Your brand is the value you bring to everything you do professionally and tells an employer what they can count on when hiring you! Make it personal. People hire people, people they like, people they sense will get the job done, people they can connect with and people they can count on. Be sure your target audience knows what your brand can deliver!

Personal branding is strategically influencing others regarding your unique experience and skills. Use branding to show your subject matter expertise, boost professional credibility, and to differentiate from other professionals. Establish who you are, network, communicate, and promote talents to build awareness, market your abilities, and create perceived value.

Zeroing in on your area of expertise is key in identifying your brand. Highlighting your track record for success relevant to the position will differentiate you from the next candidate. Using personal branding effectively means showcasing your skills and how you impacted the bottom-line. Don’t just tell, show!

Personal branding is an intentional effort to clearly communicate what you are known for – that is what differentiates you from other people.

Personal branding is the “message” you send about who you are and what you have to offer. It combines attributes (driven, analytical, etc.) and competencies (budget management, data analysis, etc.). Branding should be introduced in the top 3rd of your resume and reinforced throughout. Even verbs can reiterate your brand. Strong leader? Try “pioneered”. Analytical? Use “scrutinized” or “evaluated”.

Your personal or “career” brand is what you put into the world for people to get to know you. You use your résumé, cover letter, and social media profile to create excitement; you have desirable skills, experiences, passions, and personality traits. Ultimately, a company will want to know how you will benefit them. Use your brand to make it clear how you drive results and make an impact.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is famously quoted as saying, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” A personal brand is your purpose, your mission, your promise of unique combination of values, skills, experiences you communicate to your audience (potential employer or for that matter, the entire world) in a genuine way.