KEY POINTS:
No matter how good you are at your job, if you don't stand out of the crowd, if you're not known for anything special, you are likely to stay in the same position for years unnoticed and unappreciated. Promotion does not favour the shy and retiring types.
As regional manager, New Zealand, of Results Coaching Systems Ruth Donde believes you need to make sure you're recognised in a noisy market.
"You need to let people know what you're about. This is for both getting the job you want and being recognised when you're in it,"says Donde.
In short - you need to know how to brand yourself, and one way of doing this is through your resume.
"Let your personality and skills shine through. Be clear on what your skills are and on what makes you different. Understand your target employer. Know the market and be clear about your achievements, these are not just the awards you have received but also outcomes you have achieved at another job, school, or higher education."
Dr Karen Fernandez, senior lecturer at the marketing department of the University of Auckland Business School , says branding yourself is not dissimilar to what corporates do when they brand a project. They look at what's unique about the product, what makes it stand out and they market the product accordingly. When discussing branding yourself, Dr Fernandez talks of sustainable competitive advantage.
For getting the job, Dr Fernandez says: "You need to look at yourself, and work out how you are better than the others who are applying for the same position," she says. "This must be something that is sustainable - not just, for example, knowing a computer programme that the other candidates will be able to learn quickly.
"Perhaps you're open to new ideas - use the advantages that young people have: enthusiasm and energy to learn."
Dr Fernandez uses the example of a student in her department who is very good at finding information. "He's the one who comes up with solutions - he's known as a 'can-do boy'. That's very good branding."
You could market yourself as someone who's diligent, willing to work through the night to get a job done, she says. But remember, once you're in the job, you have to be able to live up to your branding. Dr Fernandez says with any marketing of any product, branding can be extremely important - but it may make consumers buy the product and try it once. If there's no substance to the product, all the branding in the world will do nothing to sell it a second time.
Dr Fernandez stresses that standing out of the crowd for good reasons is what you want, standing out of the crowd for bad behaviour or making a scene is a very bad thing. There are some ways in which you do not want to brand yourself, such as to be seen as the lazy one, the pessimistic one or the groaner. This is a case where bad publicity is merely bad publicity.
"You want to be the one who people go to for a special reason. Maybe you're a whiz at computers, maybe you have good communication skills and share them, maybe you're good at coming up with great ideas. Be known for these things - so people come to you for them. So you're known to be special at something."
She explains that these things not only get people's attention, they also give you confidence.
"I read a lot and fast - I also remember what I read. That is my special skill, so when I know someone's writing a paper, I can contact them and say, I've read such and such which may help you - I send relevant articles to them.
"It's quite an intensive thing to use for branding - but I enjoy doing that, and, yes, people come to me for information. That is something I would like to be respected for."
Dr Fernandez mentions she is also known for her hat. This is something that happened by default after she went to a conference and wore the hat, and from then she has been "the woman with the hat".
"I now am expected to wear the hat every time I go to a conference, I suppose by default I have created branding."
She agrees that the way you dress can help you brand yourself. "The way you dress - your own look, a piece of jewellery, or in my case a hat, could make you distinctive.
"You could be known for your style or even for your car."
However, Dr Fernandez again stresses that branding must never be too superficial.
"In the short term the way you dress can make you stand out, but in the long run it's what you can really give to your workplace that counts."
Donde says that one important aspect of branding is relationship building. "Some organisations are extremely political. Ensure that you shine, but not at the expense of others. Make sure they shine too. Creating strong relationships through networking is vital."
She says there is a programme available in New Zealand called Personal Branding DNA. This is a new technique that some career coaches offer that looks at your past experience, what you have achieved and what you want to achieve.
It also helps you to work out whether your goals are realistic.
