Personal Branding - Your Key to Career Success

Most people have this notion of branding as limited only to companies and business. However, the concept of branding can also apply to people. In fact, the most successful individuals in this world make full use of personal brands in order to promote themselves and advance in their careers.

In the context of personal branding, it simply means that you develop an image that you constantly maintain in front of your employers. This is the image that most employers will look at when you apply for a job, and what your former employers will tell their colleagues when they are asked for references about your work character.

Personal branding is awfully important if you are looking at building a career out of your field of expertise. With a solid personal brand backing you up, applying for jobs in reputable companies would be a breeze. This type of branding is what sets other job seekers apart from each other. This is the answer to the question as to why one of two equally qualified job seekers was accepted into the position while the other was not.

How to Build Your Personal Brand

Unlike commercial branding, acquiring a personal brand takes a bit more time, but it's okay; there are no hurries. In fact, in building a personal brand, it's better to have spent a lot of time building your skills because you have something to back your application up, which is what a brand is all about.

The first step to building a brand is to acquire a lot of skills related to your career path. This means that, when you are working at a job, do your best to grow your skills and be noticed by your superiors. This doesn't mean you aggressively brag about yourself; instead, you just concentrate on doing your job and make special efforts to improve yourself in parts where deficiencies have been detected in your job performance.

It can also help you to challenge yourself at your job. Take some of the more difficult jobs so that you won't succumb to mediocrity and monotony. This is also a preparation for you just in case you're advanced and would have to take those jobs and responsibilities. It doesn't help to be ready after all. If there is training available for advancement, don't hesitate to take the opportunity as well.

The workplace is not the only place to gain experience. You have to consider reaching into new horizons as well. Nowadays, there are websites that offer freelancing options for those who want to earn extra and gain new experiences that will not otherwise be attained in the office.

Last but not the least, list down all your accomplishments related to your field when you are applying for new jobs. The resume or curriculum vitae is what employers look at when gauging the eligibility of job applicants. Make sure that you list down all the things that make you qualified for the job including job experience (both in and outside the workplace), educational attainment, and special skills.

Jim Rogers is a uk based designer and illustrator and has been been working for Orb Creative, a Birmingham graphic design and branding agency for over two years.

3 Keys to Personal Branding For Fast Resume Results

You may have followed all the "right" advice on resume writing, and added industry keywords, certifications, tool sets, and the like. However, if you're not being called for interviews, you may want to consider tapping into the power of soft skills to demonstrate your brand on your resume.

After all, most employers may state that they're looking for certain core competencies and skills, but what they REALLY hire are personalities and work styles--which are exemplified by your brand.

If you have a hard time believing this, consider for a minute whether any business will succeed--even with a highly qualified staff--if the employees cannot successfully interface with co-workers or customers.

If your background includes the ability to build teams, interface with executives, communicate with stakeholders, and generate a loyal following among clients and colleagues, these are valuable credentials that WILL interest employers during your job search.

Taking it a step further, if you intend to advance into a leadership role, this leap must be made first on your resume--where you can show business acumen and motivational skill as well as more "technical" qualifications.

Here are some recommendations to enhance your resume brand with soft skills--and generate added interest by adding more than just keywords:

1 - Highlight Your Communication Style.

As a former recruiter at a consulting firm, my hiring practices were centered around finding candidates that I could easily present to a potential client. The company was intent on building a talent pool that possessed diplomacy, resourcefulness, and the ability to skillfully handle a dialogue with other businesspeople.

Here's the interesting part: we had a much harder time finding these "people skills" than we did technical abilities!

My point is this - if you can communicate the details of complex business solutions, motivate others, or build consensus, you should be aware that these are rare qualities sought after by employers.

By all means, trumpet these brand elements on your resume for all the world to see.

2 - Emphasize Your Leadership Role.

Many professionals focus on certifications, MBAs, and other credentials that will seemingly land a top job. However, a true leader can also be defined as one who successfully handles pivotal moments such as executive collaborations, discussions with stakeholders, professional development for junior staff, and crisis situations.

