If you think just having a great personal brand will make you indispensable in this market, you could be missing the point.

If you’ve ever heard the term personal branding you might rightly raise a skeptical eyebrow and ask yourself “– are you for real?”

You also might rightly ask about how that concept could apply to you and your career.

I’m on the same page as you here.

I think the term gets bandied about far too much in the careers sector. You’re told you need a strong personal brand because the workplace is splintering. Full time jobs are fast disappearing, and you need to market yourself strategically and professionally to secure your future in an uncertain world.

The term personal branding is often used as a replacement for the hard work you do need to invest if you’re to find something rewarding and meaningful to you.

So, what exactly is personal branding?

Is it just a s*xy re-brand of a resume or LinkedIn profile writing service?

Is it worth paying top dollar for?

Or are you falling victim to clever marketing if you do?

Let’s break it down.

So, branders will say you have a strong personal brand if you’re remembered after you’ve left the room.

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That definition is a semi-reasonable starting point.

But applying only that definition when you’re looking for a meaningful career is not going to serve you too well.

What happens if you can only fake compelling once in that room?

What happens if that expression of compelling is not the true definition of you?

A personal brand is more reputation than impression.

And a good reputation is about showing up in a way that’s true to you and acting with integrity – time and time and time again.

Where the concept of a personal brand fits in with you marketing your value is like this.

“A strong brand starts from a place of you understanding you.”

That knowledge can come from your own deep reflection.

That knowledge can come from guided reflection with an outside professional.

That knowledge can come from investing in services such as career counselling or coaching.

That knowledge can come from experimentation and “failure” in your career.

That knowledge can come from working with a great mentor or boss who can help you see possibilities in you that you cannot.

What I’m saying is that this knowledge comes from you doing work to authentically understand you.

That level of work can help you understand your innate skills, strengths and values, the way you like to work and the types of organisations that value the contribution you can make.

Then you can get to a point where you can more clearly articulate the value you offer in a way that stands out.

For me, someone with a strong personal brand is Naomi Simson.

I see her brand as going far beyond the fact that she stands out for wearing red on the Shark Tank.

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One of the companies Naomi is best known for, is the company she started  – Red Balloon.

The name Red Balloon is genius marketing because it invokes the feeling you get when you experience their employee reward products.

It’s unexpected.

It’s something special.

It’s exciting.

It’s red.

You get a red balloon as part of a celebration of you.

You see the name and imagery and you then think – “I’m going to have a memorable experience with this person, product or service.”

Naomi has spoken a lot around leadership and creating memorable workplace experiences.

So, everything she does is on point around this.

You get to Naomi Simson level of personal branding if you understand who you are at a DNA level, and where what you love to create or offer actually matches something the market craves. 

Then people understand and remember you – and it’s easier to:

a) Find the right opportunities, and or

b) Have the right opportunities find you.

That level of understanding and impact does not happen overnight.

Creating a great resume or LinkedIn profile is only one part of the personal branding picture.

Having a great branded resume or LinkedIn profile can definitely help you get in the door.

A LinkedIn profile can help you be found and get headhunted.

But if you’re relying on these as your only job searching tool, then you’ll be waiting a lot longer than you should for your next great job.

“The best crafted words can’t represent you in interview. That’s where the work you’ve done owning the definition process comes in.”

And as I mentioned before, you matching what the market craves (not just wants) is a critical part of branding too.

Few people talk about this as a part of the process of creating a personal brand.

But miss this and no matter how great your LinkedIn profile or resume sounds, you’re missing the point.

If you rely on looking at job advertisements as your guide to what’s needed, then you’ll find the job search process completely frustrating.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, most advertisements do not accurately reflect what’s needed on a job. What’s more, what’s advertised is generally only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the available jobs out there.

Like you defining you – you need to do your market research.

The market will tell you what it craves if you go and ask it.

The market can actually force the answer out of you.

One way of doing this is you talking to your network or people in organisations you want to work for – in a genuinely curious way. There are always problems they can’t solve, technologies they need to master, things they don’t have time to do or the skills they need in their organisation.

Often that’s where new jobs are created.

This way you’re not positioning yourself as an answer to a problem they don’t have or don’t care about.

The last thing I’ll say on this personal branding brouhaha is about your visibility.

While you’ll find some personal branders talk about positioning you in the right social channels, you won’t be successful with this if:

a) Recruiters aren’t looking for you that way

b) Your target market does not use those channels

c) Your target market might find that tactic a bit strange

d) You need to keep your job search confidential

e) What you offer people don’t care about (see my point on research)

f) You find it hard to keep the momentum up when you’re not feeling great about yourself

I’m not saying don’t invest in a personal branding service. There are definite benefits if you are in certain sectors – marketing, for example.

But if you do, you want to check out:

1. The type of research they get you to do on you
2. How they help you own the insights they may uncover about you, or you uncover together
3. The research they get you to do on the job market itself, and the skills that are really in demand
4. Their understanding of the type of marketing that’s suitable for you
5. Whether you can apply the skills you learn with them time and time again, beyond the service they deliver
6. Their genuine success stories – have the people they’ve served gotten what they’re looking for

Answers to these questions can help you decide whether this path will lead you to the point of any branding exercise, personal or otherwise.

That point being a sale,  or in our world of career marketing – your next great job.

PS: The next Straight to Shortlist challenge starts soon – check out the concrete commitment we make to getting you in front of employers here.

Want more than just a great personal brand – and actually get interviews faster?