Sometimes, all that is keeping you out of a c-level career is your online brand. Other times, it is your resume. Often, it is both!
If it has been years since you tried to find another position, you need to understand that things have really changed. You may be great at the face-to-face networking that is an essential asset, but online social networking might not be high on your list of things to do. This is a mistake, because today, the people who are vetting job candidates are looking online. If you do not have a strong presence, you aren’t on their radar.
Why, some ask, would a c-level executive professional decide to hire someone else to write a resume or develop an online brand? Wouldn’t the fact they are capable of planning the strategic infrastructure of a Fortune 500 company and negotiate multi-million dollar partnerships mean they can do this themselves? Leadership professionals usually will rely on a professional resume writer and other professional services because they are used to outsourcing tasks that require high levels of expertise. There’s a skill to the complexity of assessing career progression and leveraging data to create a personal marketing campaign. Only the highest quality of a complete Executive Resume Package yields results by positioning you to get the job you want.
For many of those who have busy working in their current positions and not paying attention to the new demands in the job market, it’s good to add the discounted Executive Recruiter Distribution or Online Branding Power Package. Whether or not you need them can be determined during the initial consultation — an hour of strategic consultation that includes discussing branding.
“Branding” has become a buzzword, one that is losing meaning for many people tired of hearing it.That doesn’t change the importance of what “branding” actually is: your reputation.
It’s all the little pieces of information someone has about you wrapped up in their perceptions about that information. It’s important because it directly affects your career. Your reputation can get you the job or get you on the “do not call” list. People’s understanding of who you are can get you promoted or get you fired. With the internet and social media, there’s just a lot more information out there to be aware of. Who you are, the choices you make and the way you do your job are part of your brand even though it happens off-line. Think of it as being the spokesperson for your personal brand. The best way to deepen relationships is to face time, and it happens best when you are not on a screen (although videoconferencing is becoming a popular substitute, it doesn’t work for everything). So step away from the computer and go to workshops and seminars. Do the volunteer community service. This gives a huge chunk of information to your branding because it is as big as you are.
Online, your brand is also made up of pieces of information. You have control over most of them if you are diligent about privacy settings, security, and consistent postings. Many are even choosing to have their own site with their name.com in order to be first in a search. LinkedIn profile and online branding development is so important that you should invest in research and possibly coaching to make sure your online brand is professional and current. Your brand is not just the history of who you are.Your brand is the hope of who you aim to be. It’s your reputation and your potential all in one package, and you can choose what that looks like.
Online Branding: Why You Should Do It Before You Need It
Nowadays, the most successful marketing campaigns are those that extend beyond traditional forms of marketing (print, radio, even TV) and into internet and online marketing and branding. The same is true about personal branding. In order to have the most successful marketing of yourself, you need to focus a lot on branding yourself online. And you need to make sure that your “campaign” is up and running long before you are ever contacted for a job. Having an established online profile of yourself before you need it will not only ease the stress of creating a phenomenal online branding for yourself, but will also show potential employers that you are at the top of your game and a step above other potential candidates. If the idea of branding yourself online is stressful or overwhelming, then just start small. Start with a LinkedIn profile. This will give you the perfect start to branding yourself online. It is simple and professional and is the networking that most businesses use.
On your profile, make sure to include these things in order to ensure the most effective branding:
Show your expertise as much as possible
Publicize your successes and achievements
Make sure you are easy for potential employers to contact (phone number, email, other forms of communication)
These things are easy to do and they will make your profile, and thus yourself, look impressive and professional. Of course none of this will do you any good if it is not established on your personal branding sites before you look for a job or are contacted about a job. It is easy enough to do so why not jump the gun and be one step ahead of your competition?
Personal branding is, in the simplest definition, the way you market yourself. It is the way the world, and potential employers, view you. And if used correctly, your personal brand can land you that job. Since your personal brand is the first impression that employers can get from you, you need to ensure that it is creating the impression that will represent you in a way that gets you a job. This means it needs to be professional. Whatever you say, write, or do, that is linked to your professional brand needs to be professional so that you can avoid embarrassment and avoid losing those important job opportunities. Think about what you want to present and make sure that everything you put out reflects that. Be careful that when you are making a professional brand you don’t make it boring or impersonal. It is still your brand. Let potential employers know who you are. They are not looking to hire a robot. They are looking to hire a person with whom they can work every single day. Let them know you can be that person. In order to ensure that your brand is seen and recognized by employers you need to spread it far and wide. Put your name out there. Put it on Facebook, put it on Twitter, put it on Tumblr, put it on LinkedIn, start a blog. Do all these things and advertise them on all the other sites you are a part of. Make it easy for potential employers to find you. These are fairly simple things to do, but they do take some time and careful planning. If you are willing to put in the time and effort, then you will be able to create a personal brand that will land you that job you want.
Since a lot of businesses now use the internet to check potential employees, it’s very important to know what your personal brand says about you. So, how do you do that.
For starters, search for your own name on Google to see what comes up about you. Sometimes, there will even be other people with the same name so you need to make sure you know which searches are relevant to you.
