Six Ways Personal Branding is Like a Job Interview
Personal branding is a lot like a job interview. Except for the uncomfortable suit, nervous jitters, and lobby wait.
Both require one to recognize their audience’s needs. Then showcase how they are uniquely positioned to meet these needs. Successfully doing so will help you win over those you are trying to reach.
Here are six ways that you can succeed at both:
1 — Tell a Story With Your Experience
Stories are powerful. They help us make sense of the world around us. Telling a story about your experience paints a clear picture of where you’ve been. It can help others learn about what you bring to the table.
This story should build your credibility. Detail how you acquired relevant skills and knowledge from positions, projects, and education. The story should reveal the route you took to become the talented individual you are today.
2 — Resolve the Story By Showing How You Fulfill the Need
Eventually, you need to resolve this story. End by highlighting how you are the perfect fit for the role.
How does your experience and skills perfectly match what they are searching for? Show how you can meet their needs.
3 — Make Your Goals Clear
Where are you headed?
You know the dreaded interview question: “Where do you see yourself in 3, 5, 10 years?” It’s designed to learn more about the direction you’re going. Are you both driving towards similar or beneficial goals?
Here is where you also want to reveal some of your career goals. It’s important to explain how these goals align with their mission or desires. Show how you can get further by traveling this path together.
4 — Detail the Value You Bring
Emphasize the value you bring to the table.
How can you contribute?
Read over the role and study your audience’s desires. Find connection points between what you offer and what they are looking for.
Make sure to describe how you can deliver this value unlike anyone else. Lean into your comparative advantage. Prove that picking anyone but you would be a mistake.
5 — Engage Their Curiosity
Common advice for interviews is to ask good questions of your interviewers. It’s true that it’s good to come prepared with your questions. Realize, however, that what you ask about the role reveals a lot about you.
Did you know that this advice is also a good practice to implement with your online audience? Ask how you can provide more value. Ask what they are looking for. Work on your content ideas in public, and ask your audience for their opinion.
It can be intimidating and feel vulnerable to be so open with your audience. But this is a two-way conversation, not just you talking to them. Your audience will often appreciate being considered. And they are likely to give helpful feedback to improve your content. This practice helps them see your “human-side.”
In the end, you are likely to create a stronger bond with your audience. They will feel more connected to you and your work because they contributed a bit to its success.
6 — Leave Them Wanting to Know More
In the theater, before a movie begins, trailers or “teasers” for future movies play. These 2–3 minute videos give viewers a taste of what is to come.
Provide your own “teaser” of coming events by sharing upcoming work with your audience or interviewer. Share a little taste of the interesting project you’re cooking up. Connect them to the ways it will be valuable to them.
Don’t hold back on this exciting work, even if you are only in the early stages. It helps others see what you are capable of and highlights how you are growing.
In both applying for a job and building your personal brand, you need to position yourself as one-of-a-kind. No one can provide value like you. By highlighting how you are uniquely positioned to meet the need, people will gravitate towards you.
Leverage storytelling to explain how your background makes you the perfect fit. By following these steps you can effectively land the job or build an audience around your brand.
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