people in your industry or community. Be sure to be on your most professional behavior and that everything you do supports the image you decided on. Pass out business cards with your contact information along with you website or blog link and links to your social networking sites. Invite people whom you chat with to add you to their Linkedin or ask if you can follow them on Twitter. By doing this, you will be able to add some wonderful contacts to your professional network. You will also want to write an article about the event and post the photos on your blog or website. This will make it clear to anyone looking at your site that you are someone who is motivated, well connected and able to handle themselves in a professional environment.
- Get rid of any bad things your find about yourself online- If, during your Google search, you find things that you would rather not be made public or that don't represent your brand, try to get rid of them. If they are accounts you have on other sites, delete them. If it is your Netflix account or Amazon wish list, try changing the user name and email address associated with the accounts. This is where having a common name can be a blessing. When you changed your name in step two, you lowered the odds of anyone connecting this Jane Smith with the professional Jane Harmon-Smith. There are some things that may be online that you have no control over. If you can't get it removed, be sure to keep active with the blog, website and/or the social networking profiles you created in step 3 and 4. This will help move those negative search results further down the list - hopefully to page 130. Most people won't look past the first two or three pages of search results.
Keep in mind that you are the product you are selling. Everything you do in the public realm effects the value of your product. When you design your image, you are able to have a clear map to where you want to go and what qualities you want to project. Remember what the Cheshire Cat said to Alice- “If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
What have you done to create and nurture your personal brand? Let me know in the comments!
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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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