5 Fundamentals of Resume Branding
Brand has a bit of different meaning depending on the context, However when you look at the core essence of a brand, it could be defined as: “ what is felt about or thought of a product or service. It is that experience or perception that you have about a product, service, organization or person.”
When we look at a manufacturing business, their brand is different from their Logo or their Name, same goes with a person and in context of career and job search. Your Brand is different from your name or your credentials.
2- What is a Brand in career context?
Your Brand is what a potential employer would think of or feel about you, your skills, your experiences which is shaped by how you represent yourself on your application. This is going to answer the question: “Is this person a good fit for the job and to our culture?”. Your Brand is what makes a hiring manager pick YOU, if things come down to basing the decision on that gut feeling.
3- Does Branding really work?
A good branding statement might help you a lot in the hiring process specially in the HR selection phase.
When someone reads your resume, there are only a few things that will be remembered about you and your experiences, so you want the recruiter to remember the best of your qualities and also to get a good feeling about your personality.
In many cases though, when you are in front of the hiring manager, you may not be evaluated based on your brand, rather the details of your work experience, skills and your prior performances.
4- What to include in your Brand statement?
Your brand is about:
- Who you are
- What is your unique qualities
- What value you will bring to that team
- Why the hiring manager should choose you
5- What NOT to include in your Brand statement?
Avoid using:
- Too many sentences
- Too many cliché words
- Copying from someone else’s resume
- Any false claims
- Major over-exaggeration of your skills
Where to put your branding statement?
You want your application to lead with your brand:
- LinkedIn: Either add it to your Headlines or About section of your profile
- Resume: Between your contacts and experiences. You can have this statement in addition or instead of your Objectives.
- Cover Letter: Although less common, however you can use a small selection of your branding words as part of your introduction in the cover letter.
For choosing between branding statement, Objectives, Highlights or Headlines and what to include in each section, always go with what best highlights your qualifications for that specific job. What’s most important is to make sure that your application matches your skills to those qualities that the employer is looking for.
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Originally published at https://leapfrogmission.com on March 25, 2021.
