Brand to the Beat of a Different Drummer

In today’s job market, job seekers inevitably want to get hired and are constantly seeking new and unique ways to brand themselves so to stand out from the crowd. However, with so many professionals trying to establish their personal brands off and online, it may seem that it is becoming increasingly challenging to stand out and get noticed in one’s industry or area of expertise and interest.

I reached out to fellow job seekers and career experts for effective personal branding tips that could help you distinguish yourself to your chosen and targeted audience of employers, and here are some top tips that I compiled to share with you today:

Learn or Master a Skill

Focus on your area of expertise that you want to be known for. Stick to what you’re good at, and then make it even better it. How? For starters, don’t do what everyone else is doing. Don’t go to the local non-profit organization and volunteer your time, joining its marketing team to end up doing whatever task comes your way. Take control of the direction of your marketing project. Go online, research, and commit to learning one new focused skill; pick a skill that increases your value in your expertise. This is your new job for now. Really commit to it, and spend the time it takes to learn it. Master it. Then, go to someone in your target audience, and offer that skill to them to solve a problem. Show them how you can help them; offer them your solution. Make it the best. Wow them with it. - Maren Finzer, www.marenfinzer.com

Write a Book

I’ve been lecturing and writing about careers for quite a while now and the best branding advice I can give is this: write a book. Or, an e-book at least. Choose a unique title to enhance your branding efforts. Include the e-book when job-applying online. Ideally, you can afford to have an actual book printed and can include it with your resume when you’re being interviewed in person. Don’t let the idea a writing a book deter you-books nowadays don’t fit the traditional definition. They can be a collection of blog articles. Or, short manuscripts. (I’ve been some that have fewer than 30 pages, some of which contain a simple quotation.) You could even outline the knowledge/expertise that brands you and hire a ghostwriter. - Marlene Caroselli, www.caroselli.biz

Plan an Event

Plan a local event for your industry. Sounds crazy, right? With the popularity of “un-conferences” growing, it’s possible for anyone to plan an event for their industry. Local project manager Jason Brett planned ProductCamp Atlanta. He recruited sponsors to pay for the food and facility. He invited everyone he knows in the industry. 200 people RSVPed for the free event and 185 people attended. It was held on the Georgia tech campus, which provided ample parking and free wireless access. Jason used consistent branding for himself and for the event – so that his name became well-known throughout the community. Jason received a job offer within 30 days of the event. - Brandy Nagel

Use Video

Because personal branding is just that -personal- one of the most effective tools we teach our clients is to allow potential employers (or customers) that “VIP-Access to get to know you” via use of video. We encourage our clients, for example, to produce a 6-part series of 60 second videos sharing relevant information to not only show their expertise, but also to allow others the chance to understand their personality and build a following. Potential employers start to like you before you’ve even met face to face. Suddenly, you are walking into an interview where everyone has already watched your carefully built You Tube channel and vlog posts (they watched it while you slept) and they feel like they know you. You are a friend on their doorstep, while the other candidates are strangers they’ve never met. And you know the rule about that. Never talk to strangers. - Aly & Andrea, www.AlyandAndrea.com

Special thanks to everyone who contributed to this wealth of personal branding insight!

Chris Perry is a Gen Y Brand and Marketing Generator, a Career Search and Personal Branding Expert and the Founder of Career Rocketeer, the Career Search and Personal Branding Blog.

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Nominate Someone to Attend Brand Camp ‘09 for FREE!

Nominate a Brand Icon.
Do you know someone with a strong personal brand? A person that really understands what it means to Grustle?

We want them to attend Brand Camp University 2009 on us.

Here is how you can nominate them to attend:

Leave a comment on this post with the name of the person you are nominating and why you feel should attend.

OR

Tweet their name and why they should attend (include the hashtag #brandcampu)

We will extend offers to attend the conference for free based on the nominations we receive.

(Note: You can only self-nominate if you recommend someone as well.)

Thanks for your participation!

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Official Brand Camp ’09: Conference T-Shirt Release

Today we released the official design for the Brand Camp ’09 graphic tee design. The Brand Camp Conference t-shirts will follow the Air Jordan tradition and every year we will drop the hottest social media conference t-shirt design in the land. Be apart of the Brand Camp shirt genealogy and get your social media lifestyle wear.

