The idea of having a personal brand isn’t just something reserved for Instagram influencers and celebrities. In today’s employment landscape, it’s your advertisement of who you are, your beliefs, and what you bring to the table – far more than can be garnered from your average CV. If you want to move into a new role, consider how your personal brand could influence a potential employer. Here are 10 tips to hone your personal brand before your next job interview.
1. This is no time for modesty
Many people don’t enjoy crowing about their own achievements, but this isn’t a time to be humble. Your personal brand celebrates your knowledge and achievements and is an advertisement for what you can bring to a role. Don’t get bashful when it comes to letting people know who you are. It takes confidence to create a truly reflective personal brand.
2. Discover your USP
The most successful brands in the world all have a unique quality that separates them from the less successful competition – what’s yours? If you’re not sure where to begin, try asking your friends and colleagues where they think your strengths lie. Your USP is likely to be a blend of your technical abilities, experience, soft skills, passions and values.
“What will you bring to this role?”
It’s an incredibly popular interview question and a good way of getting candidates to introduce their personal brands. How would you answer this question?
3. Stay focused
Try as you might, you can’t please everyone all of the time. Author of The Breakthrough Speaker Adam Smiley Poswolsky advises individuals to remain as singular as possible with their brand: “Carve a niche, and then carve a niche within your niche. The best personal brands are very specific.”
The narrower and more focused your brand is, the easier it is for people to remember who you are.
4. Make sure your online presence echoes your personal brand
When’s the last time you updated your LinkedIn profile? Many of us don’t give it a lot of thought until we’re thinking about applying for a new job, then we hop on to tidy it up and make a flurry of comments. Just like you’ll want to hide those drunken pictures from your friend’s hen do on Facebook – unless you’re applying for a job as an 18-30s holiday rep! – then you’ll want to ensure that your LinkedIn profile is current, professional and shows you at your best.
5. Become a leader in your niche
Once you’ve mapped out your brand, it’s time to push yourself into that sphere. You could start by joining relevant social groups and attending events to share your opinions. You could even look at producing your own content, whether it be a blog, video commentary or contributing to a LinkedIn community.
6. Network in your field
Networking events moved online during the global pandemic, but we’re now seeing far more opportunities to get out in person and meet people in the same area of work. The connections that you make at these events can be invaluable and could lead to new opportunities that you hadn’t considered.
7. Find a mentor
In developing your personal brand, you could discover that you’re not quite where you’d like to be in your career. You might choose to reach out to a mentor to help you achieve your goals. A mentor is usually a person who has had success in your chosen field and can offer knowledge, support and encouragement to help you progress. Mentors often choose to help educate others because they understand the value of their wisdom and knowledge and wish to pass it on. You may be in a position to pay it forward someday.
8. Leave your comfort zone behind
Things that are worth doing are rarely quick and easy. Personal branding is an ongoing endeavour, and you might find that you stumble a few times before you get everything right. As long as we learn from our failures, there’s no reason to fear them – it’s just another step on the road to success.
Get help from our experts
Get in touch with Spotlight Recruitment today and let our experts help you find the right role.