What is your personal brand?

Do you have an answer to this question? If so, can you articulate it in 30 seconds or less?

Don’t worry – most of us would say “no”. Hopefully, we can help with that.

Simply stated, personal branding is how you market yourself. It’s your reputation, your network and what is unique about you.

This concept isn’t new, but never has it been as important as it is now. We’re in a time when companies and hiring managers are inundated with so many resumes, blogs, social media sites and other networks, all of which are fighting for their attention.

Take yourself through these four steps to determine what your brand is.

1. Find it – Take some time to really analyze yourself. We won’t think you’re conceited! Ask what are your values, your personal mission, unique attributes. If you don’t know these things, you certainly can’t show them to other people.
2. Make it – Create your own personal branding toolbox that’s full to the brim with your resume, cover letter, references, portfolio, business cards, a website, blog and social media profiles. You may not need all of these things, but you definitely need some of them to be successful in today’s job market, and they need to be consistent, all sharing the same message in the same style and tone.
3. Talk about it – Start pulling pieces out of your toolbox to let people know you exist. Do this by attending professional networking events, writing blog posts, commenting on other people’s posts, writing articles for magazines and media sites, connecting in social networks and sending out copies of your resume and cover letter and posting them online.
4. Keep it going – If you change over the course of your job search, so should your brand. Keep all these elements updated so they accurately represent you.

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