You: The Brand | Part One - Your Resume

You. You are a brand. Whether you like it or not. Whether you want to be or not. You are a brand and you need to sell yourself as such. Whether you are a freelancer, a person on the hunt for a full-time job or anything in-between. The brand of you is something that is more important in the digital age than it has ever been before.

Gentle readers, this is something that your MatchGirl has touched on before, but let's look at it a little more specifically - you're one person, on a job hunt, creating the brand for the product you are trying to sell - YOU.

First things first.

You need to tell your story.
Not sure what that is? Let's start with your resume.
Here's a great exercise:

1. Grab a notebook and pen (yes - go analogue, it will be easier to edit and get your thoughts together).
2. Write down all the key words that your dream job requires - whether you're looking for a job right now, or if you just have one in mind for down the road. Pull these words from job postings, from the LinkedIn profiles of people who have your dream job and from what you think your dream job requires. 
3. Then write down all the qualifications that you have, for any job. I like to do this exercise using columns, but you can use different sheets of paper, too.
4. Where do they meet up? If you've been working towards a goal, there will be loads of overlap.
5. Pull up your old resume - I like a printed copy so I can mark on it, but feel free to use your favorite text editor.
6. Take a hard look at your resume, at what it says. Are the key words for your sought after job in there? Can they be? Pen in hand, go through the bullets of your resume and insert the skills you've got, that match your key words, into your resume.
7. Have stuff on there not related to your dream job? Spent a year slinging burgers but looking for a journalism job? Can that year. Unless you're looking for your first job, you've got relevant work experience, volunteer experience or even college experiences that will add weight to your targeted resume much more than that year when you were just working your bum off to make rent.
8. Know someone who's working in your dream area? It's best if they're senior and have been in a hiring position before. Ask them to review your resume. Your MatchGirl has done this and it was one of the smartest things I did. Don't be proud - your friends and your close network want you to succeed. 
9. Make the changes suggested. Seriously. 
10. Upload to all job boards where your old resume was, LinkedIn and any resume section of your website or blog.

This is a really good start. Congratulations!

Next post, branding yourself across networks.

Photo ᔥ VivaScriva