Getting ready to start your Search - Stand out with a Personal Brand

Generation prior to ours had only one tool at their disposal to seek jobs - the resume. We, on the other hand have access to numerous tools that can aid in our job search - if we do not get distracted. One can easily end up spending hours at a stretch on Facebook by accident, easily forgetting all about why one got online in the first place. Thankfully, one can keep away from getting distracted (and therefore take full advantage of social media to make progress towards finding a job) by doing a little prep work before the job search.

To begin with, establish clear goals. Start with your end goal (getting a job interview) and then work your way backwards, step by step. Each step must be simple to complete. Breaking down your goals in to smaller pieces decreases your chances of being overwhelmed. These smaller steps then become the basis of how you spend our time online.

It goes without saying that one always needs a way to keep all information about contact, organized. This is because moving forward you are going to add people to your LinkedIn connections. Therefore, before you add people (potential hiring managers, recruiters, colleagues and peers) to your network you need to make sure they are impressed with what they see when they receive your connection and immediately click on your name to have a look at your professional profile - and that should be your personal brand.

Personal Branding - the craft of communicating what makes you unique - has been around for the longest time. Everyone has a personal brand because everyone is distinctive. However, not everyone is blessed with the flair of expressing this distinction. Those who are seemingly irreplaceable prosper in any economic situation.

Before even putting it out there, one must figure out their own value and strive understand their core existence, passions and strengths. In other words, just figure out what makes you YOU. This can be followed by transforming the knowledge into a value statement that expresses your skills and motivations across several mediums which can then be used to grow your credibility and brand influence.

Expressing your opinions on matters pertaining to your professional interests on social media, being vocal on webinars or even sharing your thoughts/expertise via a blog make an excellent medium to communicate your value statement.

A crucial part of branding is making sure your brand is represented accurately and consistently at all times.