Brand Camp II (2009): Design Specs:

  • Design: The design integrates: “I Grustle all Day.” and “Brand Camp”
  • Garment: American apparel 100% cotton garment will be used for a great fit.
  • Colors: Brown/Yellow/White

Note: To get your Brand Camp ’09 t-shirt you have to attend the conference. : )

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5 Day Plan to Take the Personal Branding Plunge

Many job seekers find themselves plunged into the world of personal branding by default. You need to find a job, so you have to market yourself.

But many of those job seekers have never had to conduct a real job search before. Maybe you’ve had a corporate job for 15 or 20 years, or maybe you’ve had a series of them but have always been recruited into your new role. It’s entirely possible for a person with an advanced career to have never written a resume.

So if you find yourself building your personal brand from scratch and it’s gotta get done now, here’s a 5 day guide to creating a professional presence that will get you a job.

Day 1: The necessities - Resume, cover letter, elevator speech. These are the three things that you must have in order to successfully search for a job. Truthfully, you should be using the elevator speech first and much more often, but this order - resume, then cover letter, then elevator pitch - is a common procession for putting together the information. Don’t go crazy with your resume at this stage. Find a good reference, and go from there. If you don’t have a resume, build one from scratch. If you do have one, spend the time updating and targeting it for your next role. Write a good, basic customizable cover letter. Then, develop a 30-second speech that tells people who you are and what you have to offer in a professional, compelling way. Sure it’s good to have a good finished product here, but remember that this process will help you prepare for future networking and interviews by reminding you of the great things you’ve done in the past. The process is just as important as the result.

Day 2: Develop a networking plan. The old adage is that “people buy from people,” and it’s just as true in hiring. People hire people, not resumes. So while the resume is an important tool to support your efforts, you’ll get a job much more quickly if you can get a lot of face time. On Day 2, make a list of all your options for networking, including professional associations, general networking groups, faith-based organizations, meetups, yahoo! groups, social networking and more. Figure out how much networking you can realistically do, alloting time for travel, events, and follow up with each of the people that you meet. Consider moving beyond attending into volunteering or even speaking. Develop a general outline of how you can make the most of your time through events and programs that will support your networking goals.

Day 3: Manage your online image. Google yourself. What do you see? If it’s less than flattering, or if you don’t see yourself at all, make a proactive plan to address the problem. Start a blog on a topic related to your field, create a profile on LinkedIn and other sites that are indexed by Google so that they appear in the search results. Tweet. Write articles and submit them to blogs, article sites, etc. Whatever it takes to get your name associated with your professional work online.

Day 4: Create your brand message. Do you have a tagline? A mission statement? How do you explain who you are and what you do? Work to create various ways to express your value. Have a business card that captures your message. Have a tagline. Revise your online and offline materials to answer the question, “Why should I hire you?” Have that answer ready.

Day 5: Get feedback. Ask people that you know and trust to review your materials, online and off. Make them commit to giving honest, impartial criticism. Enlist them in helping you be the best that you can be. Ask them what your resume says about you, if they find your cover letter engaging, whatever makes sense. Internalize their criticism and make it your springboard for excellence.

Of course, personal branding is not a 5-day effort. Effective personal branding requires cultivation over time. But this 5-day plan will kick start your job search efforts and help get you started on the way to success. Once you’re on your way, just keep moving. Eventually, you’ll get the superstar status that you deserve.

Kristi Daeda is a Success Coach and creator of Career Adventure, a blog which helps professionals in the pursuit of their inspiring work. To receive her free report, 51 Ordinary and Extraordinary Places to Find a Job, sign up for her free Career Kick Start newsletter.

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Announcement: Brand Camp ’09 offers special STUDENT discount

Students can learn plenty about business while in the classroom. However, personal branding and social media are often left out of the picture. In today’s world, where new media and digital tools empowers individuals and amplifies their voice, this level of thinking removes an important piece of the corporate and entrepreneurial puzzle.

The sooner we realize that our personal brands are an important part of the marketing and business mix, the more successful we can become.

To ensure that students are exposed to these critical ideas, Brand Camp University is extending a special offer to students currently enrolled in high school, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. Current students may attend Brand Camp University at a discounted rate of $50 by signing up Brand Camp ’09 Registration using the discount code: BCU_STUDENTS. That is $100 savings on normal registration!

Current student ID or copy of a current class schedule must be presented at the event in order to qualify for the discount.

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