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Have you ever considered developing a personal brand to advance your career?

Though it may not be intuitive, in today’s competitive job market, it’s more important than ever to have a strong personal brand. It’s what sets you apart from the competition (other job seekers, for instance), and it makes you memorable to potential employers. 

When employers are busy interviewing a ridiculous number of candidates, you want to make sure you stand out from the crowd.

Your personal brand can be an excellent way to showcase your skills, experiences, and unique value proposition.

If you’re looking to advance your career, building a strong personal brand is essential. Here are a few tips on how you can get started:

1. Figure Out Who You Are and What You Want to be Known For

The first step to building a strong personal brand is to figure out who you are, what your values are, and what you want to get out of your career. 

What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your passions and interests? What do you want to achieve in your career? 

You may not immediately know the answers to all of these questions, but your career will greatly benefit from having a better understanding of yourself first.

Once you have a good understanding of yourself, you can start to develop a personal brand that reflects your unique qualities.

Psst if you’re not sure what your strengths are, I recommend reading Strengths Finder.

2. Define Your Audience

Once you know who you are, it’s important to define your audience. 

Who are you trying to reach with your personal brand? Are you targeting potential employers, clients, or customers? Is there a particular industry or company that you’re drawn to?

It’s ok if you want to target multiple audiences, but you should have a clearly defined personal brand per segment (i.e. per target audience).

Once you know who your audience is, you can tailor your brand message in a way that’s incredibly compelling.

3. Develop a Brand Message

Your brand message is the core of your personal brand. It’s what you want people to think of when they hear your name or see your face. 

Your brand message should be clear, concise, and memorable. It should also be consistent across all of your materials.

If you’re currently seeking a job, then chances are you can find your brand message somewhere on your resume or CV. You might also call your brand message your objective or your executive summary.

4. Create a Strong Online Presence

In today’s digital age, your online presence is just as important as your offline presence. Make sure your website, social media profiles, and other online channels are up-to-date and reflect your personal brand.

LinkedIn is the go-to social site for job seekers and employers, though it isn’t the only one. Depending on your industry, you might need to keep closer tabs on your other social profiles, or on other job-seeking sites.

Regardless, it’s always a good idea to keep your profiles up to date, and to be sure they look reasonably professional. We’ve all heard the stories of redacted job offers or even dismissals due to questionable social content.

When in doubt, keep it pro and let the rest go.

5. Be Consistent

Consistency is key when it comes to personal branding. Make sure your brand message is consistent across all of your materials and online channels. Your personal brand message should be reflected not only on your resume, but also your social profiles, at least where it makes sense.

You should also be consistent in your behavior and interactions with others. A good rule of thumb is to treat others with respect. You never know when your network may come to help (or haunt) you!

6. Be Yourself

The most important thing to remember when building a personal brand is to be yourself. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be true to yourself and your identity. It’s easy to identify a fake, and faking it is often more harmful than helpful. 

Potential employers are drawn to authenticity. Besides, wouldn’t you rather work for an employer that likes you as you are?

7. Be Patient

Building a strong personal brand takes time and effort. You may not see results overnight, and that’s ok! Give yourself the patience and grace to see it through, even if you feel like there isn’t an immediate benefit.

Be patient and consistent with your efforts, and you will eventually see your personal brand pay off.

8. Get Help

If you’re struggling to build a strong personal brand on your own, there are plenty of resources available. 

There are numerous books, articles, websites, and even personal branding coaches who can help you develop and execute a successful personal branding strategy.

9. Measure Your Results

It’s important to measure the results of your personal branding efforts so you can see what’s working and what’s not. For instance, if you have a website, then you may want to track your website traffic.

Some job search sites allow you to see the number of people that have viewed your resume or online profile. 

Social media sites like LinkedIn can track profile views and other social media metrics. Keep track of the metrics that make sense for you to see how your personal brand is performing.

10. Be Prepared to Adapt

The world of personal branding is constantly changing. What works today may not work tomorrow. Be prepared to adapt your personal brand as needed to stay ahead of the curve.

You may also want to add or remove resources over time. For instance, you may want to maintain a portfolio if you’re seeking work as a writer or a marketer. As your skills develop, you may want to refresh your portfolio to showcase your latest and greatest work.

It’s also a good idea to maintain an up-to-date resume. If it’s been a while since your resume has seen the light of day, then it may be time for a polish.

Building a strong personal brand is an ongoing process. It takes time, effort, and dedication. But if you’re willing to put in the work, your personal brand can truly set you apart from the competition and help you take your career to astonishing new heights.

Think establishing a personal brand to advance your career will FIRE Your Career? Check out the posts page for more ways you can FIRE Your Career.

FIRE Your Career: Achieve Financial Freedom Through Your Career & Spend MORE Time Doing What You Love.

Products I recommend in this article:

Strengths Finder (book to uncover your innate strengths & talents)