How do you create and/or improve your online career identity?
Branding yourself is the method … see what workplace consultant and author J.T O’Donnell writes about career identity online and recommends that you brand or be branded.
You can either make sure people ‘hear what they see’ in a way that boosts your credibility… or, you can ignore your online presence and be seen as,
A) non-existent and unimportant, or perhaps even worse,
B) the Dennis Rodman of the net.
So… consider these 4 steps to create and/or improve your online career identity:
Step 1: Identify Your Brand’s Keywords
Do a search on yourself and see what comes up. You may find someone with your name has coveted the top fold. From there, identify what keywords you can use to differentiate yourself from this person. Should you be using your full name? Your middle initial? Your affiliation with an organization or a type of work? Figure out how you want people to find you so you can build your brand around these keywords.
Step 2: Become a Blog Reader & Commenter
Begin reading career-related content on blogs for 10 minutes daily. This will help you stay-up-to date and in-the-know. Then, start posting thoughtful, well-written, professional comments on these blogs related to your field of interest.
Don’t know where to find these blogs? Go to www.AllTop.com – they are like a magazine rack of online blogs. There, you’ll be able to find dozens of blogs related to your career aspirations so that you can post comments to enhance your credibility as a knowledgeable member of your field/industry.
The power of blogs is enormous when it comes to getting better educated on a subject. Your perspective and knowledge of a situation can be enhanced daily by reading blogs … especially, if you choose blogs that are both well-written and designed for easy navigation.
Here are three examples of blogs
The Work Buzz – Careerbuilder.com’s newly renovated workplace blog is easy-to-read and the perfect way to get acquainted with blogging. The content is fresh and the site navigation is simple.
Brazen Careerist – Showcases a huge crew (200+) of 20-something bloggers, making it one of the most comprehensive on the web.
Career Journal – The Wall St. Journal’s career blog is a good read simply because their newspaper is standard reading material for most executives. The advice is always solid and takes into consideration management’s viewpoints – a great way for you to learn how to start managing up.
Step 3: Ask to Guest Post & Become a Subject-Matter Expert
Once you’ve got commenting down, it’s time to consider writing a guest blog post on a subject related to your career. After you’ve become a regular commenter on a particular site and feel you relate to their readership, contact them and ask if they would accept a guest post from you. Give them an overview of the topic you would write about. If they are interested, you can write the whole article, submit it, and voila – you are a published author on the net.
Step 4: Get Your Twitter Brand Up and Running
Finally, get a Twitter account and learn the 3 key phases for leveraging its power for your career. Twittering is micro-blogging. Better still, it’s like instant messaging for professionals. It is an easy, fast way to connect with hundreds of like-minded people in a short period of time. You can be connected to 1000’s of people in a matter of weeks.
Better still, you can ‘tweet’ (post short 140 character comments) to them which a hiring manager can read if they do a search on your Twitter account name.
So, it’s like inviting an employer to see what you are like to converse with. A great way to brand yourself!
Recommended career experts to “follow“:
@careerealism – sponsors of the Twitter Advice Project (T.A.P. into CAREEREALISM) – Get FREE Advice
@tmonhollon – a PR specialist working in the staffing industry – also the founder of a Career 100 top blog.
@debrawheatman - a passionate career strategist and regular contributor to some major online career resources.
@dawnbugni – a resume specialist and guest blogger whose resume tips helped 1000’s on our site.
@AskaManager – nationally syndicated career expert for US News & World Report, HR Specialist, and author of the very popular Ask A Manager blog.
@juliaerickson – a career coach that specializes in career transformations.
@haroldmellor – Recruiter for Boston Globe Media and veteran of the staffing industry.
@resumesrevealed – 15+ years of positioning job seekers for success with resumes & job search strategies
@jobhuntorg – Editor of Job-Hunt.org with 18+years helping job seekers with online job search
@kgrantcareers – Career specialist for adult learners at Kaplan University
@louise_fletcher – Resume writer, blogger, author & co-founder of Career Hub.
@valueintowords – master resume writer & career strategist helping job seekers with career transitions
@heatherhuhman – journalist/career expert to students and young professionals via daily advice column
@glhoffman – author of the extremely successful career blog that runs in the U.S. News & World Report
@sweetcareers – campus career counselor with years of experience and a killer resource blog
@Keppie_Careers – a professional career coach and columnist with years of experience in corporate America
Summary
As stated by J.T. O’Donnel stated above…brand or be branded. Why risk having a lack of any career identity or a bad online presence just because you didn’t take control of the situation? Yes, getting your BRAND to look good takes a little effort, but it can provide an incredible return on your time and energy investment.
Source: J.T. O’Donnell, career strategy and workplace consultant
www.jtodonnell.com
More on Branding >>
These 10 components will arm you with a compelling personal brand message to anchor and weave throughout all your online and offline career marketing communications:
1. What are your vision and purpose?
Before clearly defining your brand, look externally at the bigger picture of your vision for the world, and then internally, at how you might help the world realize your vision.
2. What are your values and passions?
You have to know yourself and what you want and need before you can move forward. Your belief system and operating principles are at the core of determining whether an opportunity in front of you will be a good fit for you. If the passions that drive you aren’t met, you probably won’t be happy.
3. What are your top goals for the next year, 2 years, and 5 years?
Work on projecting what you intend to accomplish so you can put together a strategic action plan to get there.
4. Do a self-assessment of your top brand attributes.
What 3 or 4 adjectives best describe the value you offer? What words do you use to define your personality? Here are some possibilities, but don’t limit yourself to these:
Collaborative, resilient, forward-focused, risk-taking, connected, international, visionary, diplomatic, intuitive, precise, enterprising, ethical, genuine, accessible.
5. What are your core strengths or motivated skills?
In what functions and responsibilities do you excel? What things are you the designated “go-to” person for? What would your company have a hard time replacing if you left suddenly? The possibilities are endless, but here are a few suggestions:
Identifying problems, seeing the details, leading, delegating, performing analysis, fact finding, crunching numbers, anticipating risk, motivating, mentoring, innovating, managing conflict, writing, listening, communicating.
6. Get feedback from those who know you best – at work, at home, anywhere.
The true measure of your brand is the reputation others hold of you in their hearts and minds. Notice how they introduce you to others. Ask them what your top brand attributes and core strengths are. How does your self-assessment jibe with their feedback?
7. Do a SWOT (Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats) analysis on yourself.
Don’t dwell on your weak points, but keep them in mind so that you don’t move into a position where that function is the main thrust of the job.
8. Who is your target audience?
Determine where you want to fit in (industry and niche area of expertise). Learn what decision makers in that field are looking for when they’re vetting candidates. Find out where those decision makers hang out and what key words will attract them, and then position yourself in front of them to capture their attention.
9. Who is your competition in the marketplace and what differentiates you from them?
Determine why decision makers should choose whatever you’re offering over the others offering similar value. What makes you the best choice? What makes you a good investment? What value will you bring that no one else will?
10. Remember the 3 Cs of personal branding:
Clarity – be clear about who you are and who you are not.
Consistency – steadfastly express your brand across all communications vehicles.
Constancy – strong brands are always visible to their target audience.
Your takeaway:
The work involved in uncovering your brand may seem daunting, but your efforts can benefit you immeasurably. My own brand development helped me re-focus the way I do business toward the kinds of work I’m most passionate about, and more deeply niche my target audience.
In job search, developing and communicating your personal brand can pre-qualify you as a good fit and accelerate your search. Your unique brand message differentiates the best you have to offer, gives a good indication of what you’re like to work with, and evidences how you make things happen.
Source: Career Rocketeer – career search, career development and personal branding blog