How to Create a Personal Brand for Job Hunting
One of the most effective ways to stand out in a competitive market is by creating a strong personal brand. But what exactly is a personal brand, and how can you build one that sets you apart? In this blog post, we'll explore the concept of personal branding, discuss what it is and what it isn't, and delve into how key elements like your resume, LinkedIn profile, and interview skills tie into your personal brand. We'll also provide a practical example of how a professional, specifically a "Director of Customer Success," can create and highlight their personal brand across various job search tools. Whether you're a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, these insights will help you navigate your job search more effectively in 2023 and beyond.
What is a Personal Brand?
A personal brand is a unique combination of skills, experiences, and personality traits you express consistently in professional settings. It's how you present yourself to the world, and it's what makes you memorable in the minds of others. Your personal brand reflects who you are, what you can do, and what you value. I also like to look at your personal brand as the answer to “Tell me about yourself.”
What a Personal Brand is Not
A personal brand is not a facade or a way to manipulate perceptions of you. It's not about creating a false image or trying to be someone you're not. Instead, it's about authentically expressing your professional being in a way that resonates with stakeholders throughout the interview process.
Personal Branding in 2023
In 2023, personal branding will be more important than ever. According to Forbes, the overarching message for this year's personal branding trends is about being extra human. Here are some key trends:
The Emergence of the Post-Covid Leader: Leadership style is moving drastically toward inspiration and coaching built on emotional intelligence. The modern leader is described with words like compassion, empathy, humility, vulnerability, caring, and inclusivity.
LinkedIn Gets Personal: LinkedIn is becoming a platform where personal content is integrated with traditional work stories, reflecting the rapidly dissolving line that separates work and life.
Quality and Focus Are Key to Being Seen: With the overwhelming amount of content online, the quality and consistency of your thought leadership material are essential.
Feedback Gets Forgotten: With the loss of informal feedback moments in the virtual world, seeking the feedback you need proactively is important.
Relationships Will Rule: Successful companies will prioritize relationship building and devote time to foster connections based on authenticity.
How Resume, LinkedIn Profile, and Interview Skills Tie into Your Personal Brand
Resume
Your resume should list your skills and experiences and convey your unique value proposition. For example, if you're a "Director of Customer Success," your resume should highlight your leadership style, ability to inspire and coach your team, and commitment to customer satisfaction. Include metrics like churn rates, customer satisfaction survey results, product adoption, user results, etc.
LinkedIn Profile
Your LinkedIn profile should reflect your professional identity and tell a compelling story about who you are, what you've achieved, and where you're headed. For our "Director of Customer Success," this could mean sharing stories of how they've led their team to achieve exceptional customer satisfaction ratings or implemented innovative strategies to improve customer success. Success on LinkedIn goes way beyond what you put on your profile and requires posting content - original or sharing. The idea of LinkedIn is to show up as a thought leader in your space.
Interview Skills
Your interview skills show how you communicate, present yourself, and interact with others. For a "Director of Customer Success," this could mean demonstrating empathy and active listening skills, showing a deep understanding of customer needs, and conveying a clear vision for improving customer success in the company. Leverage an achievement-based resume to guide you through answering questions in a STAR format:
Situation: Describe the context or background of the situation. Where and when did this happen?
Task: Explain the task you were responsible for in that situation. What challenges did you face? What needed to be done?
Action: Describe the specific actions you took to address the task. What did you do? How did you do it?
Result: Share the results of your actions. What happened? What did you achieve? What did you learn?
The STAR method is a way to structure your response clearly, concisely, and thoughtfully, ensuring you provide the interviewer with valid examples of your work behavior. It allows you to demonstrate your skills and abilities rather than just discussing them.
How a Director of Customer Success might use the STAR method to answer, “Tell me about a time when you helped keep a frustrated client with your company.”:
Situation: "In my previous role as Director of Customer Success at XYZ Tech, we had a major client who was frustrated with the implementation process of our software. They were experiencing technical issues causing delays in their operations and were considering switching to a competitor."
Task: "As the Director of Customer Success, my task was to address their concerns, ensure their issues were resolved, and restore their confidence in our product and company. I knew that retaining this client was crucial, not only for the immediate financial implications but also for our reputation in the industry."
Action: "I immediately set up a meeting with the client to understand their concerns. I then coordinated with our technical team to prioritize resolving the client's issues. I kept the client informed about the steps we were taking, ensuring they felt heard and valued. I also arranged additional training sessions for their team to help them better understand and use our software more effectively."
Result: "Due to these actions, we resolved the client's technical issues within a week. The additional training sessions helped their team feel more comfortable with our software. The client appreciated our prompt and proactive approach and decided to continue their contract with us. They even became one of our most loyal customers, often referring other businesses to us. This experience reinforced the importance of clear communication, quick response, and customer education in maintaining client satisfaction and loyalty."
This personal brand can be highlighted in a resume, LinkedIn profile, and interview preparation by focusing on achievements that demonstrate these qualities, sharing stories that reflect this brand, and consistently communicating in a way that aligns with this brand.
Remember, your personal brand is a journey, not a destination. It will evolve as you grow professionally. Keep refining it and make sure it always reflects your authentic self.
