How Developing a Personal Brand Can Help You Achieve Your Career Goals

For young professionals just entering the job market, having a professional and appealing online presence can determine whether or not you land a job in your career field of interest after college. Today, having a stellar resume simply isn't enough when you're applying for competitive jobs. Personal branding is essentially the key to establishing a positive image or impression of yourself in the minds of potential employers to set yourself apart from other candidates. Everyone submits a resume and cover letter, but very few candidates have an established personal brand that is representative of the values and culture at sought after companies. Not every candidate has a well-designed personal website. Not every candidate presents themselves as an industry leader on LinkedIn.

So how competitive is the current job market?

For millennials and recent college graduates, in 2015, there were an average of 41 applicants for every open position filled; nearly twice the number (21) in any other market segment, according to data from CIO.com. Several studies suggest that new graduates should prepare for serious competition in the job market.

So how does this relate to social media?

Check out these statistics!

• 92% of Recruiters Use Social Media to Find High-Quality Candidates

• Recruiters are finding that social media is one of the best ways to identify top talent.

Here are some tips for using social media to enhance your professional image to increase your chances of getting the job you desire.

1. Clean up your social media profiles

• Refrain from using profanity

• Get rid of questionable pictures

• If you don’t want your grandma or your boss to see it, delete it.

• If you’re concerned about your image online, make your accounts private, although it might come off like you have something to hide.

2. Use social media to brand yourself

• Sit down and think about the image you want employers to see you as, and start sharing content that reflects that vision.

• Use one color scheme for graphics across all platforms.

• Consider designing a personal website that's representative of your brand.

3. Make it a point to connect with industry professionals on social media

• If you’re applying for a job, and you know recruiters are going to look you up online, start sharing industry related news. Connect with professionals that work at companies you've applied to work at on LinkedIn and engage with them

• A resume is just a piece of paper, but a social media profile is a digital experience for anyone viewing your page.

• Find ways to make yourself stand out professionally.

• Give the company a ‘shout out’?

If you want more information about how you can effectively develop your personal brand, register for my upcoming online workshop entitled: Using Social Media to Enhance Your Personal Brand