SEO and YOU, the Job Seeker - Part One

Personal branding is defined as the process by which people are identified as a ‘brand’. It is built upon the premise that personal branding leads to success in both your personal life and career. When used correctly, it can help individuals garner influence and accumulate wealth. Personal branding can also involve the application of one's name to various products. Good examples of people who have used personal branding as a marketing tool successfully are the names Donald Trump and Jamie Oliver. Real estate mogul Donald Trump lends his name to everything from fashion accessories to steaks to bottled water and Chef Jamie Oliver, along with his Food Revolution, is happy to put his name on things like cookware and home fragrances.

With the unemployment rate being what it is, job seekers will have to re-think the way they are positioning themselves in front of potential hiring managers. Job hunters will have to find ways to place themselves ahead of the curve when it comes to taking advantage of social media.

As digital networking tools i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, become more mainstream, job seekers will have to find new ways to market and maximize their knowledge, value and influence by connecting, interacting and potentially cashing in on their own circles of networks.

On-line personal branding, sometimes called On-line Image Management (OIM) or Personal Reputation Management (PRM) is a kissing cousin of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). They all incorporate a set of methods for generating a distinct and distinguishable presence on the World Wide Web. While all properly optimized websites are designed to bring traffic to the site, the main difference between SEO and OIM/PRM is, that in the case of the former, there can be a multitude of keywords to drive traffic to the site[s] and, in the case of the latter, the only keyword is the person’s name.

On- line Identity Management typically involves participation in social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, and other online communities and community websites, and can also be related to blogging. If you want/need to increase your ranking on any of these sites, it is critical that you, as a job seeker, are not only familiar with all of them, but also know how to use them to your advantage.


Copyright © 2010, Career Matters. All Rights Reserved.Permission to Reprint: This article may be reprinted, provided it appears in its entirety with the following attribution: Copyright © 2010, Career Matters. Reprinted by permission of Mary Salvino.“Career Matters” is a blog hosted by Mary Salvino, Senior Consultant for SMART Career Planning.com. This blog is dedicated to those who are seeking advice on managing their career and future job opportunities. We welcome readers to share their experiences, post their comments or ask questions about career related matters. For any questions or comments that are better addressed privately, please feel free to e-mail Mary directly at Mary.Salvino@shaw.ca