May is the season for graduates!

Which means time to get serious about the job hunt to many former students and current job candidates.

As an employer, my message to the recent graduates is to “think of it as a time to take stock of your personal brand.”

And since my role at Marketing Resources & Results is also the Sales and Marketing function, I’m always in the month of May: networking, building relationships, marketing, and doing business development activities.

Here are some suggestions I have for job hunters everywhere who want to build a stronger brand — both the recent graduates — as well as the constant rainmakers who are always in the month of May, like me.

Personal branding tips:

1) Google yourself. Not just “everywhere” but images too. This is what a potential employer or a potential client will see. First impressions count.

2) Review all the Facebook photos of yourself. Change permissions and/or untag yourself to images that do not reflect the brand you want to present on line.

3) Create a Webpage about You. It doesn’t have to be a full blown website, but should at least include contact information and a statement that describes you. It could be a YouTube 30 second video or an www.about.me page. (Here’s mine.)

Both YouTube and About Me are sites where you can publish content for free. All you need is an email address and a password… and about 30 minutes to create the content.

4) What’s your Tagline? Figure out the 3 words or a key phrase that someone would use to describe you.

Yeah, I know, you don’t want to be stereotyped. Guess what? If you don’t do it, they will. And they will anyway, even with your phrase.

At least you can step forward with your best foot if you’ve thought about it and used your own 3 words. “Enthusiastic team player” is vague. “Skilled writer” is better. “Can do-Will do” might be your phrase. Are you a “Go-getter”? Figure out what you want people to say about you.

5) Use LinkedIn.com! If you are in business or want to be, use LinkedIn for your personal profile. Use your keyword phrase in the headline of your LinkedIn profile.

If you’re the rainmaker for your company, make sure your company has a business profile to help your branding on line. It can include photos, videos, and pages about your services, products as well as the profile description.

Again, this site is free (you don’t need to buy a subscription to use it) and it’s focused on business people, whereas Facebook is very much like MASS MEDIA.

Here are some additional branding resources for you to build your personal brand on line:

Build Your Personal Brand
Personal Branding Blog
Free e-book to help with your job hunt

Have a great tip for personal branding? Please share it here by leaving a comment below.

photo credit: Will Folsom