[ EPISODE 3: How to Craft a Powerful Personal Brand for Job Search Success  |  YOUR BRAND ]

ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to How To Land Your Ideal Job, with Alicia and Harinder.

ALICIA:

Hello and welcome to how to land your ideal job. The podcast that offers a step by step blueprint to finding and getting the job you want. Hi, I'm Alicia.

HARINDER:

I'm Harinder.

ALICIA:

The focus of today's episode is your brand. We’ll be tackling your resume or CV, your cover letter, and all those important things you'll need for your job search. And it all starts with first understanding your brand. And if you haven't done so already, please give a listen to the earlier episode entitled “What Do You want to do?” because the lists we created there in that episode are going to come in really handy here. 

Your brand.

What is it and what's yours? Harinder, what is a brand?

HARINDER:

A brand is essentially how others perceive you based on how you present yourself, in my words. So, for example, Alicia, can you think of someone right now that has left a strong impression on you? That by just thinking about them conjures up a feeling or an image, maybe someone you admire? I'll let you start, and then I'll share my person.

ALICIA:

The person that comes to mind immediately was my abuela, my grandmother. She had this strength about her that made you feel like everything was possible. And I have to share that there was someone else. And that second person was Julie Andrews. When I think of Julie Andrews, I think of someone who's elegant, authentic and fun. She just has such a great personal brand.

HARINDER:

Was it the Mary Poppins role that really nailed?

ALICIA:

You know, it was the Sound of Music.

HARINDER:

Ah, OK.

ALICIA:

But, but you see, she was the same person. Well, at least for me, the same person, even in Victor Victoria. She had total class and just… I just loved her, especially growing up.

HARINDER:

Lovely. For me it was my primary school teacher. She had this uncanny ability to talk to all of her students, including me like we were all at the same level, we were all peers. And she could also challenge our behaviors by holding up a mirror to ourselves and make us question why we did things a certain way or felt we had to do things a certain way. 

So I guess that this goes to show that they don't have to be somebody famous to have a great brand.

It's just someone who resonates with you. And we all know someone that brings that something special into every space that they enter and you can notice it when they leave because that special sauce that essence seems to exit with them as they leave.

ALICIA:

Wouldn’t we all love to have that kind of impact?

So if your brand is a combination of how you want people to see you and the vibe you radiate, what's your personal brand? 

If you were to ask someone you knew to describe you in three words, what would they say? What words would they use? Would they use words like creative, energetic, passionate, sharp dresser? 

Then ask yourself a bigger question. What would you LIKE your personal brand to be? Do you want to be seen or known as someone who's creative and confident and dependable? Why don't you start to make a list of the words you want people to use when they describe you? Because these words can become the colors you use to paint your personal brand onto anything you want. 

Your brand comes across in who you are and what you do and how you say things. Not only in person, but in your brand assets too. And with that in mind, we'll spend the rest of this episode looking at three key brand assets you're going to need for your job search and you can start to think about how to add your personal brand to each one.

HARINDER:

So in terms of the brand elements that Alicia just referenced, we're going to cover here today your CV or your resume and cover letter. We'll also mention LinkedIn and social media at large. 

There are ways that you can get your branding messages across. For example, it could be through a video recording or even audio, but we're going to stick to these core ones today. 

Just a point, I think I'd like to make at this moment, which is that before we get too much into this topic, there is something around integrity. I think it's important to mention that it's only natural that we want to promote ourselves or present ourselves in a way that's going to be, you know, favorable or make us more appealing to a potential employer. And therefore it might become tempting for us to exaggerate our experience. If so, what I would say to that is you've got to be prepared to provide those examples, walk throughs, or back up any statements that you make in your CV or your resume. Personally, I would always say stick with the truth. And I found that in the end, when it comes to you and a prospective employer, it does boil down to chemistry. If they like you, they're going to hire you.

ALICIA:

Your CV or resume, your cover letter, and LinkedIn. Typically we would start with your CV or resume. Harinder, would you mind if we start off with the LinkedIn profile instead? 

HARINDER:

Now let's mix it up.

ALICIA:

Great. Thank you. 

