Five Ways To Build Your Brand That Most Job Seekers Overlook

Fall is a busy time for recruiting. Companies are pushing to get hiring done before headcount disappears in year-end (or to get a jump on next year’s projects). Individuals are coming back into work mode after the lazy days of summer. So there is more opportunity but also more competition, which taken together makes a lot more noise to cut through. Of course, you want to make sure your resume, online profile, and networking pitch are in good working order. But you want to maximize every opportunity to highlight your value, not just the obvious. Here are five ways you can build your brand that most job seekers overlook:

Email Signature

At a minimum you want your full name, phone number and email address so that your recipients can easily grab your contact information. (I can’t tell you how many candidate emails I received as a recruiter with first names only!). You also want a link to your online profile (and personal website if you have one). If you have been cited in major media, you can include a link to your media page. If you have been published, you can link to your article or book. This additional information encourages your recipients to learn more about you and makes it easy for them to check you out.

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Voicemail Message

You want a clear and concise voicemail message so I don’t recommend putting a lot of information on your message. But how crisply you state your name and phone number and how welcoming your tone is give the listener a hint of your professional presence. Do you sound relaxed, energetic, and confident? Yes, you hear all that in a voicemail message. Keep these issues in mind, too, when you’re leaving a voicemail for someone!

Online Picture

You don’t have to get a professional headshot taken (though it certainly helps if you do media appearances or speaking or other thought leadership). Your online picture comes up in profiles, in Internet searches, and sometimes in email exchanges. I once worked at a firm that used Gmail as its email exchange, so pictures that had been uploaded into other Gmail accounts sometimes showed up as that person’s avatar (for instance, if someone also used Gmail personally). One person had a picture where she was too casually dressed, and it looked unprofessional. I don’t know that she even realized this picture would come up. Make sure you check the images that are attached to your various profiles, email clients, and even comment/ review forums.

Professional Summaries

Many resumes have a short summary at the top. In LinkedIn, profiles also have the option of opening with a summary. Many job seekers take advantage of this extra space and the opportunity to frame their background for the reader, essentially priming the reader in advance for what you want them to pick up. Too many job seekers don't include a summary and miss the chance to categorize their experience in a way that makes patterns and themes evident. A summary can list out industry specialties or special skills. Brand names in a summary convey instant credibility without the reader having to dig through years of information. In LinkedIn, you might even choose to tell your story in your summary, engaging the otherwise casual skimmer and giving a window into how you got into your field or what you have uniquely accomplished.

Anchor Text In Your Resume

By anchor text, I mean embedding a hyperlink into your text so that if a reader chooses to get more information you have made it easily accessible. You can anchor text your employer names to the company websites. For a lesser-known employer, this provides some background information if the reader wants it. You can anchor text publications that you list to where your articles are stored online. If a project resulted in a report or PowerPoint you have made available in your web portfolio, you can anchor text your mention of the project. If you list your social media handles on your resume, anchor text directly to your profiles.

These subtle opportunities to brand yourself are easily implemented if you just remember to take advantage of all the times you are communicating with your network – email, phone, social media….Remember, the network for your job search isn’t just prospective employers but also personal contacts who might yield professional leads. Every time you send an email, your signature can be sending out your resume as a tiny hyperlink below your name. Every time you leave a message, you leave a clue into your communication skills and presence. Every time your profile comes up in a search, your picture comes up too. Brand the small details too!