Building Your Personal Brand
Mostly a matter of being findable, consistent and specific. Very little of it requires becoming a person who posts.
The short answer
- The useful version is narrow: be findable, say the same thing everywhere, and be specific about what you do. That is most of the value.
- Specific beats impressive. Being known for one clear thing is worth more than being vaguely accomplished at several.
- Evidence outperforms opinion. Work you can point at persuades where posts about the field do not.
- Someone will search for your name before an interview. Being aware of what they find is the whole of the defensive half.
The useful version
Personal brand has acquired an unfortunate meaning involving constant posting and a considered aesthetic. Most professionals need none of that.
What they need is three things. That someone looking for a person who does what you do can find you. That the version of you they find is the same in each place. And that the description is specific enough to be memorable.
All three are achievable in an afternoon, and they capture most of the benefit. Everything past that has real returns in some fields and close to none in others.
Be specific rather than impressive
"Experienced professional with a track record of delivering results" describes nobody. "I rebuild reporting systems for companies whose data has outgrown their spreadsheets" describes one person and is remembered.
The instinct to stay broad comes from fear of ruling opportunities out. In practice broad descriptions do not attract more opportunities, they attract none, because there is nothing in them for anyone to recall when a relevant thing comes up.
Pick the thing you want more of, describe that, and let the rest live in your history where it is still visible to anyone reading properly.
Evidence over opinion
Commentary about your field is cheap and everyone has some. Work is scarce and persuasive.
What counts as evidence varies: a portfolio, code, published work, a case study of something you fixed, a talk, a template other people use. The common feature is that someone can look at it and reach their own conclusion rather than taking your word.
One good piece of evidence outlasts a year of posting, and it does not require you to become a person who posts.
Know what a search returns
Assume anyone interviewing you will search your name. Do it yourself first, from a browser that is not logged in, and see what comes back.
You are looking for two things. Anything actively unhelpful, which you may be able to address. And whether the professional version of you appears at all, since for a common name the answer is often no. That is the argument for having one profile that is complete and specific enough to be the thing that surfaces.
Keep your GigFinder profile in that set. It is what matching reads and what an employer sees when they find you, and a complete profile does the same job as the rest of your presence with considerably less effort.
Frequently Asked Questions
On GigFinder
From the employer side
By industry
- Marketing
- Information Technology
- Sales
Make your profile the thing that surfaces
A complete profile is what matching reads and what an employer sees when they find you.