For those seeking a new career, the resume and cover letter are the lead tools for capturing that job you have always wanted. But how to stand out from the pack?
Career specialists and job hunting experts recommend branding your resume to fully market yourself to employers. This serves as a way to identify who and what you are while revealing your persona.
By branding, job seekers can express their career identity, authenticity, passion, goals and image. With objective statements on resumes fading in popularity with hiring decision-makers, job-seekers and resume writers are using branding techniques to improve chances and make a bold statement.
Three components of branding your resume are:
- Appearance: The way your resume looks should be appealing, professional and reflect you. A theme should be carried through all your paraphernalia — cover letter, business cards, thank-you letters, portfolio, etc.
- Branding Statement: defines who you are, your promise of value, and why you should be sought out. A branding statement is a punchy “ad-like” statement that tells immediately what you can bring to an employer.
- Consistent message: Make sure your branding statement or theme is reflected in all communications beside resume and cover letter and other printed materials (e-mails, tweets, Facebook posts, etc.) so that you appear as a whole brand to employers.
For more tips and information on branding, check out “Brand Yourself: How to Create an Identity for a Brilliant Career,” published by Ballantine.
If you need assistance putting your plan to action, the CSU Career Services Department is an excellent resource.
