Curate Your Personal Brand Online AND Offline

In a world that operates fully online and off, managing your career today is tricky business.

Not only do you have to think about how you present yourself in person – from tone of voice to the firmness of your handshake to your dress – but you also have to be cognizant of what your online presence says about you.

Think of this online representation as another facet of your personal brand. In the same way brands use consistency and repetition to drive home core messages, your personal brand lets people know who you are and what you can do. It’s as simple and straightforward as that and the benefits it can drive are tangible: from the recruiter who contacts you out of the blue because your online presence is a match for the opportunity to the prospective landlord who likes what she sees in your Google results.

What’s in a personal brand?

It’s your elevator pitch, resume, social media profiles, websites, blogs and work portfolios. It’s what people think of you after they meet you in person, read your Twitter feed, look at your Pinterest page or check out your Snapchat profile, for example. Whether you first meet someone face to face or they looked at your online profile before a meeting, your personal brand helps differentiate you from the crowd – ideally in a powerful and positive way.

Sum it up.

Brands have a focused pitch and so should you. This sets the tone for all the other elements to follow. Be able to touch on your skillset and how you can help a company achieve its goals in a just a few succinct sentences. Give it a practice run or two, bringing just the right amount of enthusiasm so that someone will want to continue the conversation. Help people remember who you are because of that great first impression.

Maintain a consistent thread.

The same short elevator pitch should also be reflected in search results when someone Googles you, a less straightforward prospect than doing it in person. When you’re actually with someone, much of that first impression is in your active control. You can be very measured in what you say during conversations. You decide how to dress to convey a professional tone. During a conversation, you can show that you’re actively listening with your body language. With social media, too many people cede control entirely by assuming that what they do with their sites won’t matter. But you can actually make big progress by simply posting updates, sharing articles, and even writing a blog or two. Being socially active just a few times a week, concentrating on content that aligns with your elevator pitch, is a solid way to reinforce your professional brand.

Your expertise really matters.

Certain professions have outlets that can illustrate your expertise, influencing your personal brand. Programmers, for example, are scored on sites like Stack Overflow (a question-and-answer site for programmers) and Coderwall (a community for programmers that help establish their credibility). Twitter feeds and professional blogs are also a great way to show expertise, as are answers to questions on Quora. But only contribute if you have something insightful to say that adds value; anything less is actually counterproductive to your efforts.

Highlight great details.

Your work experience speaks volumes about you – your capabilities, achievements, and what you might be able to do next. Don’t be afraid to highlight a great story of progression. If you started in the mailroom and progressed to a director, that’s something some algorithms flag because it shows motivation, ambition and – presumably – some level of real talent. As a bonus, an interesting story helps you become memorable. Even highlighting actual results is critical; for instance, if you were able to drive a 50 percent increase in sales, that’s worth noting.

What does your personal brand say about you?