I want you to think back to the time right before you were going in to apply for your first job. You could have been 14 or 22, but that didn’t matter. The chances are you were nervous. Your hands may have been a tad sweaty, and your blood pressure a tad higher than normal. You were doing something that you had never done before. A step outside of your comfort zone. Now depending on your job they may have asked you for a resume but being it was your first job you probably didn’t have one, and if you made one it had your high school education and whatever volunteer experience your parents made you sign up for.
Fast forward to your first real “career” job opportunity. You just graduated college with your degree and got an amazing recommendation from a college professor. You keep telling yourself that you absolutely have to secure this new job. If you get hired you’ll be making enough to start paying off your student loans and get out of your parents house. A place of your own. A start to YOUR life. Independence. Something you know some about, but not nearly as much as you would like. The only catch is unlike your first job, this one requires a real resume.
Aside from maybe having to create a mock one for a college class, you don’t know what the heck you are doing so you turn to your next best friend. Google. You type in questions like “How do I write a resume” and “What should I include on a resume”. You may even search “What font should I use on my resume”.
And guess what…
I am not here to tell you how to write one either.
I am here to open your mind to an idea. A thought that could if taken seriously, potentially improve your life in a large way.
Although paper resumes are a vital part to securing any job that provides a substantial career opportunity, they are not the only thing your employer is looking for nowadays.
Did you know that over 70% of employers now use social media to get a sense for who they’d potentially be hiring? 70% and that survey was published in 2017. I think that there will always be a “formal” resume of sorts, but the resume of the 21st century is your personal brand. What pops up when you’re Googled? Can people find you when they search your name on Facebook? Are you on Linkedin? Is your Twitter feed full of raunchy tweets? These are all things that define who are you in the public’s eye.
You could be the sweetest, most capable person on the planet but if your social media feed is trashy, your prospective employer will think you are too. I believe it is more important than ever to spend time building a name for yourself both on and offline. You could be a marketer who desires to have a career working at a Fortune 500 company or a hungry bright-eyed character who wants to get involved in real estate. Start SHOWING your expertise online! Start talking about marketing. Do property tours. Show aspects of your life. Your process. Speak about what’s important to you. Connect to the world on a personal and career level.
I am all for doing everything in our power to increase leverage, and minimize the chance of rejection. That’s why I live by my quote that,
People get too big to do the little things and then wonder why they don’t have the big results.
It’s true! I mean think about it. If your employer gets 100 applications for their open position, that means they have 100 people who they’re going to screen. Now imagine all of the applicants have the same credits, who would be most likely to get the phone call saying to come in for an interview, the person who has The Rock as their profile picture on a private account, or the person who is active online and is producing videos and content about the field they’re applying for? Use common sense here.
To take the conversation a step further, when you have a following online you are able to monetize it. Let’s say you are loving your new job (that your personal brand helped you get) and are learning a ton of great information about let’s say graphic design. Imagine for a second, you start selling your designs online. You could begin a little freelance side hustle but unlike every other “entrepreneur” online you have experience and people who support you for who you are. Now you have the leverage to market your services for free and generate revenue ON TOP of making money from your 9-to-5.
You don’t have to have some wild (but possible) aspiration of being on the cover of Forbes or followed by millions to grow your reputation. It’s for anybody who wants to have more leverage. Leverage leads to control and options. It’s what most people don’t have, and what most people don’t know they even need.
Personal branding isn’t just for business owners, influencers or the Kardashians.
It’s for YOU.
For some particularly interesting social media statistics I'd recommend reading this article
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