And the reason for bringing it up before the resume is that some people leave the creation of their LinkedIn profile to the very last minute, or oddly enough, just skip it entirely. And we want to encourage you to make it a priority. 

LinkedIn is the social media platform for professionals and recruiters go there to find candidates for jobs they need to fill every day, and they can't find you if you're not there. 

And you know what's so powerful about the LinkedIn profile? Unlike a CV, it can give anyone online a fuller and much richer picture of you professionally and personally. 

Remember in episode one where you made that long list of your of skills and projects and experiences. That's the bank you can selectively draw from to help paint that full picture of you. 

I remember interviewing a gentleman who spent a year living and working in Antarctica. He had this calmness about him that made him appear unflappable, and after hearing about his life in Antarctica, I understood why you could see that he was the kind of person who could easily take on the demands of the job we were offering. And here's why I share that story. The fact that he lived in Antarctica for a year wasn't something written on his resume. It was something I learned after looking at his LinkedIn profile. And I'm so glad I checked out his profile and even happier that he shared that tidbit. The point is that you are not just the skills that you learned in school or in other jobs. You are the sum of all of your experiences, and that makes you amazingly unique. LinkedIn gives you a chance to show that.

HARINDER:

It sounds like it's a good time to take a quick look at a LinkedIn profile. At least the top section. What do you think?

ALICIA:

Yeah, I think that's a good idea. That top section of your profile includes your picture and your title and your summary.

HARINDER:

So let's start with the first item. Your professional picture first question is do you have? 1. And if you do. Is it a recent one? I've usually felt that if no photo company is actually the LinkedIn profile, I'm usually questioning whether or not it's a real profile or a fake one or incomplete. 

Make sure that you've got a photograph to attach to your profile and consider what you're wearing. Is it appropriate for the industry you're targeting yourself at, or even how you're posing? And making sure that that's aligned. Are you looking at the camera off to one side? Are you smiling? Do you look approachable? And I'm not saying that that is absolutely necessary, but think about how it aligns with the industry that you're interested in working in. And hopefully the answer to each of these is yes. 

The rest of the top profile section includes your title and a summary, so consider if your title can communicate who you are, who you can help, and how you're helping them. If you have a look on LinkedIn, you can see people usually say something like I help executives XYZ or I help a certain. Type of people do whatever. 

So as for your summary, you may want to work on that after you've completed all the other sections of your profile, because you will have gone through that in detail and you'll be clearer around the pieces that you want to pull out. And to help you prepare it as well as the other sections, we're going to provide links to a few resources that will help you walk through in terms of how to create a really great LinkedIn profile step by step.

ALICIA:

One of the resources is a book I use to update my own profile and after following their advice it was like a switch was turned on. I was getting at least one e-mail a week from recruiters looking to set up interviews, and that's because…

HARINDER:

Wow.

ALICIA:

Yeah, recruiters were typing in specific keywords into the search field and I was being found and the secret was that I was weaving in those key phrases and words into my profile, into my title, the summary, and all the other sections. It was like magic. 

And before moving on, is there anything else we want to cover regarding LinkedIn?

HARINDER:

So I just want to maybe touch base on social media here. So to your perspective employer, LinkedIn is going to help you to promote your professional brand. It is good to get out there and connect with people about what you might already know. And there is a whole world out there that you could just connect with or people you can follow who are inspiring to you, and open up new opportunities for yourself. When you start commenting on, you know, things that people have posted and it's a great way to promote your personal brand. 

ALICIA:

So true. It's also a great networking tool. Whenever I meet with someone I want to connect with professionally, I always ask if I can connect with them on LinkedIn. And I ask first because if I just send them an invite to connect, they might not remember who I am so asking them first is me letting them know that I'd be reaching out and it is amazing how much your network grows by doing that.

HARINDER:

That's very true. And actually you've just reminded me that, look, not everybody's going to have a business card, that they can exchange with somebody. So LinkedIn is a nice quick way to connect with someone you may have just met and you can do it instantaneously if you've already got the app on your phone. 

