As a young professional in today’s competitive job market, developing your personal brand is an essential step in any successful job hunt. Regardless of your career field or background, your personal brand will help you beyond even interviews and applications.
Personal branding allows you to show the world how you are unique from others in your industry. Use your brand to communicate your skills, market yourself, and control your career development. A strong personal brand will serve you well if you decide to break out as an entrepreneur, or are just looking to build up a freelance audience.
Here are 6 ways you should be developing your personal brand.
Identifying the top strengths or skills you have to offer the professional world is the first step in developing your personal brand. Think about the areas in which you excel. Consider previous jobs, internships, courses, or even group projects, and note your top contributions. If you can identify one or two specific specialties, it will make developing your personal brand much easier, as you can market yourself as an expert in these areas. You should also consider why you want to develop a personal brand. What career goals do you have? Where do you want to be in 5, 10 and 20 years? More so than just wanting a specific job, think about why you want certain jobs and what makes you happy in the workplace. Start writing down your goals and professional interests and then try to prioritize them. This way, you can relate your strengths to your mission and goals for career advancement.
Whether it’s a website, blog, or Facebook page, your primary platform is important when developing your personal brand. Make sure your website includes your name or brand name and represents the skills you have to offer. Think about how you describe yourself, your skills, and your background. It should be easy for visitors to immediately identify your top appeal as soon as they see your page or profile. Make sure your contact information is available on the website, along with examples of your work and also information on how to follow you through social media networks like X, formerly Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Utilizing social media is one of the easiest, yet most important ways of developing your personal brand. This is where you’ll reach the widest audience when sharing your content, and where you’ll grow most quickly. As a young professional, you likely have experience using various social media platforms for personal use, but now it’s time to amp up your professional accounts! While it's important to create professional social media accounts, it's just as crucial to clean-up your personal ones. Consider setting your accounts to private, or at the very least, delete posts or photos you wouldn't want anyone from work or you want to start a professional connection with to see.
For both social media and your website, you’ll want a consistent tone and a key message. If you’ve identified why people should be attracted to your brand or skills, this might be a bit easier. You want visitors and clients to know what they can expect from your platforms, and of course, you’ll want to publish only the highest quality content. But don't be afraid to show your personality. If part of your personal brand is being a geeky uncle, posting a photo of a science experiment you’re working on with your nephew will not only separate you from the pack of other professionals but will also evoke an emotional response and connection. It shows that your personal brand is authentic. It’s real and makes you more human.
Once you’ve developed your voice and message, maintaining consistency across your platforms is key for growth. Posting daily, and curating your content for different platforms is the best way to keep your followers and clients interested. Sharing useful and interesting content will keep them coming back for more. Once you’ve identified your top skills, keep it consistent with the type of content you post. If your specialization is in SEO and blogging, your followers might not be interested in posts about unrelated topics. Keep your posts on point.
So you have your brand – now what? It’s time to share yourself with the world. Start by associating yourself online with people you’ve met through college, work, and organizations. Then branch out by following and connecting with people you learn from and people who depend on you or could depend on you for information or services. For example, an up-and-coming chef specializing in Peruvian cuisine may follow and contact famous Peruvian chefs and restaurants in their city, along with food bloggers and commenters on food websites. Through this network of culinary artists, restaurants, and foodies, a young chef can post pictures of their new food creations, photos from food events, and recipe ideas and share interesting food articles and pictures.