PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST

PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST PAGE 2 INTRODUCTION Jobs come and go, but your personal brand remains with you throughout your entire career. It s up to you to carefully define that brand and manage it. Whether you re searching for a new job or looking to advance your career, it s important to tell a consistent story about your work experience and goals online, on paper, and in person. Follow the steps below to overhaul your personal brand and set your career up for success. CONTENTS Introduction.........................................................2 Define Your Long-Term Goals...3 Update Your Resume...4 Google Your Name...5 Secure Your Social Media Accounts...........................................6 Clean Up Your Online Presence........................................7 Develop Your Elevator Pitch...8 Reevaluate Your Appearance...9

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST PAGE 3 DEFINE YOUR LONG-TERM GOALS When you clarify your goals, it s easier to evaluate your current brand and determine if it is supporting or sabotaging these goals. Consider the following questions and write down your answers: Where do you want to go next in your career? Are you looking for the next step up the corporate ladder or do you want to transition to something completely different? Take a hard look at your work experience and consider your interests, what you like about your work, and what you wish could be different. Ideally, where do you see yourself in five or more years? What would you like to be known for at work? Unsure where you want to go next? Give these job-goal exercises a try: http://bit.ly/1r8ecvv

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST PAGE 4 UPDATE YOUR RESUME As your goals change and your years of experience increase, the format of your resume will require some revisions. If you re planning to look for a new job in the New Year, this document will become a critical piece of your personal branding campaign. Make sure it s ready by following the steps below. If you haven t already, request a free resume critique from TopResume to get a better sense of how your current resume would fare in today s job market. Click on the following link to request your critique today: http://bit.ly/1szhoc7. Gather all the information you ll need in order to craft a powerful document, such as your (1) work experience, (2) accomplishments and major contributions, (3) awards, (4) education, (5) volunteer work, and (6) professional memberships. Click on the following link for a complete list of items to collect for your resume rewrite: http://bit.ly/1q1xzrh. Need help? Hire a TopResume professional writer to do the job for you. Click on the following link to learn more: http://bit.ly/1trcunp

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST PAGE 5 GOOGLE YOUR NAME Run a Google search on your name, as it will appear on your resume, and review the results. Do your professional profiles appear towards the top of the first page of results? If not, make sure your name on these accounts is spelled exactly the same way as it will be on your resume. Is there anything on the first page of results that concerns you? Take a screenshot of the page and make a note of the URL, but do NOT click on the link multiple times or share it with others. You can push down bad listings by creating additional content online, such as new professional social media accounts on sites like About.Me, an online portfolio (for those in creative fields), bios on your professional associations sites, and a blog (for writers or those who wish to demonstrate their subject matter expertise). For more help, check out the following resources: Online Reputation Management: http://bit.ly/1rr02nk Reputation.com: http://bit.ly/1iwvalb Reputation Management Consultants: http://bit.ly/1ze3lsy If something can t be removed, be prepared to answer any questions that may come up during an interview.

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST PAGE 6 SECURE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS According to a Jobvite study, 93 percent of recruiters will review a candidate s social profiles before making a hiring decision. Make sure they don t see anything they shouldn t. Make a list of all your social media accounts and decide which ones you plan to use to support your professional brand. This includes, but is not limited, to: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Vine, Google+, and YouTube. Separate any personal accounts from your professional brand by changing the username to something other than the name that appears on your resume, such as a nickname or your first and middle name. Increase the security settings on your personal social media accounts so you control who sees what.

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST PAGE 7 CLEAN UP YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE Once your resume is updated, edit your professional social media accounts to align with your current career goals. It doesn t matter whether you go by Cynthia or Cindy or if you prefer to include your middle initial in your full name or not. The key is to make sure your name is consistently represented across your resume and any online accounts you want to associate with your personal brand. If the account allows you to include your work history and education, make sure all the information matches your resume. This includes the company names, employment dates, job titles, institutions attended, and degrees earned. Over 90 percent of employers use LinkedIn to search for and evaluate candidates. If you haven t created a LinkedIn profile yet, it s time to make one. Click on the following link for some LinkedIn best practices: http://bit.ly/1lu1bnz. Need more help? Our professional writers can help you with that. Contact a TopResume representative today: http://bit.ly/1qmvrez

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST PAGE 8 DEVELOP YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH An elevator pitch is one of the many methods you ll use to communicate your personal brand to potential employers. Brainstorm responses to the following questions: Who are you? What are you great at and passionate about? How do your strengths and skills provide value to potential employers? Your goal is to create a short introduction (approximately 30 seconds) that you can use when you re meeting new people. Your delivery, the details you elaborate on, and the terminology you use will depend upon the audience and occasion. For instance, your elevator pitch at a formal networking event or an interview would be very different than how you d pitch yourself to a friend of a friend at a New Year s eve party. Practice reciting your pitch out loud, in front of a mirror. If possible, record yourself on your phone so you can play it back and evaluate your delivery.

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING CHECKLIST PAGE 9 REEVALUATE YOUR APPEARANCE Experts agree that everything from your clothing and grooming habits to your hygiene and hair style can affect your professional advancement. When was the last time you updated your professional wardrobe and interview outfit? Remember, clothing has an expiration date. Think about the work environment of the organization you currently work for or want to work for in the future. Make sure your appearance supports your personal brand. Make sure everything is stain-free, pressed, and fits you properly. Does your business wardrobe and facial hair (for men) make sense, given the company culture? The next time you visit the barber or hair salon, ask one of the stylists for their honest opinion about your hairstyle to ensure you re not dating yourself with the wrong look.take these steps to update your personal brand and you ll be on your way to a better career in no time! Looking for more help? Visit www.topresume.com/career-advice and sign up to receive our weekly newsletter!

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