Things That Can Effectively Kill Your Personal Brand

Most everyone in the job market today has a digital footprint of some kind, and what’s there may affect how hiring managers think of you.

Almost 80 percent of job recruiters are now required to search candidates on the internet before bringing them in.

While some may see this new era of checking out candidates online prior to hiring as intrusive, others would argue that it gives candidates a much longer window to interact with potential employers.

Where you land on this notion is largely determined by how you use personal branding.

Know about Big data illusions

The main strategy is to maximize your reach utilizing your digital presence so that hiring committees get a well-rounded and thorough look at you, and therefore feel like they are making less of a gamble.

Just having a personal brand isn’t enough. You have to understand how to build up your brand and as we’ll see here, avoid tactics that kill you personal brand.

Here are some of the things can really hurt your personal brand:

Also read: Best Examples of How Brands Use Instagram Stories (Infographic)

Not Taking it Seriously

If you are interested in a rewarding career, personal branding is part of the deal.
Many resources will walk you through how to build your brand effectively to reach your own goals, and in some cases, your brand can help you figure out what your goals even are.

You have to treat creating your brand like you would treat building your resume or preparing for an interview. Not taking it seriously enough and simply utilizing your online presence for social pictures and sharing links without meaning can truly cause cost you an opportunity.

You might lose out in the job market to someone who chose to digitally position themselves as a top candidate. Do some research. Take it seriously. Start from scratch, choose your platforms and begin to fine tune what you want the world to see when they search your name.

Inconsistency

Consistency is key.

It takes five to seven impressions for someone to remember a brand. Getting information out there regularly is important. Think about how many times it takes you to remember someone’s name who lives on your street.

Those are people you are meeting face-to-face and likely see regularly. So imagine how forgettable you must be if you are inconsistently managing your online persona? If time is an issue, there are many programs out there that will allow you to plan out and schedule things like social media posts and blog posts ahead of time.

There is no excuse to be inconsistent with your interactions and new information. The goal is to not just to get noticed. You want to be memorable as well.

Being One-Sided

Thoughtfully interact with others online. Don’t make it just about you.

If you work with a great organization and post about it, turn the spotlight on the organization and what they do. Follow the industry people you admire. Comment on things they share. Reshare. Use your platforms as an ongoing conversation with people you wish to work with down the road.

Also read: Strategies for Travel Brands on Instagram

Don’t make your personal branding all about you. That probably sounds counterintuitive to something called personal branding, but people don’t want to stick with those who seem conceited or like they are bragging.

Be generous in your online interactions just like you would be in a table conversation and it will show your emotional intelligence.

Negativity

Yes, everyone has had one of those days where they wanted to take down an entire company for treating them badly.

Customer service rants are on the rise and an online vent session seems like a healing way to get support. But, a word of caution for those that take their negativity too far:

People don’t want to work with the overly negative.

People want positive team partnerships and roundtable discussions with a “no bad ideas” ethic and can-do attitudes. If you use your platforms to take down all of those who wrong you, then that is the first impression you are sending out.
Personal branding is an unavoidable new world order when it comes to the business world.

Also read: 5 Ways to Brand Your Company and Increase Sales

College graduates and job seekers have to run a small public relations campaign to stay relevant and memorable to industries for which they want to work.

When building your brand, research the things that really resonate with people in a positive way and try to avoid incorporating digital chatter that can ruin your brand and hurt your reputation.

The extra work you put into managing your online impression can be the difference between getting a job and embarking on a rewarding career.