If You Were a Billboard What Would it Say?

By Martin Buckland - Executive Career Management Professional

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We’ve all seen them; those large outdoor advertising structures strategically located to attract intense consumer exposure. The purpose of a billboard is to seize a person’s attention – the “made you look” factor – and ultimately leave a lasting impression and entice a buy. It’s a highly effective marketing tool.

Good career management means understanding you’re the product needing to be marketed and devising a suite of marketing tools to promote your brand message in print, in-person and online.

Your brand message should answer the employer’s question “Why should I hire you?” or “Why should I care?”. In other words, what’s so special about you over all the other candidates on the job market?

Many of the world’s largest brands have a one word or one phrase brand message. Often in an interview you are asked to describe yourself in one word. So start there. What one word best describes you. This is the beginning of defining your personal brand, or brand message.

Seek the opinion of others perhaps asking current and former co-workers, friends and family the following:

I’ve been asked to describe my brand, what I am known for, my personal reputation and attributes, what I excel at, &/or what I consistently offer. Using 3 or 4 adjectives, please describe my brand.

Use the feedback to draft your brand message, emphasizing the things that make you – the career performer - unique that would be of value to a future employer.

Once you’ve defined your brand message, here comes the billboard part. Your resume is your in-print billboard – it’s a marketing tool giving you the opportunity to promote your brand message, capture the reader’s attention and entice a buy (as in, secure an interview).

Your social media profiles, particularly LinkedIn, are your digital billboards giving you endless opportunities to share your brand message across the world with $0 investment and make a lasting and positive impression with anyone who reviews your profile.

The elevator pitch, or networking speech, http://aneliteresume.com/job-search/elevator-speech/ is another opportunity to market your brand message in person as you network, both in formal and casual settings.

Here’s a billboard for one of my clients:

Entices more customers, to buy more product, more often, for more money, propelling brand reputation.

Just the title of this blog made you look, didn’t it? So today, my billboard was my blog and my mission has been accomplished.

What will your billboard say that will entice me to look?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Martin Buckland, President of Elite Resumes, is a leading resume writer, career coach and job search strategist with a global clientele. Martin currently holds the following certifications: Certified Professional Branding Strategist, Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Employment Interview Professional, Job and Career Transition Coach, Certified Job Search Trainer and Co-Pilot Executive Coach. Visit my website at http://aneliteresume.com/

 

About the company...

At Social Hire, we don't just do social media.

We're a company that helps our customers further their social media presence by providing social media marketing on a monthly basis.

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