Briefing paper

How personal branding can give graduates a competitive edge

Backround
Personal branding is a process involving finding the best possible way to market
themselves and to create image which describes them as skilful individuals.
People use personal branding to differentiate from the crowd and to outstand
their abilities in the competitive environment. This process can be separated into
three parts. The first part includes establishing a brand identity which helps to
make the person recognisable and appropriate for the particular target market.
The second part is developing the brand positioning. This is a vital element of
establishing a personal brand since the person has to create a positive image
with which he or she can communicate effectively. The third part is to create the
brand`s identity which fulfils personal and professional objectives and therefore
the practise of personal branding can help to outstand in the job market. In
addition to that, personal branding is used mainly while searching for a job. The
personal brand is consisted of all of the requirements needed when someone is
applying for a place to work. The basics of establishing a personal brand are the
application forms that have to be completed and CV`s. Usually employers use an
ideal application form which fulfils all of the requirements for the particular
position and compare it to those of the applicants. This is a fast and effective
method to define the most appropriate candidates for the work and it helps the
employer to decide who has to be invited for an interview. In this case, personal
branding is a very useful tool because by presenting someone`s capabilities in
the most appropriate way he or she would be more compatible within the huge
crowd of searchers for the particular job. Websites are also a form of personal
branding since they can present the creativeness and IT skills of the person which
can also influence the employer`s decision.

Current issues
The process of searching and applying for a job could be quite hard and
complicated journey. The employers` requires are referred to the applicant`s
experience, skills, achievements, voluntary work and interests. These sections
usually are included in the CV but when it comes to the point of going on an
interview, the applicant has to be prepared for questions requiring critical
thinking and fast response. Nowadays, the job market is a very competitive field
since the employers` perceptions of workers had become slightly different in
some arears since the number of highly educated people had risen up and there
is a great choice of quilified applicants. As such, education provides marketable
skills and abilities relevant to job performance, and thus the more highly
educated people are, the more successful they will be in labour markets in terms
of both incomes and work opportunities.(Cal 2013) Briefly, in order to get the
particular job position, the applicants have to market themselves in the most
appropriate way and there is where personal branding finds its place. It can be
quite useful while preparing someone`s CV because searching for a job requires
flexibility as different qualifications and experience is looked for within the
different workplaces. CV language is not like normal ways of writing and

speaking. In fact it is a little world of its own and you need to learn how to
manage your way through it. Your task is writing the CV is to pack as much power
as possible into two pages.(Rogers 2011) These two pages are the opportunity
for someone to outstand from the crowd and to find the most appropriate way to
get the employer`s attention. In this case, personal branding is the leading factor
for establishing the connection between the employer and the applicant because
showing oneself as the most appropriate candidate for the job is the key for
getting an interview and afterwards the desired job because in the end, this is
what everyone is struggling for.

Implications
It can be assumed that putting loads of information in the application forms or
CVs would lead to a negative outcome for the applicants. The classical case
quality over quantity is appropriate for the situation because sometimes people
tend to put too much unnecessary information which can influence negatively to
the employer`s perception and decision. However, the presence of additional
information such as websites or personal blogs could be crucial for the
employer`s final choice since the ability to create website for instance could be
beneficial for a variety of working arears. Even though establishing and ruling a
website can be an advantage there are several implications which can be
considered with it. The professional look of the website is one of the most
important things as it can be considered as someone`s personal brand.
Everything mentioned above is a form of non-verbal communication with the
employer which could lead the applicant to a calling for an interview.

Conclusion
In terms of looking for a job, everything is about how people advertise
themselves. The role of personal branding is making this advertising actually
successful by establishing a well known brand which in this case is yourself. A
brand is an identity. The process of branding is therefore the process of creating
and managing that identity. (Haig 2011) The essential of managing your identity
and tailoring it to that particular employer is presenting all of yourself without
even having a single conversation one to one with the employer. What can
personal branding give to the graduates who are looking for a job is a face.
Clearly, being faceless doesn`t work anymore. The problem is that many
organizations today are stuck dealing with their customers, partners and
employees in a faceless way. (Bhargava 2008)
It is quite important that the universities give their students the opportunity to
show their skills in outside university projects which could definitely be use in
improving one`s CV. The fact that someone has not just graduate from a
university but actually has been involved in initiatives other than group projects
for the different units gives that competitive edge which graduates need in the
process of looking for a job.

In addition, searching for a job after graduating can be defined as a competition.

That is exactly why in this competing, people need not only to develop their
personal brand but to know how to present it in front of the recruiter. In both
marketing and social contexts, advertising is inhibited by competition. It can only
work with the grain of people`s wishes, not against them. (McDonald 1992) The
reason why the personal branding gives a competitive edge is mainly because it
allows the employer to have all of the information needed without even bothering
to ask for that additional information for someone`s personal and professional
background which, to be fair, is in most cases what persuades employers hire
people who have presented their CV not just as a sheet with text on It but as a
personal portfolio headed with the words I am the best, chose me!

Recommendation
While looking for a job, I was sending my CV to a variety of companies and
employers. At first I thought that it would not be so difficult to find a job since
Southampton is a quite big city but after a week of applying to different kinds of
jobs, I understood that applying only through Internet will not help me get a job. I
decided to go to one agency which offers temporary work positions and this
seemed a very good opportunity to manage both work and studying. After having
several chats with one of the office workers I understood that the key to market
yourself in the best way possible and to create a personal brand in front of the
employer is by showing participation and interest. Giving the employer your
attention and presenting your skills not only on paper but by verbal
communication can create an invisible link between you and them. I think that
the perfect personal brand is based on establishing a positive image of yourself
by getting involved in the actual process of applying for a job and showing your
strengths directly to the employer. There is another very important point of
creating a successful personal brand. Each organisation and work position
requires specific skills. For me, as an applicant, tailoring my skills to each
company`s requirements is the ability to filtrate only the useful skills that I
possess and to present them to the employer. Basically there two main parts in
creating a useful personal brand participation and tailoring. If we consider the
job searching as a marketing process, the participation is our advertising
campaign and the tailoring is the targeting of our customers.

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