Branding is an effective marketing technique used to promote a product. Businesses successfully use it to promote their products like Mercedes Benz promotes its products by emphasizing on quality while Energizer batteries emphasize on longer life. This branding helps a product standout among its competitors.

But, branding isn’t limited to businesses anymore. In today’s highly competitive job market, job seekers have to market themselves successfully in order to get a job. They have to create a brand, a unique identifier which defines their talents and describes their values and passion.

There are many ways to create a professional brand. The first thing is to write about your personality and the values you will bring to the company. List the qualities that make you likeable by co-employees. Employers use Google to judge a candidate’s personality. Maybe a while back, you commented on a post while you were upset or under the influence of alcohol which would lead to a negative impression. If you list the qualities yourself, not only will it have a good impression, but also improve your chances.

List your expertise. If you’re good in sales and convincing people, mention how your sales skills helped boost sales. If you have good troubleshooting or coding skills, mention it in details. This will help you be placed in the right department.

Clean up your social media sites. Employers view your social media profiles to know more about you. Make sure you don’t have anything posted on Facebook or Twitter that will harm your chances of getting a job. Managers look at LinkedIn profiles to view connections and get reference through them. Make sure you have a detailed LinkedIn profile and valid connections who know your skills.

The best way to build a brand online is by blogging. Start blogging in the subject area of your expertise. Start your own blogging website or post blogs in leading blog sites. Answer questions in forums related to your skill set. Slowly your reputation will build which will boost your brand.

Networking is the best source to build a brand. You should connect with other professionals and build a reputation based on your expertise. You should attend conferences and seminars and hold discussions with other professionals. This will help build your brand.

The fact is, 1000s of people apply at any job opening. Employers don’t have time to go through every CV, they just glimpse through. If you brand yourself effectively, there’s a high chance of success. Build a strong brand, and it’ll ensure your growth.