Using Your Personal Brand to Rock a Job Interview

Building a personal brand can help you in a lot of different ways. It can help you promote your blog, product or business.

It can help you grow a social media following and become a micro-influencer.

​But it can also help you in very concrete ways in the real world, like getting a new job. ​

If you're currently on the job hunt or just have a dream-job in your sights, you can use that personal brand you've been building (or start building one right now) to stand out to hiring managers and impress them with your uniquely cool confidence.

Make It Professional
​
Wacky personalities and silly props may work well for an internet audience and can be part of your overall personal brand. But for interviews and personal branding in the workplace, you want to develop your professional persona. Show off how well you understand your industry and the business world by nailing the interview dress code, never using a slang word with your manager, and being perfectly put together for the interview.

• Stay away from hats, silly or otherwise
• Don't wear anything that would be 'a distraction' back in school
• Respect the dress code of your industry - formal, practical, business-casual, etc.
  
  

Trust us, cultivating a high degree of professionalism will really stand out. Hiring managers will remember someone who was impeccably polite, well-dressed, and who sends a friendly thank-you email after the interview.

Wear Something with Personality

How you look can be a big part of your personal brand. Especially with people who you work with in-person. So you'll want to wear something that shows off your personality and makes you visually memorable to interviewers. But keep it understated, not like you're a cartoon character of yourself.

• Dress shirt or blouse in a bold color
• Novelty tie or scarf. Broach or tie clip.
• Unique earrings, wristwatch, or fun dress shoes
  
  

The cleverest way to do this is to make sure your touch of personality also perfectly fits into the interview dress code. A brightly colored shirt, a novelty tie, or unique earrings are a way to be visually memorable and look classy doing it.

Talk About Your Process

Don't sweat the questions too much. Relax and answer with as much candid honesty as possible. What hiring managers really want to hear is how much you care about the work. So make that part of your personal brand. Show off your best professional self. Talk about the parts of the work you love and your favorite processes in the role you're seeking.

• How do you organize your work in the morning?
• How do you approach a new project?
• How do you tackle your work when it gets hard?
  
  

Hiring managers will remember your passion and what you like most about the job. They will think of you as someone who can not only do the work, but will be a pleasure to work with because you enjoy it.

What You Can Contribute to the Team

Finally, talk about how you work with a team. Hiring managers are trying to find someone they and their current team will work well with. You can make a great impression using your own personal style by talking about your role in a team. Relate stories about how you worked with others on projects in the past, and mention the things you do to support any team you're working with.
​

• Where you fit in a team
• How you support your team members
• The tasks in a project you're best at
• The tasks you like least or aren't great at
• Whether you aspire to leadership or like to be a team member

The job search is the perfect time to build your personal brand and hone your professional reputation. Become someone known for being passionate about what you do and you'll win more than jobs. For more personal branding tips and uses, contact us today!