Branding is all about representing yourself to the public in a way that you hope will positively promote your business or service. Either way, no matter your industry, the outside world will still brand you in one way or another.
Related:14 Things That Impact The Quality Of Your Personal Brand
Think about singers and actors in Hollywood - they constantly have to reinvent themselves in order to fit the mold of what is trending and stay relevant.
Madonna has been the queen of reinvention when it comes to musical acts for the last 30 years.
Presently, Miley Cyrus - whether you lover her or hate her - has done a marvelous job of shedding her sweet and innocent Hannah Montana image to the over-the-top, risque, ‘molly-popping’ Miley.
The same goes for Taylor Swift. Although her reinvention has been much more low-key than Miley’s, it has not been any less effective.
Of course, not all of us need to go from respectively professional to getting undercuts and random tattoos, but there are many benefits to upgrading yourself every now and again.
4 Signs It’s Time To Rebrand Yourself
Let’s take a look at some of the signs that it’s time for some change.
1. You Cannot Define Yourself Anymore
One of the biggest signs that you need to do some personal Spring-cleaning is if you cannot define yourself anymore. Would you have the answers if someone should ask the following questions:
Think of yourself as doing an interview and try to answer these questions truthfully. If you are having trouble defining yourself and explaining what you are passionate about, it might be time for a little psychological rebranding.
2. Your Graphics Are Outdated
Online representation is extremely important. No matter if you are selling yourself, a product or a service, it’s important that people are attracted to you in a visual way.
A website redesign or new layout design for your online portfolio can do wonders for your branding if done correctly.
To establish whether you need to rebrand your online image, take a look at the competition’s website. Does yours look like it’s out of the 90s? Are you still receiving enough website traffic and conversions? If not, it might be a sign that you need to work on your personal branding.
Think of your graphic and website redesign as equivalent to a haircut. It can change the entire appearance of your brand.
3. You Are Looking For Something New
If you are looking to change careers or apply for a new job, this would be a good reason to change up your corporate look a little.
You have to look at yourself as a package of skills and strengths.
This ‘package’ is then the brand that you are trying to create. If you are looking for something new you could create a brand package that would be the perfect fit.
Your previous job might have been an office desk job where you were responsible for administrative skills. Now you want to apply for a tour-guide job. Restructure your portfolio in such a way that it showcases your desire for adventure, as well as your love for travel and showing others around.
4. You Found A New Audience
One reason why these “Disney kids” rebrand themselves is because they are growing up with their audience. Their fans no longer relate to teeny-bopper songs and scenes as they mature.
That’s why these stars need to rebrand themselves according to their chosen audience.
With celebrities now having die-hard fans such as Justin Bieber’s legion of Beliebers, it’s critical that they stay relevant to those loyal fans by evolving and growing as they are.
Switching careers or becoming an expert in a certain field of your industry will also require you to represent yourself in a different light. When you realize that your audience no longer finds you relevant, or stops following your brand on social media and offline campaigns, re-branding might be your best - and only - option.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Photo credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.