Imagine the number of CVs and cover letters that recruiters and employers receive everyday. Interesting people with good skills and work experience, all compete for a good job. How can you distinguish yourself from the candidate’s crowd? How can you express all that you have experienced and achieved in your professional and personal life? How can you convince your beloved -potential- boss that ‘you are the one’, you are the employee he is looking for? You have the biggest and strongest tool to make it happen: internet!
Your personal brand
According to a survey, 92% of recruiters use social media in the recruiting process. Now, one can figure out a bunch of things about you, just by checking your Facebook or LinkedIn profile. The Internet gives you space not only to upload a simple CV but also build a brand around your name. Α personal brand is… all of you. It is your skills and your degrees, your work experience and your choices. It is all that you have achieved and you are proud of but also all that you have strived for and dreamt about. A personal brand is also your hobbies and interests, the volunteer work you do in the evenings, the travels you have made and the things you learnt from them. Think about what you offer which makes you stand out from the rest of your field (your strong work experience, your professional ethics, your creativity, etc). To quote Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com: “Personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room”.
Your online space
Register a domain with an extension which expresses what you do and you can ‘play’ with, creating a domain hack, for example www.inter.net. You can register your actual name or something that represents you and it is easy to remember. For example, my name is Sandra-Odette so I could register the domain sandraodette.net or if you work with children you could create the domain kid.com!
Within your online space, you can be as creative as you wish without the limits of a strict resume. By activating a web hosting plan, you can upload your portfolio or elaborate on a project you have completed and shows off your abilities. Why don’t you start a blog and upload videos and photos that will describe better who you are and what you do.
Thus, the employers and recruiters will get a much more clear idea of you.
Your email address
In addition, by registering your personal domain, you have the possibility to create a personalized email address, from which you can make all your job search communications (for example, mine would be [email protected]). Now you are ready to promote your personal brand and website all around the world!
All of us have abilities which can take us a step forward and are worth highlighting. So think of yourself and build a unique brand which will have your name written on with fluorescent colors!
Check out the infographic below to see how to build your brand online in 4 easy steps. Click on the image.
Join the Discussion