Personal Branding
The Internet is a tool that allows any user to command his future with the click of a mouse. It has made possible connections and interconnections that grow into a wonderful web community. The Internet has revolutionized career development for personal empowerment, self-management and networking. It allows us to discover, create, communicate and maintain out personal brand for our future. The Web gives us the opportunity to promote “our brand” for ourselves by joining a social network and using our page as a billboard to advertise our talents and goals. Developing a personal brand makes us a more valuable asset, whether to the company we work for, a potential employer, or your own enterprise. This paper discusses the development and deployment of “personal branding” through appropriate social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. It gives and insight on strategies for using social media for career advantage, privacy issues and its future outlook.
From the job seeker side, traditional resumes don’t differentiate our brands because they don’t capitalize on our personalities and our industry voice (Musgrave, 2007). Now, instead of just having a resume, we will all have to communicate online, share our knowledge, and make new connections— just about every day. When all resumes start looking almost identical to employers, our creative ideas and networks make us stand out. Employers will know if we care enough about our industry by performing Google searches on our name and reviewing our commentary on social networks (Schawbel, 2011). The traditional resume will evolve, encompassing more social media.
LinkedIn
1. Built for users to make professional contacts 2. Since its creation, it has been geared toward the professional business crowd and has more than 60 million members to date 3. Each user profile can be personalised to feature recommendations from colleagues, a self-portrait, relevant links and special interest groups. 4. Has a
From the job seeker side, traditional resumes don’t differentiate our brands because they don’t capitalize on our personalities and our industry voice (Musgrave, 2007). Now, instead of just having a resume, we will all have to communicate online, share our knowledge, and make new connections— just about every day. When all resumes start looking almost identical to employers, our creative ideas and networks make us stand out. Employers will know if we care enough about our industry by performing Google searches on our name and reviewing our commentary on social networks (Schawbel, 2011). The traditional resume will evolve, encompassing more social media.
1. Built for users to make professional contacts 2. Since its creation, it has been geared toward the professional business crowd and has more than 60 million members to date 3. Each user profile can be personalised to feature recommendations from colleagues, a self-portrait, relevant links and special interest groups. 4. Has a
References: Armstrong, S. (2007). Advertising on the Internet: How to get your message across on the World Wide Web. London, UK: Kogan Page. CareerBuilder.com. (2010). More than four in ten workers over the age of 35 currently work for a younger boss, finds new CareerBuilder survey [Press release]. Feb 17. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070312_476504.htm. Meyers, H., & Gerstman, R. (2001). Branding@the digital age. New York, US: Palgrave. Musgrave, J. (2007). Your business online: 90 min guide. Australia: New Holland. Schawbel, D. (2011). Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future. Kaplan.