Slides from a discussion I held with Kean University students about online personal branding. Includes beginner tips, tricks and suggestions on getting started.

1. Beginner tips to expand your personal brand into the digital world

2. Personal Branding
“Personal branding is the
process whereby people
and their careers are
marked as brands.”
-Source: Wikipedia

3. What is personal branding?
• As it relates to your career, personal branding
encompasses who you are in your “professional
life.”
□ Experience
□ Communication Style
□ Expertise
□ Physical Attributes
□ Track Record
□ Mannerisms
□ Knowledge
□ Industry/Niche
Online Personal Branding
(OPB)

4. Your resume is no longer enough.
• According to recruiting technology company
Jobvite, 92% of companies use LinkedIn,
Facebook and/or Twitter to find talent.
LinkedIn | 89%
Facebook | 26%
Twitter | 15%

5. They will find you…
86% of recruiters
review your social media
profiles whether or not
you share those links
Pro Tip:
Add your
professional social
profiles to your
resume to ensure
your profile doesn’t
get confused with
another person.

6. Other reasons to create an OPB
• Gain creditability with prospective employers
• Show off your skills and portfolio
• Meet new people/gain new connections
• New opportunities

7. What makes a good personal
brand/OPB?
• Ultimately answers the question:
“What are the best things about me
that I want employers to know?”
▫ Unique
▫ Creative
▫ Shows Personality
▫ Steers clear from extremes
▫ Is approachable

8. OPB Step 1:
Audit the web (a.k.a. Google yourself)
• Find what represents you on the web
▫ Search photos, video, blogs, news, social media etc.
▫ Don’t just stop with your name…combine search terms, (name and college attended, name and
hometown, sports played, etc.)
***Clean up your web presence (if you can)*** -OR-
Work on pushing undesirable posts toward the bottom of search engines by creating more
professional channels and populating them with fresh content that reflects your professional
interests (P.S. Keg stands do not qualify as a highly desirable skill…But strong leadership skills
do!) *wink*
TIP: If you have a Google/
Gmail account, make
sure you log out before
completing searches!

9. OPB Step 2:
Become inCREDIABLE
• LinkedIn is a good place to start
building your OPB
▫ Start w/ your paper resume by adding
positions
▫ Upload a professional photo
▫ Write in first person
▫ Add a summary that mirrors your elevator
speech
▫ Customize your URL
▫ Request recommendations
▫ Build your network (classmates, colleagues,
family friends, relatives)
***Only connect with people you know
Pro Tip: Add your
strongest portfolio
pieces to your
LinkedIn profile by
uploading them to
SlideShare & then
linking to them
from your profile.
More LinkedIn Tips &
Profile Examples:
http://bit.ly/linkedinhowto-ac

10. OPB Step 3:
Advanced OPB
• Building blogs and websites are a
great way to expand your online
personal brand and show your
subject matter expertise
• Also essential for showing your
portfolio of projects
▫ Blogging Tools
 Wordpress.com
 Tumblr
 Google’s Blogger.com
▫ Your own website
 Google Sites
▫ Vlogging
 YouTube
 Vimeo
▫ Prezi – www.prezi.com

11. OPB Dos & Don’ts
• DO conduct the search engine
audit to see what shows up
before you do anything
related to your OPB
• DO choose your domains
wisely (Tip: use your name
whenever possible)
• DO create a website. There
are a number of free and easy
tools (see previous slide) and
it makes you look very
professional!
• DON’T feel like you have to
get rid of every single negative
thing that’s out there (use your
judgement)
• DON’T start a blog if you can’t
keep up with it (people want
to see fresh content!)
• DON’T stop building out your
connections on LinkedIn.
Make sure you keep in contact
with your connections, you
never know when you may
need them!

12. Additional Resources
• The YouTern Blog “The Savvy Intern”:
http://www.youtern.com/thesavvyintern/
▫ A great blog for new college graduates to help you
land an internship/your first jobs
• Article: Digital First Impressions Make or Break
Your Job Search [Infographic]
http://bit.ly/digifirst-ac

13. Thank You!
Ashley Cheretes
AshleyCheretes@gmail.com
| @AshleyCheretes
| www.ashleycheretes.com
| www.linkedin.com/in/AshleyCheretes
I’M HIRING!
Learn about Avis Budget Group & apply:
www.avisbudgetcareers.com