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What is it that all successful companies have mastered -- and what job-seekers looking to advance in their careers need to master? What is it about Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Starbucks, Disney, and McDonald's? What makes a consumer buy one product over another -- and makes one job-seeker much more sought after than others? The answer is marketing, but more specifically it is the power of branding. And branding isn't just for products anymore


Branding can be described as many things, but it's best defined as a promise… a promise of the value of the product… a promise that the product is better than all the competing products… a promise that must be delivered to be successful. Branding is the combination of tangible and intangible characteristics that make a brand unique. Branding is developing an image -- with results to match.

The most important application for branding is not for products — it’s for individuals to define and own their career identity and create their own performance and business success. It’s for business owners, business opportunities and even Realtor’s have jumped on the self branding wagon. You will be hard presed these days to find a Realtor who does not own his or own domain name. Gone are the days when they rely on their companies reputation alone to generate leads or traffic for them.

Most job-seekers are not proactive in establishing and building their career brand, letting their actions speak for them when seeking promotions or new jobs. But why not take the time to master some very basic tactics that can help build your career brand and make you a much more attractive employee or job-seeker? Remember, if you don't brand yourself, others will for you. And while you may be happy and secure in your job now, you really never know when that will change.

What tools are available for anyone or any business to wants to start building a “You.com”. For my business, I use and recommend a 100% generic online marketing system that works with any business opportunity. With a little editing of the preformatted email messages this system could be used by Realtor’s, Insurance agents, Job seekers and college students.

The MyiSystem will help you to build relationships, become an expert in your field and help your promote yourself. The MyiSystem is 100% customizable with multiple lead capture pages, multiple templates, email auto responder, calendar and dozens of other features.

The MyiSystem also incorporates many of the popular social sites used today from business owners to job seekers. These include Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, You Tube and links to your blog.

The MyiSystem also has an article section which you can use to distinguish yourself as a leader or expert by posting articles about your business or area of expertise.

Build Relationships

Nothing in marketing is more powerful than a promotion tool called word-of-mouth, which can be defined as what people say about you.

Thus, nothing is more powerful in building your career brand than what your network of contacts -- your friends, colleagues, customers, clients, and former bosses -- say about you and your set of skills, education, and accomplishments.

And keeping your network strong involves nothing more than relationship building. Keep in good contact with your network and be sure they know of your most recent successes.

But the best brand-builders don't stop with their current network; these folks are in constant network-building mode. Search out new professional associations as well as the growing number of online networking communities.

Become an Expert

Nothing builds credibility in a career brand more than establishing yourself as an expert in your field. Start by writing articles that showcase your knowledge -- and getting them published (ideally) in noteworthy media outlets. Consider self-publishing.

Seek out conferences and meetings where you can give speeches and presentations. Play up awards and other recognition that can help label you an expert. Get quoted by offering your thoughts, ideas, and opinions to journalists and reporters. Consider constructing a professional Website where you can publish all your articles and speeches.

Promote Yourself

You can have an amazing brand, but if no one knows about it, you are not going to have much success with your career development. And no one more than you has more reasons to promote your brand.

Throw modesty out the window? There is a fine line between bragging and promoting -- and you need to learn it -- but it's always better to err on the side of promoting your brand than not.

One of the oldest tools of promotion for job-seekers is the resume, and you certainly need to start there by listing all your key accomplishments, skills, and education on your resume. You may even have your positioning statement (qualifications summary) on your resume… but don't stop there.

Begin developing two career portfolios -- a print one and an online one. If you don't have a personal Website, now is the time to buy a domain (such as myname.com) and let the world read all about the benefits of your brand. Your portfolio should include all important brand artifacts: resume(s), mission statement, detailed accomplishments list, samples of work, articles and working papers, speech transcripts, awards and honors, testimonials, and more.

One interesting trend we've seen is of employers "Googling" the names of prospective job-seekers -- typing each name into one or more Internet search engines -- and basing initial candidate screening decisions partly on the number (and quality) of hits for each job-seeker. What’s the lesson? Your brand needs to have a strong online presence.

And finally, don't forget to promote your brand on the job. Workers often assume the boss knows your accomplishments, but often times s/he does not. Certainly at review time, have a list of all you have achieved since your last review, but also consider finding ways to let the boss know your successes throughout the year.

This article was edited by Brent Vanderstelt (http://www.brentvanderstelt.com/) and at the time of this article release, a Google search resulted in 83,200 references for “Brent Vanderstelt”. Brent Vanderstelt is a web developer, SEO specialist, and home based owner.