Now that job forces have moved online, it’s more important than ever to create a digital presence for yourself. Companies are switching from hiring full time employees to onboarding freelance designers because of the uncertainties of the job force. The competition for jobs is more intense than ever, with interviews being conducted through Zoom and more applicants because jobs are now remote. Here are some of the most successful tips to brand yourself and stand out from the competition.
Find your niche
When it comes to branding, it’s important to recognize and create a space of interest for yourself. Within every creative occupation in advertising and marketing, you can find an area of expertise that fits you and your brand. Whether you are a copywriter or a UX/UI designer, you can choose a niche and create a stronger focus for your work, such as a pharmaceutical copywriter or an event planner UX/UI designer. Narrowing down the expertise of work you want to do will create a clear focus for your brand and your career path.
How do you want to see yourself?
Close your eyes and imagine what you would look like in the eyes of a hiring manager based off of your resume alone. It’s probably pretty hard, right? Think about how you want to be seen and use that visualization to create your portfolio and resume. The colors and the fonts you use say a lot about who you are just as much as the layout and the certifications you achieve.
Brand kit
Think about yourself as a company. A company creates specific brand guidelines to follow such as a logo, font, colors and images. When you think of a brand, you can imagine their ambiance and brand guidelines in your head. Do the same for yourself. Use Adobe InDesign, or Canva if you have less design skills, and create a brand kit for that you feel represents you and represents how you want a hiring manager to see you. Make a layout of the colors in your color palette, your fonts, your logos, and your images. Then you can create a portfolio and a resume guided by these characteristics.
Portfolio
The most useful way to brand yourself to a hiring manager is by creating a digital portfolio. A personalized website is one of the best ways for a digital portfolio and it’s a perfect place to showcase your work, the brands you’ve worked with/for, and a place to keep your resume handy. Some websites that are easy for a first-time website builder are Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace. A recommendation by one of our recruiters is to put your best three pieces of work at the top. Hiring managers and recruiters won’t look at your portfolio for more than a few seconds, so be sure to put your best foot forward.
Building your personal brand isn’t going to happen overnight, but it’s a slow process of understanding who you are now and who you want to be. Now that we’re in quarantine at home, use this time to create a personal brand for yourself and be proud of the person that is put in front of the hiring manager.
Clutch is a creative staffing partner. We connect digital, creative, and marketing professionals with companies looking for freelance, temp-to-hire or direct hire resources.
