Whether you are a seasoned professional, a business owner or just getting started, personal branding for the business professional is essential to your success. Personal branding is establishing yourself as an expert in your field by creating a positive, clear and powerful message. The message is delivered to prospective clients or employers in a variety of ways including blog, LinkedIn, Twitter and brag book.
Here are nine tips for personal branding for the business professional:
- Resume Tip: Take your mailing address off your resume. It’s so 1995. Employers will not hire someone who doesn’t show effort. Take time to learn the latest trends and/or hire a professional resume writer to help you craft a resume to get you the job you want. Remember to update your LinkedIn profile with the most recent version.
- Professional headshots: Get headshots taken and use them on your professional marketing and social media.
Create and use an appropriate email address. CoolDude-at-hotmail may be a great email for your buddies to use but not prospective employers or clients.- Invest in a URL – a domain name – such as your name or area of expertise. I purchased www.annemcauley.com and use [email protected] as my email address. It is simple and professional – and it’s my brand. You can do the same.
- Business cards: Create and have professional business cards printed. Include your professional headshot, name, phone number, email address and relevant links. Relevant links include blog, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
- Create and consistently contribute to a blog speaking about your area of expertise. Illustrate to your readers how you are an expert – don’t tell them. Share best practices, philosophies, resources, tips and how tos.
- LinkedIn is a powerful tool for professionals to establish and share expertise. Whether you know it or not hiring managers and recruiters are scouring this social media platform for new employees. Not only is participating in groups by asking and answering questions important, you must have a profile that gets you noticed – in a good way. Career Expert Jessica Pierce offers additional tips for making the most of your LinkedIn profile. Be careful to avoid highly debatable or contested issues unless related to your area of expertise.
- Twitter is an open network meaning users can follow or be followed by anyone including prospective employers, hiring managers, recruiters, clients and prospective clients. Follow the experts and companies with whom you want to work. Tweet and retweet information relevant to your area of experience or expertise including blog posts and LinkedIn updates to establish your personal brand. As with LinkedIn, avoid hot button topics unless they directly relate to your professional expertise – and even then I recommend tempering the conversation.
- Brag Book: This interview must-have separates you from most other prospective employees. It is filled with professional information about you that may not be included on your resume. Elements of a brag book include a complete DISC Assessment, resume, short bio, letters of recommendation and professional accomplishments. Take out the elements of this book only when the opportunity arises during an interview.
Establishing a personal brand takes time and effort but it’s well worth it when you achieve your desired goal. Whether you’re looking to work at your dream company in a dream job or land a big client or deal, personal branding is a powerful and effective tool for you.
Questions about personal branding for professionals or other topics from our blog? Email [email protected].
McAuley Freelance Writing helps businesses get noticed online through content marketing including blogging, copywriting and social media. We like to say we’re Word Stylists. While celebrity stylists help their clients find their public style with clothes, hair and make-up, we help our clients find their style with words and messaging. Call us at 480-206-6452 to learn more about how we help businesses.
“1. Take your mailing address off your resume. It’s so 1995. Employers will not hire someone who doesn’t show effort.”
Sorry, but that’s pure [curse word removed by blog manager]. Your other 8 tips were great, but this first one is full of [word removed by blog manager]. When it comes to resumes, standards first, trends second. Standards are not the same in each country, and certainly not the same for each industry. Things like contact information, whether to put a photo on the resume or not, is entirely dependent on where you live. In Canada or the US, photos are a no-no, but that is not the case universally across the globe. The same for the address.
While this no-address advice may apply to where YOU live, it should not be your #1 tip. It’s great to follow trends, I’ll give you that, but respect to the due process and standards should always come first.
Thank you for your comments. I like hearing from my readers. Because I work with career transition experts and ghostwrite career transition blogs, I am entrenched in the latest trends which include removing a mailing address in favor of links to a professional blog or LinkedIn profile. I agree in consideration for those outside the US as I do not research job trends in other nations. Your comments are appreciated.
Thank you for this – I often get asked to help people with their resumes and I love that you have already benchmarked best practices. You laid the tips out short and sweet and I do believe you are right…let’s not post our address on our resumes anymore.
Now I’m going to party like it’s 1999. Is that still ok?
LOL! Yes, you can still PARTY like it’s 1999. In fact, I encourage it.