We can all agree that the past nearly two years leave us yearning for a better tomorrow. For students the inevitable will come: starting a ‘grown-up’ job. This train of thought started with the Recruitment Days which took place this week from Monday to Wednesday. On this event students (aka pre-professionals) had the perfect opportunity to discover the labour market and how their future in said market will be. This start to our career raises the question: How do I brand my professional self? This blog will give you five tips to make your brand (seem) indispensable.
1. Google yourself
These days, there’s not much of a gap between personal and professional branding. But your professional brand is what matters to a potential employer, networking contact, or anyone who can help you find a job or grow your career. Whether you call it your personal or professional brand, it is important that it reflects who you are as a person. A thing to keep in mind though is that what happens in Groningen, does not stay in Groningen. Your online presence is still very much in the present and can be found with a simple Google Search. You may show up to an interview in a professional manner, but won’t be much help when they find pictures of you with your friends drunk swimming in the canals of Groningen. So make sure to manage who can see what content you put into the world.
2. Show Yourself
As much as you should manage what side of you professionals do not see, you should definitely show the world your strengths. What you can and what you know. Online is a great tool for showcasing that. You could start doing that today. If you’re not on LinkedIn, get on LinkedIn. If you are, start using it! Yes, making connections with the people you know and adding your resume is a good first step, but is not the end. Start becoming more active on LinkedIn. You can like posts that interest you and respond to posts or even share your own content. Let others know what your ambitions, values and your accomplishments are.3.
3. Create your brand universe
Just like the branding of a company, your professional brand should have a clear message throughout all platforms. A universal message across all platforms will amplify your brand. This applies to the content you put out there, but should also apply for the visuals across all platforms. Us humans still like to look at pictures, so use them! Using the same profile picture makes your accounts easier to find and banners can give your platforms a hint of personality. That visual effect will help build your brand and will help increase your recognition by prospective employers and career contacts. Do you have a creative resume? Make the banners creative! Make your entire professional brand a universe of you.
4. Don't wait for things to fall into your lap
This tip may be more applicable when you are already working at your ‘grown-up’ job, or at your internship. Maybe there’s a promotion or job you really want and you know you would be perfect for. Don’t wait to get noticed and expect that a career or promotion will simply happen. You will not make much progress in your career if you wait to get noticed for your skills and capabilities. If you want something, you need to ask for it. Let others know what your ambitions are. Know your own value and learn how to sell yourself when the right opportunity comes. Don’t wait for your manager to simply give you the promotion, tell them you want it. Even at a networking event, tell people that you are looking for a job or internship and they might have the job just for you.
5. Have a little faith
You have done everything in your power to create your professional brand. You may already be convinced about your purpose in life and know the exact path you need to take to get there. Or you may not be sure about the road ahead, and that’s okay. Our generation sometimes wants to have the entire world in their hands after working for maybe a month. It could even result in you feeling pressure to have the same fast success, but that is not very realistic. Maybe you won’t get the first job you applied for, maybe you won’t get the tenth. Have a little faith in yourself, your life, and your brand.
In conclusion, stepping out of the student world and into the ‘grown-up world’ might be frightening. But starting your career involves creating your own professional brand. You need to look inside and determine who you are as a professional in the industry. Your online presence and the connection between all of your online and offline platforms will enhance your brand even more. Be who you desire to be, show that to the world (or in this case a potential employer, networking contact, or anyone who can help you find a job and grow your career. But in this case, same thing.). Explore the world, create your own universe, work towards your goals and believe that every little thing is going to be alright.