So just then to follow on, just think about the message that is sitting on your social media and what a prospective employer might think. And if they happen to look at your social media channels because this is all part and parcel of the brand and the image that you want to put out in the world. Are they all aligned together in terms of what and how you want to be seen and how you want to present yourself?

ALICIA:

So Next up, your CV or your resume. We're using both terms interchangeably.

HARINDER:

So if we talk about your CV, your resume, think about the industry or the specific company you want to work in and then have a look and see how they go about doing their branding. 

How do they run themselves? See if the way that you're presenting who you want to be is aligned to that, and if there's a fit, then have a look at doing a keyword search on their company website. Get a sense of who they are, the way that they talk and present themselves. Think about what your brand is today. Does it align with who you want to be? And does that align with the organization you might want to align yourself with? How do you want people to see you and how do you go about bridging that gap?

ALICIA:

Anything else before starting our resume, Harinder?

HARINDER:

Be really clear about the role or the type of role you're looking for next. 

So be specific. Is really what we're saying. And remember that your CV, or your resume, you can adjust to highlight the appropriate skills and experience required for a specific role. So you may have decided that there are a number of different types of roles. There are certain things that you can bring forward and highlight as you prepare different CVs for different roles that you might be going for. And, also include your skills and education. Alicia, do you want to jump in here and provide a bit more depth?

ALICIA:

I'd be happy to. But first know that Harinder already brought up the most important thing about your CV, which is that while a LinkedIn profile is public and shares detailed information about your entire career, the CV is something you can customize for a specific role or a specific audience. 

So imagine, if your LinkedIn profile were a refrigerator you're essentially going into that refrigerator and pulling out all the ingredients you want to cook into your resume. Harinder and I found a fabulous video that walks you through the creation of your resume, and we're going to share that link with you. But how's it will we just get you started? 

Pull out a piece of paper or fire up a Google Doc or a word doc and don't worry about formatting, because right now the focus of this exercise is just to help you gather all the information you're going to be putting into your resume. So let's go. 

……..

Your resume is made-up of about 11 sections, max.

Section 1. The first section that sits right underneath your large, beautiful name is the contact information section. Include your telephone number. Your address and just limit it to your city and state in this case. Include a linkable e-mail address. And the personalized link to your LinkedIn profile. That ‘s Section 1.

Section 2 contains your title. As Harinder shared earlier, make sure that your title clearly states the job you want. Or better yet, have it match the job you're actually applying for. 

Section 3. This is your summary statement.

HARINDER:

It's usually about a paragraph and it summarizes who you are. It's about 80 to 100 words. It would include adjectives to describe your personality in the professional environment.

ALICIA:

And if you don't have any work experience, you may opt to just create an objective statement. A summary statement gives a brief overview of your skills and experiences, while an objective statement states your career goals and what you hope to achieve. 

Visit the resource page for today's episode because we’ll include an article that explains the important difference between the two summaries, and it also includes a video on how to write a strong resume summary.

Section 4. This is your experience section or your list of projects. If you don't have any formal. Job experience yet? This section is the bread-and-butter section of your resume, because it's where you get to prove that you are the person they need. And you do this by sharing a selective list of jobs that you've held or projects that you've worked on and the specific things you did that helped make that business or that project a success.

HARINDER:

So, we would also suggest that you start with your newest role 1st and you work backwards. So in reverse chronology so that ideally your CV, your resume ends up on potentially a couple of sites with the newest experience near the front.

ALICIA:

Yes, thank you. 

Now for each past job or project you add to your resume include these five things. 

#1, the company name and location 

#2, the role you had at that company or on that project. 

#3, how long you were in that role? 

#4 is a bulleted list of specific actions you took in that role and the measurable result your actions delivered. 

And #5, if you have a lot of bullet statements, you can also include a short sentence right above the bullets that summarizes your job role, but that's optional. 

So let's really get into these job landing bullet statements, shall we? 

When someone reads your resume, they want to know what you're capable of so they can imagine you doing the same for them. 

Do your best to share statements that highlight positive, measurable results.

With that goal in mind, here's a formula you can use to build your bullet statements. 

Ready? 

“I did [blank] and got [blank] as a result.” 