Google will find you especially if you have any Google accounts such as email, Google Voice or Google plus. Additionally, make sure your social networking pages are more professional than casual. Be careful of the things you post on networking sites. You don’t want it coming back to bite you, and it will if you aren’t careful. It doesn’t matter what others are posting on their own sites, but if you are trying to build a brand, yours needs to be more professional than that. Register for online forums that are relevant to your type of skills so that you can build your personal brand better. Forums are an excellent way to find business relationships and information. The more you keep your presence alive on the internet, the easier it will be for potential employers to find you and to become acquainted with who you are. Last, but not least, tailor your resume so that it details all the relevant skills you have and your expertise. Once that is done, post your resume in as many places as possible on the Internet. Before long, you will have built a professional brand that others will contact you instead of you always having to seek job positions.
There was a time when job seekers only had to be concerned about background and reference checks. That seemed intrusive enough. Now comes along social media and the possible damage it can do to your job search.
Almost everyone is on social media sites now, which is great. People can connect now like they never have before. But, here is a big BUT, potential employers can see this as well during the hiring process. When building a personal brand, this will all become a part of that brand as well.
Potential employers will do a Gooogle search of your name to find out more about you. This is not illegal and is becoming more popular with employers. This is an excellent way for them to really know who they are interviewing.
Some things you can do to prevent your personal life from spilling into the interview process is:
Remove anything on social media sites that may not picture you in a good light. Photos, comments and personal views. You can set your profile to private so they will only see basic information about you. It might not be a good idea if they see you with a drink in your hand in a bar or something.
Update all business social media sites with an updated resume, pertinent business information and a tasteful photo.
Do not use silly email addresses like “want2chat” or “prowler” or something to that effect. You will want an email address that is much more professional.
Do the same type of search on potential employers. Use sites like LinkedIn to see what type of business they are, what they are talking about and who works there. This gives you excellent leverage during the interview process as they will be impressed with your questions and statements about the company. They will know you have done your homework.
If you are not sure what is going to pop up about you or how to prevent it, there are always companies that can help you clean your act up. They can search through a lot of venues to make sure that nothing embarrassing will affect your job search.
With all the new technology available on the Internet today, there is absolutely no reason anyone should simply stop once a resume has been completed and sent. There is a wide world of other venues just waiting for you to use them to market your personal brand. Blogging is only part of it. Some may think blogging and job searches are two different things. They are, but they aren’t. There has never been a better time to be able to talk to people, to get the word out about you and your skills than blogging.
Build a blog site that highlights your job skills and your previous jobs. Talk about something every day. Add links to your resume and use the social networks to retweet or repost your site. There are numerous job boards for you to use to post your resume, whether it’s an executive resume, professional or entry level. And there are people who will retweet your blog post so others can see it. Before long, you have reached thousands of people. Before, you would have sent it to only a few. So, what’s smarter? Twitter has a very easy way to help individuals with their blog posts and to be able to integrate both together. Facebook does as well, and LinkedIn too.
Now, you can increase your visibility and get more options available to you during your job search. Take a chance and see how much fun it is and how much it will help at the same time.
Before you send your next resume out, give blogging and social media sites a try. You just may have more opportunities than you originally thought.
Hate to keep harping on your Social Media presence, but it’s one of the most important things to look at during your job search. Many job applicants think that Social Media is all fun and games, and while it certainly has those aspects, it’s also a great tool to showcase yourself. However, putting forth the wrong image could cost you dearly.
Do you think HR Managers are not Googling your name, Facebook stalking you or reviewing your LinkedIn profile? If you answered “no”, you’re absolutely wrong. Think of the first thing you do when you meet someone new…you take a look at their online profile. Nothing wrong with that, the information is there for anyone to see. So, why would that stop HR Managers from checking up on prospective employees?
It doesn’t. HR Managers look at everything and if you have one embarrassing, drunken photo on your Facebook wall, they will see it and judge you accordingly. No one said it was fair, but that public photo is fair game.
So, how do you compete in the Social Media space? What can you do to pump up your online presence without destroying your good social standing? Find out below: 1. Allow access to only certain people:
Facebook allows you to block access to people who are not your friends and even filter out your posts, links and other media. LinkedIn only gives access to people who request it. Keeping your account setting private means you are insulated and safe from prying eyes of HR Managers. 2. Update your profile pictures in order to keep a professional appearance:
When you’re looking for a job, one of the first things people see when they Google you are your Social Media photos. What are you doing in yours? Are you wolfing down a piece of cake with chocolate covering your face or are you dressed in a nice suit, showing your finest business attire? You think people don’t look at this, but you’re absolutely wrong. They place a huge amount of consideration into how you present yourself. Present the wrong image and you’re finished. 3. Update your work history:
Make it known on Social Media sites that you are actively looking for employment. You would be surprised with the amount of people who will come forward with job tips, advice or just general care. Updating your work history also opens up avenues for future employment because HR Managers can see your list of skills, accomplishments and awards. HR Managers are looking over your LinkedIn profile, so take pride in it. 4. Add more friends:
This is especially true for LinkedIn. See a job you want, look up someone who works for the company and see if you have a secondary connection with them. If so, ask your friend to introduce you to his/her colleague and begin talking about the open position.
Pumping up your Social Media presence is all about making yourself available and putting your best foot forward. It’s not hard, you just have to craft the right image. The better you present yourself and your skills in Social Media venues, the better off you will be.
