Now what? You have a personal brand that is great; it clearly shows your value to employers, so now you have to show it to the world. You’ve heard it over and over that you’re a product to be sold to employers, the buyers.

However, if your brand isn’t consistent, you’re not an established product. Consider how you’ll brand yourself with your résumé and LinkedIn profile.

Résumé

Your résumé is most likely the first document the employers will see, so your personal brand must have an immediate impact. If not, your chances of getting an interview are very slim.

Purpose of your résumé. You will send a tailored résumé in response to a specific job. Your résumé employs push technology, as you are reacting to an advertised job. The following components of your résumé will contribute to your personal brand:

1. A branding headline tells potential employers exactly who you are, as well as what you’re capable of doing. It should consist of approximately 10 words that describe what you do, perhaps the industry/ies in which you work, and some strong areas of expertise.
2. Performance Profile is a section on a résumé that sometimes gets overlooked in a reviewer’s rush to get to the Work History. However, if you throw in phrases that immediately expresses your value, such as a bolded  accomplishment statement, your Performance Profile will not be overlooked. Example: Operations manager who increases companies’ revenue in excess of 60% annually through shrewd business acumen.
3. Key skills for the positions you’re pursuing are listed in your Core Competency section. These are skills that are specific to the position for which you’re applying. Don’t highlight skills that are irrelevant for a particular position, e.g., strong written communication skills when verbal communication skills are essential.
4. Job-specific accomplishments will effectively send a consistent branding message. While a show of your former/current responsibilities might seem impressive, accomplishments speak volumes. Provide quantified results in the form of numbers, dollars, and percentages.
5. Keywords and phrases common to each position are not only necessary to be located by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS); they’ll rouse attention from employers in a Core Competency section.

LinkedIn profile

Purpose of you LinkedIn profile. Your profile is NOT focused on a specific job; it is static and more general. It uses push technology, as recruiters and hiring managers will find you by entering your title and areas of expertise.

Your consistent message demonstrated through your résumé carries over to your LinkedIn profile. While your profile and résumé are different, they are similar in how you deliver your branding message.

1. Like on your résumé, a branding headline will tell potential employers exactly who you are, as well as what you’re capable of doing. However, it is general and includes more areas of expertise. Your branding headline and photo are what visitors to your profile will see first. Together they must make a great first impression.
2. Your profile Summary will be different from your résumé’s Performance Profile; it is written in first- or third-person, but it must brand you as someone who demonstrates direction and potential greatness. You may use content from your commercial in your Summary. To some this is considered the most important section of your profile. You’re allowed 2,000 characters.
3. List your outstanding technical and transferable skill in the Skills section. This section on your profile is similar to the Core Competency section on your résumé. The skills you list must show your proficiency, as opposed to your familiarity. You will be endorsed for your skills, which arguably demonstrate your expertise.
4. Your Employment section will be briefer than your résumé’s, highlighting just the outstanding accomplishments from each job. Accomplishments that are quantified with numbers, dollars, and percentages speak louder than simple duty statements and are the most effective way to brand yourself.
5. Keywords are just as important to have on your profile as they are on your résumé. Employers will only find you if your profile contains the keywords they enter into Advanced People Search. LinkedIn has a new Skill feature that analyzes your technical and transferable skills, indicating their projections and offering more suggestions, among other cool features.

Some additional components of your LinkedIn profile which will cement your consistent branding are ones not found on your résumé. The most obvious is a highly professional or business casual photo. Another useful area of your profile is Media which allows you to share PowerPoint or Prezi presentations, copies of your résumés, videos, and various other files.

Combining both documents, your brand with be more powerful than if you use a résumé alone. The résumé to respond to job ads and your LinkedIn profile to pull employers to you will be the powerful punch you need in your job search.

Photo: Flickr, Ploymint HQ

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