That's it. So, for example, say you worked in a store stock room where you kept things clean and organized, and it was a holiday season and the products in the store were so in-demand that they had to reorder more. But the stock room was already full. Brilliant you totally reorganized the small stockroom and were able to fit in 50% more inventory than before. And they loved you for. It.

You could use the “I did this and got this” formula and you could end up with something like… “Reorganized the store supply room during holiday season and increased storage space and high demand product inventory by 50%.”

Do you see how that statement highlights the action you took? But more importantly, the positive measurable result your action delivered? If you just apply this formula to each statement you prepare, your reader will be able to see the kinds of results you can get for them. 

Another thing to do is to start each bulleted statement with a powerful action verb like organize, managed, lead, developed, deployed words that show that you're someone who takes ownership and gets things done. 

So remember, start with a verb. Say what you did and share the measurable result, and to help you out, we've included a link to a list of powerful action verbs you can use and links to more examples of bullet points that get interviews. 

Anything else, Harinder?

HARINDER:

To reiterate what Alicia was saying, the key thing is to be specific and for each role, describe what you did, and what you achieved. This helps to highlight what value you brought to an organization in the past, in the role that you performed.

ALICIA:

All right, now let's finish up with the remaining sections. All much easier to complete. 

Section 5 highlights your education. Just like the experience section, make a chronological list of all your formal education, starting from the most recent to the oldest. So you would start with your doctorate degree if you have one, then your masters, then your bachelor's, then your associates degree, and then your high school degree, which you would usually exclude if you had an Associates’ or Bachelors’ degree. 

Section 6. List your professional skills. Include all those hard and soft skills you gathered throughout your life. A hard skill or what can be called a technical skill would be something like the Google suite tools that you use. You know, like Docs or Sheets or Forms and Microsoft tools like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. 

And here's where you would also highlight your expertise with tools and processes used in your industry. Like bookkeeping software, social media, apps, filmmaking, even machinery. 

In addition to hard skills, also add soft skills to this list, like problem solving, networking, storytelling, time management. Skills you can apply to any job. 

In Section 7 enter your volunteer experience. Maybe you've helped out at the homeless shelter or worked with kids. Or perhaps you were a volunteer sports referee, or you worked at some fundraising events sponsored by your fraternity. This section highlights any unpaid work that you've done. And it's especially helpful if it's relevant to the job you're applying for. This volunteer section showcases your professional skills, and it also shows the employer that you're aware of and you care for those around you. 

Section 8 contains your certifications. So remember that certificate you received for that course you took? Maybe it was a finance workshop or an Amazon certification program, or an online training on some other topic. This is where you would list all those certificates. Employers do take note, especially if the certifications are relevant to the job you're applying for.

And section 9 is where you would list your awards and your honors. Did you win any at your last job or while you were at school? Maybe as part of a project or a competition? If so, list them here. Also, if you just graduated and were on the Dean's list for several years at that here too. 

Section 10 would be your memberships or affiliations. This is where you would list any professional or relevant personal groups that you belong to. This could be a professional organization like the National Association of Realtors, or a fraternity or sorority or volunteer group or club or council. Any place where you are a recognized member. And – a very important note – do not include any memberships or affiliations with political groups. The information is irrelevant here. That is, unless you're actually applying for a job in politics. 

And the last section, section 11, highlights your languages. Do you speak another language? Even if it's basic conversational Chinese or some other language, highlight it here. For example, you could list English as your native language and Chinese as your second language. 

OK, here's a quick recap of the 11 resume sections again.

#1, your contact information.

#2, your title.

3, your summary statement.

4, your experience. 

5, your formal education. 

6, your professional skills. 

7, your volunteer experience. 

8, your certifications. 

9, your awards and honors.

10, your memberships and affiliations. 

And 11, your languages. 

Voila. You have just pulled together your resume content. Well done you. 

………

We would be doing you a disservice if we did not share these seven very important formatting tips for your resume. 

