If you brand it will they come? While it may sound like one big field of dreams, a carefully crafted and customized personal brand will not only convey your value and define your vision it will also offer a unique perspective to prospective employers and hiring managers. It’s all about marketing yourself in the way that is going to get you noticed and essentially get you the job. You might be tempted to brush off personal branding as a passing trend but in reality the only thing passing by will be your dream job – that is unless you make a commitment to developing your very own personal brand.
For the amount of time you spend writing and rewriting your resume it can be very disheartening to know the time spent by hiring managers reading your resume is minimal. Sorry to say, but true. That is why you need to grab their attention immediately and compel them to keep reading. The top half to third of the first page of your resume should be BAM, POW, WOW! Knock them out with your intro and they’ll get back up for more.
Take a look at the following examples. The first one is a non-branded objective statement seen way too often by hiring managers and recruiters. The second is a personal branding statement that clearly translates the candidate’s unique value.
BORING OLD OBJECTIVE:
Creative marketing professional seeks a position within an organization that will allow me to utilize my skills with the potential for growth.
ATTENTION-GRABBING BRANDING STATEMENT:
Forward-thinking marketing professional offering a unique combination of creativity and analytical skill with the ability to assess both vantage points simultaneously for an effective balance of visual nuance and sound business decisions which are easily transferable into a variety of positions.
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Which one do you think is going to hold the reader’s attention? I hope you can clearly see the advantages the second one has to offer. If you are still holding onto the old school resume format it’s time to let go and embrace the new trends in resume writing. It might not be your style; you might think it’s too over the top but you have to realize that this is a marketing tool and you need to sell yourself.
If you find yourself struggling to find your personal brand or you just don’t know what hiring managers are looking for submit your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com for a free analysis.
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CAREEREALISM Expert, Jessica Holbrook Hernandez, CEO of Great Resumes Fast is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, and presenter. She has written hundreds of articles that are featured on some of the best career advice Web sites today. In addition, her writing has been included in Launch Pad, a career search strategy guide featuring exclusive information by the top career experts in the industry. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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