Keenan Recruitment's Jen Crossan shares top tips for employees.

Personal Brand Matters

A personal brand is a unique combination of your skills, experience, and behaviours, that allow people to identify you, essentially the story that is told about you when you’re not it the room.  Now more than ever, Personal branding has become important due to the impact of social media in society, and the ability for employers to gain a further insight into candidates before interview stage. Your brand is your reputation, creating an image of who you are to the outside world and marketing yourself as an individual can help you stand out from the crowd.

So, what is your brand?  Before further developing your brand, it’s important that you’re pro-active in seeking feedback to understand what characteristics you are currently known for.  This allows you to consider how much effort you need to invest in changing or growing your brand.  Decide what you want your brand to be: who are you? What motivates you? What characteristics do you often get complimented on?

Top Tips:

1. Ask for feedback, be open to understanding others perception of you.  If you don’t like it, work on changing it.

2. Determine what you want to be know for.  Who inspires you, and what do you like about their person? What attributes do you have that would make an employer think – Wow, I want to hire this person and are you showcasing them?

3. Embrace Networking – It is important to grow your circle professionally and actively.  Attend networking events, make connections, and provide valuable interactions, this will allow you and your brand to be recognized.

4. Social Media – Be conscious of how you use your social platforms, and whether they are private or public.  Your profile picture should always be respectable as should your interactions that are available for public viewing.  Employers consider what they see very carefully when evaluating a candidate. An unprofessional Facebook profile does not leave a good impression. If you are serious about your career, make sure you create a positive personal brand. Put a professional picture on LinkedIn and Facebook.

You have a choice to actively manage your brand rather than leaving it to chance.

Contact Jen for a confidential chat about perfecting your personal brand! T: 02890447144 or email jen.crossan@keenanrecruitment.co.uk