Image is everything in today’s social media-run world, and this fact doesn’t just go for individuals on a personal basis but also for companies and job-seeking professionals alike. Thanks to so many interactions occurring through the internet, first impressions have been given the power to make or break an introduction.
Introductions are extremely important in the world of recruitment since it is essentially strangers trying to analyze your skill sets and personality to see whether you fit the job you applied for. That is also why formulating a solid personal brand, either as a company or as a job seeker, is important.
We will be looking at why it is crucial to have a personal brand when facing recruitment from both the employee and employer sides, as well as what a personal brand is and how it can be improved with a few tweaks.
What is a personal brand?
A personal image is more than just a profile picture on a social media platform. It embodies your whole presentation outward, from your handshake on introduction to the way you do your hair for an interview. People can even make presumptions from a handshake which isn’t necessarily fair but is a reality nonetheless. These are transferable skills worth learning over time.
What personal branding boils down to is a combination of your skills and experience, all being portrayed as a single unit for potential employers or employees to see.
Why is personal branding important?
There are eight billion people on Earth and millions of companies. The stakes are high and with it, the competition is too. Non-specialized employees have become expendable for companies, and so have lots of companies failed to gain viewership from consumers and job seekers.
Social media is an often-used method of screening individuals within the recruitment process. This is now most often done by artificially intelligent software used by websites that work in finding jobs. Some employers even check up on hired employees to see whether they are maintaining the image the company expects them to maintain.
The reason companies find personal brands important is because employees are a true representation of a company from within and can easily provide positive exposure in their day-to-day lives as well. This doesn’t mean your work should make up your life, though that is one radicality that leads to burnout.
Tips on personal branding as a recruiter
Branding as a recruiter is completely different from branding personally, especially when analyzing yourself from a customer or potential employee’s perspective. Building a brand from the company side entails you to truly be passionate about the company and what it stands for since there is a sense of ingenuity that is owed at that point.
Content that is engaging is also important when maintaining a personal brand, such as ad campaigns, strong networking methods, and other ways of influencing people in a persuasive way. Honesty is also a key point in creating strong personal branding.
Through these methods, you can also establish yourself in the eyes of competition as a strong competitor and as a solid, dependable leader for potential employees.
Tips on personal branding as a job seeker
Going on a journey of self-discovery before beginning to brand yourself as a job seeker is an unimportant step in not only being more certain in yourself but also avoiding issues such as impostor syndrome or uncertainty, which can lead to looking unprofessional or unhirable in the eyes of recruiters.
To start, you should grow your social footprint in positive ways such as by leaning into the career path you wanna choose and branding tour pages into it. Doing this can be achieved easily through social media and job searching websites to further the message that you are in the game and motivated.
A well-thought-out plan is also key in paving the road to personal branding success since you are able to reflect on any setbacks you may encounter and prepare for them. A plan will also help you in organizing things on time and even hit algorithms correctly on social media.
Key things to remember
A personal brand translates to all parts of your social life, as mentioned earlier but you must remember to not take it overboard. Burnout is one of the most common struggles the workforce faces on average, especially with over-achievers and high-stakes positions.
Working on personal branding can make or break an image, so the stress levels can easily become overwhelming.
You should also keep in mind that your personal brand is meant to evolve with your changes as well. Many companies and even individuals fall into a cycle of sticking to a signature but in today’s economy, that tactic just isn’t efficient.
