The best personal branding methods you should use today
When you hear the word “brand” you will most likely think of the most renowned businesses and service providers you have previously interacted with or used. But in today’s hyper-social and hyper-competitive world, branding is no longer exclusively associated with products and services offered by companies. As a tactic for self-marketing and for getting a competitive-edge over other job seekers, branding has become an essential component for the success of any professional. Personal branding is growing to be one of the most important strategies for securing a job and advancing on the career ladder.
Despite the conceptual similarities, personal branding remains distinct from corporate branding in practice. Evidently, a personal brand is not a nickname or a catchy phrase, but a collection of competencies, skills, work experience, and everything else that makes someone an ideal employee. The trick is knowing how to promote a personal brand and to make it stand out from the crowd in order to secure one’s career objectives.
From Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, here is a quick review of the best methods to creating a powerful personal brand that grabs the attention of peers, employers and clients alike:
1. Build your Public Profile
Having a Bayt.com Public Profile is similar to having an online business card; it is the core of your online personal brand and it can automatically grab the attention of both employers and clients. A public profile is essentially your window to the job market and it is more inviting than a simple CV document. With a Bayt.com Public Profile, you are easily searchable on major engines (such as Google) by potential employers, clients, and other professionals who want to connect with you for career enhancement opportunities. Your connections can also endorse your skills or even write recommendations that will be visible on your profile and make your personal brand more authentic. You can take the self-promotion one step further by sharing your public profile on all forms of social media. Join more than 11 million professionals who already have a public profile on Bayt.com, and start highlighting your skills, experiences, roles and aspirations in order to stand out.
2. Join the Conversations
A Professional networking platform such as Bayt.com Specialties is one of the easiest way to establish a presence for your personal brand within your field and to highlight your expertise among a community of career-driven individuals. Using Specialties, you can answer questions that other professionals in the industry may have as well as ask any questions you may need answered by peers. The way your personal brand can shine is by integrating keywords and formulating intelligent responses for the existing conversations. Bayt.com specialties enables you to expand your online network, include you in the top ranked professionals in your field, and present you as an ideal candidate within your field. Through your contribution to discussions, you can also be endorsed by other experts and receive ranks and badges for your personal brand to prove your expertise.
3. Perfect Your CV
We all know that it can take less than 30 seconds for your CV to be reviewed by an HR manager or a recruiter. In fact, it takes less than six seconds for your personal brand to grab the attention of the hiring manager. Employers are constantly on the lookout for candidates that match their needs, and regularly skim through thousands of CV’s to find the professionals they’re looking for. Integrating keywords into your CV is extremely important to boost your job application, since the search algorithm takes your keywords into consideration before assigning your application a rank that is visible to employers. The higher your rank, the quicker an employer will view your CV. Your rank also helps boost your result when employers are conducting a general CV search to spot the ideal candidate. An enriched, detailed, and regularly updated CV is a vital component of your online personal brand. Over 40,000 employers use the Bayt.com CV search service to find their employees. They type in specific keywords, and if your CV matches what they’re looking for, you will appear at the top of the result list.
In addition the aforementioned tools, always ensure that all of your social profiles, whether on Bayt.com or other platforms, are professional, void of anything you wouldn’t want your boss to see, convey your best image and personal brand, and of course, a truthful reflection of who you are.