Before I begin, I'm going to make a case for personal branding.
Understandably, many Millennials are disillusioned by The Brand Called "You". After all, why should anyone have to market themselves like a product? That very question sums up the philosophy I've gathered from most of my Millennial peers.
I understand the hesitance. As a Millennial myself, I can vouch that it's hard for us to accept anything that seems disingenuous. After all, there's evidence that Millenials actually value happiness more than other generations. When our goals revolve around genuine happiness, putting up a front to get a job seems counter intuitive. Would anyone even be happy at a job they had to change themselves to acquire?
It's a valid question! Though often dismissed as "Generation Me", Millenials have rational concerns that deserve to be taken seriously. That said, I also think that a lot of us are way too cynical. Branding doesn't have to be as middle-aged-exec-buzzword-y as it sounds. Allow me to offer you my own definition of branding, informed by research:
Personal branding is what happens when you offer a consistent, honest, and streamlined picture of who you are as a person. Notice how I said nothing about changing yourself. You obviously want your brand to be positive, but it's not about making up a new person. Rather, branding is being aware of how valuable you actually are, and showcasing that value for the world to see.
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How do you do that, online in particular? Here are a few tips:
Google yourself. This one is pretty standard. I'm sure you've done it before, but take a moment to do so now if it's been a while. What comes up? Take special note of what people will be seeing on the first page (both web and images). Most likely, Google will lead to your social media accounts, which goes to show how important it is to clean up your social media every now and then. Make sure that nothing particularly negative comes up, but you should also be concerned if you find nothing at all! You know how you assume something doesn't exist if you Google it and get no results? Employers sometimes think that way too.
Got a common name? As for what you do if nothing relevant comes up - make sure your name is working for you. A big problem for people with common names is that Google can't find you. This is an issue I had to deal with recently. Despite "Vieira" being a bit obscure, a search for "Kelly Vieira" brought up a ton of people who were not me. To fix that, I decided that I should go by "Kelly F. Vieira" professionally. After changing my name on social media (and my resume, so employers know what name to search), you can actually find me on Google now.
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| First few results are actually me! It's a start. |
Make a digital business card. It's easy for us Millennials to take this for granted, but we have a ton of marketable skills that people twice our age often don't have. Case in point: ask an older relative if they could figure out how Tumblr works in 15 minutes or less. What better way to show off than to have a virtual business card? It might seem superfluous, but having a personal profile on a website like About.Me is helpful. A short summary of who you are is a perfect opportunity to start on that "personal brand" thing. Come up with a short paragraph that you can use across sites - that creates consistency!
Consider a personal website. Having a website is an awesome way to show employers who you are as a person. Maybe this is my bias since I'm a blogger - but reading someone's blog is one of the best ways to get to know their personality. If you're not the traditional blogging type - maybe set up something simple, like a Wordpress or Tumblr where you can put up a nice photo, your resume, and a virtual portfolio of your work. Linking to your own website on your resume will make you seem super fancy and legitimate, trust me.
Shine on social media. I'm sure you've already heard all the horror stories about social media and the job search - that's not where I'm going here. I want to look at the bright side of social media. Rather than being something you hope employers don't find, social media can actually be one way to show off that you're a real live human with fascinating thoughts and interests. Twitter, for example, is a great way to connect with all kinds of people in different fields. It doesn't have to be a way to tell everyone what you had for breakfast.
Shine on social media. I'm sure you've already heard all the horror stories about social media and the job search - that's not where I'm going here. I want to look at the bright side of social media. Rather than being something you hope employers don't find, social media can actually be one way to show off that you're a real live human with fascinating thoughts and interests. Twitter, for example, is a great way to connect with all kinds of people in different fields. It doesn't have to be a way to tell everyone what you had for breakfast.
Since this blog post was all about self-promotion and branding:
Follow me on Twitter @Kelly_F_Vieira or
Check out my LinkedIn
Signing off,
Kelly F. Vieira
Class of 2015
