This brand that’s called YOU

Several years ago when I started out giving talks to the public and college students on how resumes should be written, I never failed to start off by telling my audience that whether they like it or not, everyone of us is in sales and marketing, and their resume should be that document that would sell or market the writer.

You should have seen the jolt of realisation in their eyes whenever I mentioned it. Nobody had thought of themselves in that way. To them, the resume is just a piece of necessary evil that they had to write and send to employers when they search for jobs.

But no, I’ve been telling them. The resume is much more than that. Aren’t you attempting to get the employer to read about your skills and qualification? Aren’t you trying to persuade the employer to call you for an interview? Isn’t all these an effort to market yourself favourably in the employer’s eyes?

Once this realisation sets in, my audience would become more receptive to the reasons why a resume should be properly written to highlight the job seeker’s strengths, abilities and how his skills and qualifications can be matched closely to the employer’s needs and requirements.

Let me take this concept of selling and marketing oneself one step further by borrowing a term: personal branding. Personal branding is how you build your reputation and image. Branding yourself well so that you become marketable.

To quote Tom Peters, a big Guru of personal branding, this is the Age of the Individual where you have to be your own brand. He says all of us are the CEOs of our own companies, Me Inc. Whatever business you do, your most important job is to be the head marketer of the brand that’s call YOU.

But branding yourself successfully cannot be an overnight phenomenon. Building a positive personal brand takes time and the sooner you can start with this, the quicker you have a head start in your career and professional life.

Likewise, when you are searching for a job or looking for opportunities, you have to create and reinforce your positive personal career brand. Let it be known to employers or business partners that your personal career brand is in tune and in sync with their business objectives.

So you have to build your own reputation and build your own image. Personal career branding starts from the minute that you write your resume and it continues right through the interview process and your eventual employment. It doesn’t stop. If you want prospective employers to look at you favourably, you must retain this positive image in their minds and never let any issue cloud their pre-judgment of you. That’s how important personal career branding is today.

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