Number one, try to avoid using complicated tables when formatting your document. This is especially important if you plan to upload your resume somewhere. You see, right now, many employment databases use applicant tracking systems (ATS) and when you upload your resume or your CV onto this ATS, the ATS goes through your resume, extracts information, tags that information, and stores it in their system. And if your document uses tables, the ATS might accidentally ignore or misplace certain sections of your document, and recruiters might miss you. And we don't want that to happen. So it's just easier to avoid using complicated tables. 

Point 2, use simple, readable font. Make it easy for the reader to focus on your content. 

Point 3, add visual spacing around each section. So if all your text is squished together and there's no visual breathing space, someone could just decide not to even read it because it's just too much. So add a bit of spacing or a line break in between sections to make it easier to read and digest. 

Point 4, check your grammar. That includes spelling, punctuation, and since your resume is written in the third person, not the first, check your tense. 

Point 5, double check your links, especially your contact links. The last thing you want is for a recruiter to love your resume and then not be able to reach you because your e-mail link or LinkedIn profile is incorrect. 

Point 6, save your final document as a PDF. Has this ever happened to you? You open up a word doc on a Mac and the formatting looks totally wacko. You know what it's like. So be safe. Save your final document as an uneditable PDF. That way you know your resume will look the same on any device. 

And point 7, it's OK if your CV goes to two pages. What do you say, Harinder?

HARINDER:

I think one to two sides is probably sufficient. I have seen technical CV's that are resumes that have run to 8 or 9 pages long.

ALICIA:

That's true and just make sure that if it's more than one page to add your name and contact information to the top of the second page. Just in case the pages are printed out and get separated. 

And finally, a third brand asset, your cover letter.

HARINDER:

OK, so for the cover letter. Why do you need one? 

We've also included the need for a cover letter because we feel that it demonstrates that you're willing to go the extra distance to explain in your own words why you've applied for the role that you have and that. Those skills and experience you have that align you to that role in your own words. 

So first of all start off by clarifying the role that you've applied for and where you saw it advertised. So that would be your opening sentence. Then follow up with a couple of statements on roles and experiences that you've had that would make you a good choice for this role. If you want to align with specific things that were advertised around role requirements and how you match up, feel free to expand and add that in as well. Any questions that you might have about the role. And then in closing, think about just perhaps you know ending it in a nice way. Saying that you're looking forward to hearing back from them and then sign off appropriately.

ALICIA:

And Harinder also mentioned something earlier that can help your cover letter really stand out and that's that if you find something while researching the company website, like a Vision statement or something specific, you know, some project that they're really passionate about, something that you appreciate or indoors - You could make some reference to it in your letter. Because it shows that you recognize what's important to them and that you get it. 

And one last thing, please take the time to review your customized cover letter before sending it out. Because the goal of that letter is to get an interview, right? I once received a cover letter that was addressed to someone else at another company. So remember that your prospective employer could be reading your cover letter, so make it special and memorable for them.

HARINDER:

So your brand, as we've talked about, is how you consciously project your presence into the world. And this might not be fixed. It might change overtime as you mature, as you get more and more experiences.

So if we then summarize now, hopefully, the key takeaways for you. 

The first one being that LinkedIn is a powerful resource. And we've attached some directions or more resources for you to have a look at to give you a little bit more in-depth guidance in terms of how to prepare your LinkedIn profile. 

Be ready to customize your CV and your cover letter. Secondly, is what I wanted to say. 

Thirdly is that employers want to know the results you can bring to them and their company based on what you've done before, because past experience is typically used as a way of discerning how you're going to be in the future. 

And lastly, expect to have your social media channels visited by potential employers and recruiters so you know, make sure that it's aligned. Make sure it's the way that you want to project yourself out into the world. 

………

Well, we've come to the end of this particular podcast and we thank you all for listening and we'll sign off until next time.

ALICIA:

See you.

.................

HARINDER:

Do make sure to visit our resources page where we include links to all the articles and the tools that we've referenced to today and check out our other episodes. Because when you combine the information with what was discussed today, you do level up your chances of landing your ideal job.

ALICIA:

We hope this episode has been helpful, and if you know of anyone else who would appreciate this information, please share it with them. We look forward to sharing more on how to land your ideal job.