The Web offers all of us an incredible opportunity to get the word out about who we are and how we can help others solve problems that matter to them. That’s your personal brand. Personal branding can help you in your job search if you are between jobs or help you remain more flexible in your current job. Getting good at personal branding is easy, but it will take commitment on your part.
There are three things you want to be consistent everywhere you go on the web: your name, your face, and your purpose. On all your social networking accounts, always use your full name and the same, professional picture of you. Your purpose is a short statement that conveys why you have a passion for excellence in whatever it is you do. Here is a link that can help you develop your statement of purpose.
Do these few simple things and you can get started with personal branding on the web:
- Get a good photograph. I think it is worth $200 to have a recent picture taken by a professional photographer. A professional photographer will talk to you about your target audience and make suggestions for how you should dress and pose for the picture. If you can’t do this, have a friend with a good camera take a head-and-shoulders shot of you. Smile! If you are like me and have trouble smiling for photographs, just say “I hate this!” and your mouth will produce a perfect smile.
- Get an e-mail with your NAME in the address. Don’t use that e-mail foxygirl583@hotmail.com !! I recommend g-mail because a lot of people use and recognize it and it has some other good features you will use as you get more advanced in building your brand. Your e-mail should be yourname@gmail.com. Make sure to not use any numbers.
- Set up an account at www.linkedin.com. This is the most basic and most professional social networking site and it operates like an online resume. It will take you about 10 minutes to build a profile. Use your new photograph and your new e-mail address for this account. Linkedin has a feature where you can use your name in your URL address so find this option and use it if you can. My Linedin address is http://www.linkedin.com/in/bretsimmons Start linking to people you know and take a look at how they set up their profiles. If you see something you like, incorporate it into your profile.
- Now that you have a Linkedin account, go back to your e-mail and set up a signature line that has your name and right below it the link to your Linkedin account. That way people can view your profile every time you send an e-mail. Latter, you will replace that with your blog address, but until you get started with that your Linkedin link will work fine. Make sure to put your Linkedin address at the top of your professional resume as well.
That’s it, you are on your way to building your personal brand online! Stay tuned and I will give you my two cents worth on how to operate in Facebook, Twitter, and most importantly how to create and operate a blog.
YOU can do this – and you should.
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What it Takes to be a Career Commander
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I think I’m going to disagree a little here. I have an online personal life as well as a professional one and I count it as an important part of my online brand. There is nothing in it that I would mind a potential employer seeing but it is considerably more relaxed (it includes profile pictures of me dressed as a pirate). I think I would rather not work for a potential employer that is put off by that and I also believe that people looking to check for “fit” within their company will get useful information from that side of my personality. As a potential future employer myself I also view it as a valuable source of information on other people that I would not like to loose.
I think Rebecca Thorman’s advice in the video of her’s that you posted a while ago was spot on. I think the best thing to do is to make sure everything you write online is a true reflection of yourself.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:11 am
Ellie, I’m not sure we disagree! I think you should – MUST – be personal as part of your authentic professinoal brand. I just don’t think you should try to separate yourself into two different online personna. As you go about being professional, please be personal, and as you go about being personal, you must always remember to be professional. My concern is that the delusion of privacy causes folks to act stupid online and it erodes their brand. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!! Bret
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Bret – I just took your advice and created a new signature that includes my LinkedIn profile, my Google Voice #, my blog, and my twitter handle. Probably needs some design work now, but it’s a start.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Good for you, Nils! Thanks! Bret
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