• Promote your reputation and experience (i.e your personal brand)

  • If you have worked in a sector for many years, you’ll likely have a lot of experience, examples and references to share with employers. If not, it’s a good idea to think about how you can build this, to enhance your reputation.

  • This goes way beyond your CV. Your personality, experience, skillset and reputation create your ‘personal brand’. It’s a combination of how you act, what employers and colleagues think about you, the quality of your work and expertise. For example, are you reliable? Do you always complete the tasks you say you will? Are you helpful and collaborative? Do people seek your advice because they value your knowledge?

     

    The importance of personal branding has skyrocketed over the last few years and is set to continue in 2023. It’s not just for influencers, big personalities or businesses on social media. Personal branding is not promoting the company you work for; it’s promoting yourself and your skillset.

     

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    “Your personal brand…is the intellectual, visual and emotional experience people have when they think of you,” Jenni Flinders, a former Microsoft Executive, says in her ‘Own your personal brand’ Tedx Talk. “It would be [a person’s] summary of you in their mind, in an unspoken instance.”

     

     

    “Your personal brand can be so powerful and impactful; it can sell you, differentiate you, and set you apart from others,” Jenni continues. “You need to ask yourself: is the personal brand that I have…today the most accurate and impactful one for me?”

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    Before you start your job search

     

    Think about what you want to be known for and what makes you stand out from the crowd. What are your strengths and how can you use these to help businesses improve their customer experience and productivity?

     

    Below are four simple steps to help you craft your personal brand.

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    STEP 1

    Think about who you are as a person

     

    This might sound strange, but how well do you really know yourself. In this ever changing, fast moving world, many of us don’t take the time to reflect and focus on ourselves.

     

    Activity

    Write down the answers to some of these questions:

    • What am I good at?
    • What do I struggle with?
    • What do people compliment me on?
    • What motivates me?

    If answers to these questions don’t come easy, ask your family, friends and work colleagues. Once you have a picture of your traits and how people perceive you, you can start projecting this image of yourself.

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    STEP 2

    Consider what you want to be known for

     

    Think about your values, what’s important to you in your life? If you value family, but are working 60-70 hour weeks, it’s clear that one of your values do not align with your working lifestyle. Consider also, what inspires you and how you can inspire others.

     

    Activity

    Think about the industry you’re working in or want to work in, and answer the following questions:

    • Who in this industry or specialism do you admire and why?
    • What knowledge do you need, to be successful?
    • What habits do you need to develop, to grow your knowledge and skills? Research shows that habits take 21 days to become normal behaviour.
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    STEP 3

    Find your niche or specialised skill

     

    You can add most value to an employer if you have a particular skillset that is sought after. Think about promoting one of your biggest strengths or skills that can solve a problem. A well defined niche can help you take command of your industry or profession, and set you apart from other people performing the same job.

     

    Activity

    Discover what will make you the go to person in your industry and answer the following:

    • What do you know that colleagues in your field don’t?
    • What problems can your skill/s solve?
    • What training / courses can you complete to develop your skills and knowledge?
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    STEP 4

    Update your LinkedIn profile

     

    Eight people are hired every minute through LinkedIn, 72% of recruiters use it when hiring and 52m people search for jobs every week.


    In a sea of job seekers, an up-to-date profile is more likely to stand out. When was the last time you updated yours?

     

    Activity

    Update your profile with the below tips:

    • Slimdown your achievements and stick to the facts
    • Highlight the results of your work instead of the tasks
    • Post regularly – once a day will get you into the top 10% of users
    • Use a powerful subject line to draw people in
    • Use hashtags when posting to help your content be found. Three are the optimum.
    • Seek recommendations - these will provide employers with evidence of achievements.
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    STEP 5

    Review your social media

     

    Before letting recruiters and employers know you’re open to new jobs, it’s worth conducting an audit of your social media accounts. Employers will often look at a job seekers’ social media accounts when narrowing down candidates.

     

    Activity

    Make sure there’s nothing on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat etc. that you wouldn’t want potential employers to stumble across.

     

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