While I don’t always trust Wikipedia, I do like their definition of the word brand: a brand is a name, sign, symbol, slogan or anything that is used to identify and distinguish a specific product, service, or business. It’s become a very popular term used in the world of résumés. Basically what it means is you want your résumé to distiguish you from all of the other job seekers out there. To do that, you’ll need to identify your brand. This includes more than just your experience and education, this described the very essence of what you have to offer.
Your branding statement answers the questions: who are you? why are you special? what makes you stand out above the crowd? It should capture all of this and your career history in a few brief, succint statements.
Objective statements were focused on what the employee wants, branding statements (sometimes called: professional profile or professional summary) are focused on what the employee has to offer.
Branding essentially communicates value, and that there is something unique about you and what you have to offer. You can create a brand for yourself a few different ways.
First, the appearance of your résumé should be unique, professional, and clean. Everytime I see a résumé developed by some auto-formating program, I cringe. That is definitely NOT a way to stand out! Each person is unique and so is each résumé. There are so many free samples online now, there is no excuse for an unattractive and difficult-to-read résumé. Along with that, your cover letter, business cards, thank you letters and entire portfolio shoul be consistent with whatever format and design you choose.
Once you determine your branding statement, everything that follows should support that statement. This statement is usually found at the very top of your résumé. It defines who you are and what you are offering. It should be written like an advertisement, every word memorable and poignant.
Here are some great ideas to get you inspired. Ask yourself…
~What sets me apart from others in my field?
~How am I different than the next person in line?
~What special things have I done?
~What is it about me personally that is noteworthy?
~What kind of problems have I solved?
Brand Yourself, a book by David Andrusia and Rick Haskins provides a method for writing a branding statement: Skills + Personality/Passion + Market needs = Branding Statement.
Here are some examples of how you could use their method:
PROGRAM MANAGER
Exceptional, forward thinking leader with keen problem-solving skills to advance any environment in a competitive market.
HEALTH CARE TECHNICIAN
Certified, with five years of specialized experience in providing compassionate and thourough care to elderly.
SPECIAL EDUCATOR
Delivering innovative and creative teaching methodologies to modify curriculum and meet the individual needs and learning styles of every student.