The Power of your Professional Profile!
Before you exit this blog, just give us a chance to explain, because although the concept of “professional profiles” can be perceived as stuffy, it doesn’t have to be! We like to take a fresh approach to professional branding. For us, it’s about showcasing your skills in a way that sounds like YOU! Sharing content that represents who you are and your beliefs. As well as expanding your network, allowing you to build a community of like-minded individuals.
When we talk about your professional profile, we are referring to the following things:
Your personal brand: who you are! I know that sounds simple but defining your professional brand is imperative - you want to be valued for what you value.
Your resume: or as we like to call it, your career story.
Your LinkedIn Profile: what we refer to as your online business card.
Like everything, sometimes you need to give your professional profile a little polish. So, here are some of our top tips for giving your professional profile some TLC.
Personal Brand – who are you?
We like to think of your personal brand as who you are and what you stand for. Of course, like many facets of our lives, we are constantly evolving, so your personal brand needs some wiggle room for change. But when you get clear on the foundations of what you value, it can make it easier to maintain authenticity to yourself, others, and your work.
We suggest that our clients prioritise a personal/career check-in at least once a year, but every six months is even better. The aim is to jot down words and phrases that best describe what you value – in yourself, others, and your work.
Refine this until you have a concise list of core values that can act as your foundation. Then reflect – write down what you are doing well, areas for improvement, and how you will do it. Then come back 6 months later to the same list of your core values and do it again. What’s changed? It’s compelling to have physical evidence of how you were feeling and your mindset all those months ago. I can’t tell you what I had for breakfast most days, so reflection sessions are vital for seeing the whole picture.
Resume – your career story
Ah, the resume… even though it is literally a document about your career journey, it can be an absolute nightmare to get right. We always like to tell our clients that in this digital age, when you’re applying for a job, most resumes are initially put through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This system will scan your resume to look for the key identifying factors that have been pre-determined by the recruiter and either pop your resume to the top or bottom of the list.
Here’s our golden resume tip - we know it can be enticing to create a pretty resume, but if the formatting is wrong, the system will automatically dismiss it. Therefore, you want to avoid working horizontally and focus on working vertically. We know it looks a bit bland in comparison, but what is the point in a pretty design if no one is going to see it?
LinkedIn Profile – your online business card
As business cards are becoming a thing of the past, and we’ve moved to connecting online, we now have the opportunity to showcase so much more than we ever could on 3.5 inches by 2 inches pieces of card! Unfortunately, people who fail to embrace LinkedIn are missing the opportunity of all its unique features, and to get the most from the platform, you need to build out your profile.
One of the standout features on LinkedIn is the #OpenToWork function. Of course, you can enable this feature on your profile, but best of all, you can customise it to fit what you’re looking for, too, specific role types and preferred locations. Another fantastic thing is that you can set the privacy settings. If you want to keep it private, you can select the ‘Recruiters only’ option to keep it discrete from your current organisation and fellow connections.
The trends show that LinkedIn is becoming an increasingly popular platform for people to make career transitions, but we have also noticed a significant increase in our clients who have found or are currently in a job that was an opportunity originating on LinkedIn. So, if LinkedIn is the ‘It’ platform for getting a role, it’s never been more critical to get your profile looking schmick!
Polish your Professional Profile
We are holding our Career Clarity Retreat on Saturday the 4th of June in the beautiful seaside town, Torquay. This is a boutique retreat experience with limited spaces to ensure YOU get the most out of the transformative experience.
Although we have an extensive agenda to help carve our retreaters career roadmap, a considerable focus will be on defining your professional brand, crafting a kickass resume, and refining your LinkedIn profile. There are still Day and Stay packages available, so head over to our website to check it out and snap up your spot! We’d love to see you there and help you polish your professional profile!
Signing off
Claud x