Personal Branding A guide to the brand YOU during a job search. Revised June 2017 An ebook Created by, LLC
AUTHOR: Jeff Quandt Jeff Quandt is an inbound & Digital marketing content creator and strategist with his own firm, On-Q Marketing. He focuses on blogging, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), website creation, Social Media, Reputation Management and marketing. Before starting in 2010, Jeff worked at a marketing communications agency, outbound media sales and 10 years as the marketing manager with a banking software company helping the company gain a number one market position with its primary product line. Photo by Jeff Bebee Photography You can follow him on: OnQMarketing.com Blog.OnQMarketing.com Twitter @OnQMarketingLLC LinkedIn Google+
Why this book? If you are looking for a job for any reason, the one thing you better come to terms with is there is a lot of competition for jobs today. You will need to find ways to do things differently than the last time you may have looked for work, as the way to find a job has changed as well. You will need to separate yourself from literally the hundreds of people vying for the same position you are seeking. No longer can you simply send in a resume with a cover letter, or apply for a job using want ads online or in the paper and hope you get a call. You are now selling YOU. You have become a brand and you need to find a way to package yourself better with the solutions employers are seeking. Bottom line: You need to market yourself like a brand name product and the Solution to a company s problem. Why I am Giving this ebook away Many times you see something offered for FREE over the Internet, it is always in exchange for something; like your contact information. Yes, giving away something that has value in exchange for contact information is one tactic in lead generation, but so is this FREE ebook. I hope you will find it useful and share this ebook using the code or link with others. In doing so, more people will benefit from having it and in doing so build my brand across a wider market than I could have bought and paid for through traditional marketing.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: How are things different today?... 4 It Starts with You... 6 Professional Email Address... 7 Business Cards... 8 Elevator Speech... 9 Online Branding... 10 Appearance... 12 Resume 13
How are things different today? The economy today has sent millions into unemployment lines. The economy is flat to near no growth. The number of jobs created touted by the politicians have not kept up with population growth, let alone recover the more than 14 million jobs lost since 2009. Applying using online tactics yields less than a 5% chance of you getting an interview and a job. You are competing against hundreds of applicants. Companies have cut back everywhere including Human Resources. Submitting applications online is a black hole and will only prolong your job search. Networking your way to a new job has a better than 80% chance of you landing an interview and then a job. PLUS, 80% of all the jobs open at any one time are NEVER ADVERTISED; The Hidden Job Market. // Page 4
You Are the Solution! You probably never thought of yourself as a Solution to a Problem, much less think of yourself as a brand. The problem potential employers have is the open position that needs to be filled. The hiring manager (the person you would ultimately report to if hired) wants to get the position filled ASAP. He told HR, to fill this position and gave the HR person the information needed to find a candidate to fill the position. HR then enters the position into the computer system and literally hundreds of prospects start filling out online applications. In today s job market you need to brand and market yourself as the BEST solution to the employer s problem. // Page 5
It starts with YOU! You need to know the skills and talents you have that can be marketed to potential employers. Consider taking a skills assessment test. The State of Nebraska Workforce Development (other states may have something similar) website (NEWorks.gov) has a skills assessment test you can take for free. It may reveal some interesting things about you that you never saw in yourself. Plus, everyone has transferrable skills. Those are skills you may have demonstrated at a previous position, and are skills which can be used elsewhere. Perhaps you were involved in Trade Show planning and logistics. Those same planning skills can be transferred to event planning and the logistics to the travel or trucking industry. Here is a worksheet* you might find useful. *bestlibrary.org/files/transferable_skills1.pdf // Page 6
Professional Email Address It all starts with you. You need to present yourself well. Start with your email address. Many times you may have selected an email address that reflects your fun side. It may contain funny words, or numbers that might correspond to an important date in your life; Year of birth or graduation, wedding date, age at the time you set up the email, etc. Email addresses with numbers can be interpreted in a variety of ways, you do not intend. Create a new professional email address with your name and only your name. If one service doesn t work try another: Yahoo.com Gmail.com Outlook.com Mail.com Hotmail.com icloud.com AOL.com (might be considered Old School) Best to avoid your ISP email service as businesses can more easily remember shorter common email services; Gmail, outlook, yahoo. Avoid AOL.com and perhaps Hotmail.com as they date you. // Page 7
Business Cards Why you need a Business Card as part of your job search... A business card is the second opportunity you have to establish your brand. It is one of the cheapest places where you can leave not only contact information, but also where you can leave a brand impression. Be sure you leave clear contact information that includes: Your name Address Phone number Email address LinkedIn personal profile URL Job position one that you have done, or one that you hope to attain Your Elevator Speech in 140 characters Some people have included a mini-resume of skills and accomplishments on the back of the card as bullet points, or leave it blank for the recipient to write a note. When you are in networking situations and the opportunity present itself to pass along contact information, give the person TWO cards; One for the person and one that he or she can pass along to someone else. Here are some sources for cheap cards: www.123print.com www.vistaprint.com www.businesscardsusa.net // Page 8