Think carefully of the experiences you have had when communicating with others, both inside and outside of your department. Do others frequently approach you for solutions or to explain ideas they didn't understand from interdepartmental meetings?

Are you relied upon to smooth over rough situations when clients have demanded seemingly endless accommodations?

Successfully managing expectations to promote the work of your team is a great idea. An even better one is to showcase these skills on your resume.

Skip the overused phrase "team player" and promote your talent with a full description of how your brand affects the success of projects--especially if you frequently take on challenges that surpass your job title.

Consider adding a description of your capabilities beyond the technical, as demonstrated by this passage from a professional resume profile summary:

"Recognized for clear, decisive actions credited with improving business performance, encouraging intense collaboration among executive teams, and implementing emerging technologies to corporations in the transportation, energy, and financial industries."

3 - Showcase Your Reputation.

Some professionals become the do-it-all resource, taking projects from inception to fruition with a big-picture understanding of requirements and deliverables. Others handle duties far beyond their job descriptions, perhaps because of their ability to roll up their sleeves and dig into new challenges.

If any of this sounds like your background, these soft skills may be the key to a powerful resume and personal brand. Do you:

- Rise to the occasion, no matter what the scenario?
- Resolve problems even in the face of heated debate?
- Quickly address and eliminate your company's competition?

If your success stories are stronger when told in-person than on paper, then it's time to boost your success rate! Take credit for your natural aptitude and highlight those people skills prominently.

Consider the following example from the resume of a versatile CFO and operations director:

"Hands-on financial officer known for deliberate and focused approach, with frequent accolades for limiting risk, creating lean teams, and collaborating with external groups including investors, banks, LPs, underwriters, attorneys, and tax advisers."

In summary, remember that your professionalism can be an asset equal to that of your technical expertise. Employers need well-rounded executive and professional leaders in many roles, even those thought to be the "back-office" operations.

The more articulate your can be on your resume with regard to soft skills, the better brand pitch you can make to a hiring manager. Your personal style and soft skills--as demonstrated by your unique brand--could well be your best selling point for that new career move.

A published and credentialed resume authority, Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CIC partners with executive leaders to open doors to top corporate jobs through powerful resume branding. The principal of An Expert Resume and the National Resumes Examiner, her work has been recognized with high-profile, global nominations for excellence in the careers industry.

Personal Branding Tips Using Social Media

There are many ways by which you can build your personal brand online. One of the most popular ways is through the use of social media. This is because social media serves as an effective way to manage the reputation of online brands. Because all the content and comments on most blogs and online articles are open to the public, most online entrepreneurs find that social media serves as a great tool to keep them updated on what is being said about their products and their brands in the market place and also gives them the opportunity to counter it. This not only eliminates the chance of any bad publicity, it also indicates to your target audience that you are a hands-on personal brand and not a faceless corporation. Listed below are some of the other most popular ways social media are used to enhance personal branding.

Social Media can be used to build a solid network online. Networking and getting to know your competitors and customers is crucial to the success of any personal brand. Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and even sites like LinkedIn are ideal ways to network online. You could join a Facebook community that is based on the product or service you provide and get to know other members, what their thoughts are on the product, what they want to be improved and so on. This not only increases the credibility of your brand with peers and customers, it also increases your brand recall among a very specific part of your target market.

Launching an integrated campaign across various social media is a great way to target a specific kind of online traffic and by doing this, get significant and genuine traffic passing through your website and potentially buying your product. Most people online have accounts on social networks like Facebook and on networks like Twitter and MySpace as well. By being present on all the social networks they frequent, you present yourself as a serious contender within your market space and also increase brand recognition and recall.

Other classic ways to use social media to your advantage include writing articles for online magazines that are based on your product category and suggesting that readers visit your website for further information. Provided the content you offer is relevant and informative to your target audience, you and your personal brand will be seen as experts in your field and the go-to brand for any and all needs surrounding the product category.

Ms. Darlene Wood is an internet marketer living in Arizona with her daughter, four cats, three dogs and a snake (yikes!). She is creator of Mad Skills Marketing LLC and spends her days helping entrepreneurs create fun and highly profitable businesses. http://www.MeetDarlene.WordPress.com