Personal Branding and CV

Similar to brand that represents a product, personal branding represents an individual. It is how an individual manipulates, the way other perceive about him/her, in order to achieve objectives and goals, defined by (Montoya and Vandehey, 2002). A simple definition by Schawbel (2009) proves that personal branding is “how we market ourselves to others”, just like how a corporate brand like Apple Inc. to the product brand of Apple Inc. like Apple Iphone 5c influences potential consumers.

As undergraduates, we are under tremendous competition worldwide. The ability to have an edge over all of the others in a particular is a crucial yet difficult task to achieve. However, there are several strategies involving, commitment that help to become a standout. Clark (2014) lists some tips for personal branding:

• Sharpen Your Narrative – Take, maximum when there is opportunity, participating in public speaking, spread the character you are amongst people, take part in group conversation and teams.
• Expand Your Network – Talk to long lost contacts, get in touch with old friends, use social media like; Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.
• Explore Emerging Trends – It may be technology, fashion, etc. make sure that you are thorough with your field of expertise and dress the way that best represents you.
• Learn New Skills – expand your skill set through personal and professional development.
• Start Creating Content – create CV, resume, blogs, own personal website, video logs and voice logs, etc. using free tools from the internet.

This, list is also supported by Schawbel (2009), with some additional attention to documents required to apply for jobs, like the curriculum vitae, resume, references documents. Top Counseling Schools (2014) statistically proves the importance of a good CV/resume and shows what HR managers look and guidelines to improve a CV/resume.

• Summarize – Tell employers the person you are, skills and qualification to cover up and prepare for the most common interview statement “So tell us about yourself”.
• Confidence – Take the opportunity and show confidence through writing, talk about accomplishments, positive changes made in previous roles.
• Language – Avoid starting sentence with I, we or our, avoid use of full sentences and frequently use bullet points with strong action verbs. Lastly, check for spelling mistakes.
• Keywords – According, to Top Counseling Schools resumes are often, scanned by a person or machine for specific words that match the hiring criteria. So pay attention to the job description and customize the resume.

CV Essentials

1. Contact information
2. Objective Statement
3. Experience
4. Skills
5. Educational and Professional Qualification
6. Extra Curricular Activities and Sports
7. Referees

The module Applied Research Methods and Professional Development requires a curriculum vitae prepared for any preferred job application as a partial requirement for module completion. I would prepare a CV for a part time job as a Trainee Business Analyst/Project Manager at Dotnutz Solutions (PVT) Ltd. The layout of the CV will consist, the list under the CV essentials subtopic.