Posted By: Heather Eagar In: Business Professional Your executive brand can play a vital role in your job search. Beware: It can also be your downfall.
It’s not easy to come up with ways to remain relevant as an executive who is in between jobs. Working on a brand is a full time job in and of itself, and this is especially true for executives struggling to stay updated while in between jobs.
While it’s not exactly easy to build and nurture your brand, it’s easy as pie to ruin it. With just a few misguided errors, the brand you’ve worked so hard to build could easily crumble, that is, unless you remember to do the following…
Always Plan Your Next Move
Instead of jumping on an exciting venture – with your name attached – that sounds too good to be true, take time to look over the situation, make sure it’s right for you and determine whether it should be your next move. Regardless of how long you've been an executive, if you're trying to grow a brand, you've got to be extremely careful about where (and how) your name appears.
Showcase Your Resume
Your resume may come in the form of a CV, resume profile or LinkedIn page. However, you want to show it off to the world, make sure that you do so to allow people to see what it is that makes you such a great voice in your industry.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be Yourself
Sometimes, as people begin to build their executive brand – especially on the Internet – they tend to fold under the pressure of others who have opinions of how they should think. Do what you can to avoid letting this happen to you. If you appear indecisive or wishy-washy, employers in particular won’t see you as a steady force and someone who will be able to made solid, unfaltering decisions when the time comes.
Remember to Bring in Reinforcements When Necessary
Sometimes building your brand requires that you enlist others to help you get your name out there. You might be on friendly terms with a local reporter. When something newsworthy happens, it's going to be essential that you contact this friend to try to get an article written that prominently features your name--it instantly helps your recognizability. Or if you have a friend who is a board member for a local charity, you may be able to organize an event where you will be the keynote speaker. Getting your name in front of others isn’t always easy, but it’s simpler when bringing in reinforcements.
Share What You Know
Probably one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and others when building your brand is to offer advice to others. Blogs have become extremely valuable tools to this end. You don’t have to pay a thing to get one started and can draw an audience that will come for your advice as often as you give it – a great way to show credibility.
There’s nothing greater than being able to build your brand to help you in your job search. Building your brand will also help you learn things about yourself, and you'll stand a much better chance in interviews when you're armed with confidence in your brand and your abilities.
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