Your Professional Brand

 Personal vs. Professional Branding

There may not be much difference between personal and professional branding, but from my perspective, your professional brand is what matters to a potential employer, networking contact, or anyone who can help you find a job or grow your career. It's more than a case of making sure your personal brand reflects who are as a person. It's also making sure that the information available about you online is visible, available, and relevant - to where you are in your career and where you want to go next.


Keep Your Personal Life Private

You can still have personal information on the web. Just make sure that it's only available to the people you want to see it. Use this Job Search Internet Checklist to ensure that employers are finding what you want them to find, and what they are viewing is appropriate.


How to Build Your Professional Brand

Once you've made sure that your personal information is only viewable by who you want to see it, start building your professional brand. This will serve a couple of purposes. In addition to being information that showcases your talents for potential employers, it's also information that, if created properly, will bump the not-so-good stuff down the list in Google. That way, any prospective employer who Googles you, should see what you want them to see - your professional branding.


Professional Branding Tools

JibberJobber - Use JibberJobber to keep track of those networking contacts and keep a log of how they have helped you.
LinkedIn - Create a LinkedIn profile and start connecting. Ask and answer LinkedIn questions to increase your visibility.
VisualCV - Create a VisualCV to share with contacts and prospective employers.
Write a Blog - I know everyone, almost literally, has a blog these days. However, a well-written blog focused on your area of expertise is another good addition to your professional branding package.
Create a Presence - Comment on other people's blogs, write some articles, go to industry meetings, conventions, and events, and make contacts in your field. Be sure that all your endeavors are focused and relevant to both your skills and your career goals.
Build a Web Site - Consider a web site to create and showcase your brand. Many web hosting services have built in web building tools and it's quick and easy to build a site that reflects your professional presence.
Get Your Name Out There - Try to meet, either online or in-person, the important people in your field. Send them an email or a message via their web site or networking profile. Over the years, I've met lots of the important people in the world of job searching and careers, many of them because I sent them a quick email introducing myself or vice versa.
Volunteer - If you have time and if there's a way to volunteer in a capacity where you can use your skills and expertise, volunteering is another way to gain exposure as an expert in your career field. It's a good resume building tool, as well.