Posts Tagged ‘Gradkin’

Personal Branding: Does Your Online Reputation Matter?

November 8th, 2010

By Andrew C Abraham

For every person that you ask about online reputation you’ll get a different opinion as to whether it matters in your job search, or life for that matter. I’m of the opinion that young job-seekers should be very wary of information they post online as it may come back to haunt them when they least expect it. There’s considerable discussion around this issue, so I’m going to elucidate the subject over a series of posts on online reputation. Rather than rely on conjecture to put my arguments forward, let me reference a recent survey commissioned by Microsoft.

  • The survey studies how recruiters and HR professionals use online reputational information in their candidate review processes, and how consumers feel about this use of their information.
  • Approximately 1,100 HR Professionals and 1,300 Consumers were surveyed from the USA, UK, Germany and France.

Let’s first define Online Reputation:

An online reputation is the publicly held social evaluation of a person based on his or her behavior, what he or she posts, and what others (such as individuals, groups, and Web services) share about the person on the Internet. » Read more: Personal Branding: Does Your Online Reputation Matter?

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Personal Branding: Found Yours on Passion

August 26th, 2010

By Andrew C Abraham

In a previous blog post I mentioned that the best way to discover your brand is by writing down your perception of yourself, and others’ perception of you. But how do you go about building a personal brand in the first place? And I’m not referring to what technologies you employ to showcase it, but rather how do you create that strong foundation for your brand to flourish?

First and foremost it comes down to Passion (with a capital P for emphasis). How often do we hear self-help gurus and entrepreneurs extol the virtues of passion? The reason is because regardless of what external influence we face, passion is what drives us. Passion is the oxygen to success and it drives our personal brand. Any successful person in life was passionate about something. Steve Jobs is passionate about technology; David Beckham is passionate about football; and Mother Teresa was passionate about helping the poor. Everyone that is passionate may not achieve the success that they are after, but everyone that is successful is definitely passionate about something. I challenge you to prove to me otherwise!

The above three examples are people with strong identities that have achieved recognition and success in different ways. And although branding may not have been their focus at the time, their passion in a particular field has solidified their personal brands. The same emphasis on what you love and your purpose in life should ultimately shape your personal brand too. Let me explain why: » Read more: Personal Branding: Found Yours on Passion

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Personal Branding: Think of Yourself Like a Product

August 11th, 2010

By Andrew C Abraham

A Brand is what differentiates a product from its competitors. People that want to drive prestigious cars will select Mercedes Benz, whereas those that prioritise safety will opt for Volvo. Toyota also had the reliability section of the market cornered before all the brouhaha over faulty accelerator pedals. And what a blow that has been for their brand. When you spend years building a brand only to have it called into question for the very aspect it is known for, it can have devastating effects.

In order for job-seekers to differentiate themselves from others, they too need to adopt the mindset of a company and think of themselves like products. Employers are the consumer that will ultimately purchase the individual (or product) and the same consumer psychology applies.

Companies have to be certain they are buying the right product at the right price. When people select between car models, they are aware of each model’s Unique Selling Point (USP) – Just to clarify for those unfamiliar to marketing jargon, the USP is that characteristic(s) that distinguishes you from all the other products on the market.

So if you’re a Gen-Y job-seeker reading this post, let me ask you one thing. If you’re graduating from university, with the same degree , same majors  and same grades as thousands of other students, why should a company purchase » Read more: Personal Branding: Think of Yourself Like a Product

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