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Developing your Personal Brand in the Global Relocation Industry

personal brand

Personal branding has been a hot topic for almost two decades, since Fast Company Magazine published Tom Peters’ article, “The Brand Called You.” But creating your own personal brand back then was not as easy as it is today, thanks to social media and technology.

We work hard at Signature Source to match top-notch candidates with the most highly regarded employers in the global relocation industry. Building your online presence and managing your brand is up to you, the fastest way to get noticed and grow your career.

But where to start? For years, we have been telling candidates to google themselves to see what pops up, exactly the first suggestion of an article on more.com, a primer on how to get your personal brand into fighting shape. It’s a seven-step process that we are sharing today.

 

  1. Google yourself! So easy to do, but only 56 percent of us have done it, according to the Pew Research Center. Once you’ve taken the first step, do you like what you see? And what if a prospective employer was looking over your shoulder, reading your Google search? Hopefully the reaction would be favorable. If not, it’s time to create content on the Web. Begin by blogging on LinkedIn and building a support network there.
  2. Speaking of LinkedIn, is it time for a makeover? Include a professional head shot. If you don’t have one, invest the money and have one taken. Outline your work experience as a portfolio rather than a chronological list. Start with a two-deck headline, the top line your industry or job followed by a sentence about the values you bring to your job. Then write a two-paragraph summary of your professional life and how you got to where you are. LinkedIn’s career expert Nicole Williams says it should look like an objective statement on a resume and cautions that it should never be dull or dry. Follow this with the logos of the companies you have worked with.
  3. Consistency is key. Stick to one name on all platforms. No nicknames on one platform and your complete name, including your middle initial, on another. Choose a color and use it for your brand on your Website, your Twitter theme color, in your email signature and on your stationary and business cards.
  4. Align with other strong brands. Shama Hyder, CEO of the Marketing Zen Group, suggests starting with the three Cs: company, college, colleagues. Connect with those who are well respected in their professions. Consider contributing to an alumni publication or write a guest post for a company blog.
  5. Build your network. Make a list of people – peers you admire, potential clients, professionals you would like to get to know – and set time aside each week to reach out to them. It can be through email, or schedule a weekly lunch or morning coffee with someone from a different department at work, a professional you recently met, or a prospective client. If you do this consistently, on a weekly basis, by next year you will have reached out to at least 50 new people.
  6. Keep refining. Really think about your profession and the little niche within it that you can claim by offering a unique point of view. If you become the go-to person for a specific section of your industry, you will get noticed. Once you identify your niche, it can become the basis for how you sell yourself in the previous steps.
  7. Renew and develop yourself. Understand the direction in which you want to grow, and then take the time to work toward that goal. It won’t happen overnight, but little steps toward self-improvement, consistently taken, will get you to your goal in the fastest way possible.

Creating your personal brand takes time, energy effort – and most importantly consistency. Once you begin it becomes a habit, an important part of your daily life that makes you a more effective and sought-after YOU!

In February, we will continue this discussion by unveiling the important components of a personal brand, and in March, the dos and don’ts of a personal brand.

  • National Association Executive Recruiters
  • National Association Personnel Services
  • Foreign for Expatriate Management
  • Society for Human Resources Management
  • Worldwide ERC
  • Women Business Enterprise National Council
  • Southeast Regional Relocation Council
  • Chicago Relocation Council
  • North Texas Relocation Professionals
  • Houston Relocation Professionals
  • Tennessee Relocation Council
  • Midwest Relocation Council
  • Metro Atlanta Relocation Council