Elevator Speech An elevator speech is not something you use only when you are on an elevator. This goes back to the saying if you had a couple of minutes to talk with someone, like you would be riding in an elevator, what would you say about YOU? Here's how to create yours: 1. Figure out what is unique about what you offer The whole idea behind a great elevator pitch is to intrigue someone. It's an ice-breaker and a marketing pitch all rolled into one. Your elevator pitch must have a hook. "I am a Marketing Manager" doesn't hold a candle to "I am an Inbound Marketing Professional helping companies capture, nurture and convert more leads using effective Digital Marketing." 2. Make it exciting A superior elevator pitch increases your heart rate. It speaks to who you really are and what excites you about you. It has integrity. What is it about your skills that really motivates you? Incorporate that. It begs the question, How do you do that? a conversation starter. 3. Keep it simple A good elevator pitch doesn't try and be all things to all people. Rather, it conveys a clear idea in a short amount of time. It might be a few sentences, but no more than a paragraph or so. Keep it under 30 seconds. FIVE Steps: 1. I AM your name 2. I DO career title and what you do 3. I HELP how you help who you work for with the title 4. I WANT what you are looking for 5. I AM Repeat your name 4. Write it down Use the guidelines above and take a stab at it. Write down your pitch, say it out loud, rewrite it, and then re-write it again. 5. Practice, and the practice some more The first few times you try out your elevator pitch may be a bit uncomfortable, but it gets easier. After a while, it will become second nature to you, and when it does, you will be glad you practiced. You never know what will come from having a great, natural, elevator pitch, but you can bet that you've just increased your chances that it will be good. // Page 9
Online Branding Today s world is connected through the Internet. Your brand online is as important as it is in person. Have you Googled your name? You will find what is currently living on the net about you or your evil cousin with the same name. Well maybe not evil and not your cousin, but certainly someone with the same name. Surprise, your name is not as unique as you may think. It may be another person with the same name has a reputation problem. That could count against you. You may need to add your middle name or nickname as part of your full name in online profiles, so you will not be confused with someone else. LinkedIn: The professional networking online tool that is your Best Online Resource in establishing your brand and finding your next job. The network has more than 400 million people world-wide with 118 million members in the United States; the total U.S. workforce at the time of this writing is around 135 million. Here s a link to a helpful checklist to help you set up your LinkedIn profiles. Facebook: Certainly a place where you can network and use tools like Career Sonar, or Branch Out to find a job and network. More than a Billion users. Twitter: Yes, there are places on Twitter to network for a job. Use the hastag #HireFriday, #jobs4u, #job, #OmahaJobs. Google+: Over a Billion users, this can certainly be a great place to build your brand. When you build a Google+ profile you can pack the profile with keywords that are important to your job search; i.e., use a job description for a job you are looking for. Your profile is something that will be found in a Google Search. // Page 10
Online s Dark Side Yes, there is a dark side to your online profile. 1. Be careful what you share. Use this rule as a guide Only share things on social networks that your mother would not be embarrassed to see about you. EXAMPLE: A photo of you holding a drink at a party that is visible to the world can be misconstrued as something you may not want to communicate as part of your brand, even if the drink was just a Coke. 2. Lock down social tools you don t want other people to see that you are not connected or friends with. A Good example is Facebook. If you are using it only for personal reasons, lock down what people can see and do on your profile. EXAMPLE: When a friend tags you in a photo, realize that if your friend s network is not secured all his or her network and the entire world can see that photo and you in it. You can untag yourself from photos 3. Personal information can be used against you with identity theft. Be very careful about sharing personal information on various social sites. Do not share birthdates, marital status, dates on certain features, such as work history (month, years), education, places where you lived. // Page 11 10
Appearance Your Appearance is also part of your brand. How you dress. Your personal grooming. When networking in everyday life and at events. Especially when you have an interview. Always dress at least for the next level above the job you are interviewing for. You can also inquire what might be appropriate to wear when asked to interview. When interviewing, leave the cellphone in the car, or at least turn it off. Be sure to engage the receptionist, the gatekeeper, in pleasant conversation. He or she will report the impression they had about you to the interviewer. Check out the local Chamber of Commerce website for Networking Opportunities. // Page 12
Resume & Cover Letters Your Resume has to speak volumes of information in no more than 2 pages. Be sure to use a Summary that is packed with keywords and benefit statements of how you can solve the company s problems. I have told people I counsel regarding LinkedIn, to include keyword-rich content and show benefit statements in the Summary and beneath each experience. Under each piece of work experience, the Job Title is in bold, the time frame when you worked for the company and the company where you worked is in light face and smaller type. Then as part of the description of what you did, do not repeat your job description; recruiters already know what you did by your title. Tell them how you did it Faster, Better, Cheaper, Saved Money, or Made Money in that position. Better said, How did you do your work in this position better than anyone else that had the same title? What difference or value did you bring, what recognitions did you receive? Keep Your Skills Up-To-Date. Find ways to continue your education. There are many opportunities online, at the local library, or even through the job service office to get additional training. List what you have been doing to improve yourself. What new skills have you learned, kept up to date on industry trends, volunteer work you have done, etc. Many staffing firms offer FREE online training in software like Microsoft Office. All you have to do is register with them. Cover Letters are an additional place to Brand yourself as a Problem solver. List an example that addresses one of the challenges the position you are applying for that you solved at a similar position. Resumes and cover letters are to be neat and clean. Unless you are a graphic artist and that is important to the position you are applying for, keep your resume and cover letter on a bright white or pale white paper. No fancy script fonts. Use only one style of font that is common to most computers, especially when submitting your resume electronically; i.e., Arial, Book Antiqua, Bookman, Calibri, Century Gothic, Garamond, Georgia, Microsoft Sans Serif, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Verdana. // Page 13
Want to Know More? OmahaCareerNetworking.org If you re interested in improving your job search strategy, check out OmahaCareerNetworking.org., LLC Inbound / Digital Marketing Helping businesses Grow, Capture & Convert more qualified leads through Digital Marketing. www.onqmarketing.com website Blog.onqmarketing.com The Marketing Engineer Email: jeff@onqmarketing.com Phone: 402-953-2340