Tech Careers: 3 Simple Effective Branding Methods

I’ve talked quite a bit lately about the importance of personal branding and leveraging social media in a technical career.  Today, I want to cover 3 simple things that techies can do to improve on their career branding message. (And these are not just for active job seekers, but for happily-at-the-moment-employed techies as well.)

Get a technical resume makeover (and keep it updated)  

I know what you’re thinking…the resume is dead, right? For some social media fanatics, perhaps. They would like to think that social media has replaced any and all traditional methods. But to hiring managers and recruiters, resumes are still a must. TechRepublic, a highly respected news source for IT/technical info, issues a technical resume makeover pretty regularly that you can follow for tips. Of course, we have tons of tips here as well (Technical Resume Keywords and ATS Systems, IT Resume and Personal Brand Strategy, and Executive IT Resumes: How Far Back Do You Go?).

Take a chance with your LinkedIn profile

Once you’ve read one LI profile, you’ve read them all. Now, I am not suggesting that you go off the deep end; after all, LI is a stuffier place than Twitter or Facebook, but just because the air might be thicker there doesn’t mean it all has to be the same. It’s a common mistake people make with their resumes, and now I see it with LI profiles as well. Having a solid branding message will help with that, though, because if done right, you are going to be focusing on the unique skill sets that you have and presenting yourself in that light.

Join a Twitter Chat

If you’ve followed my blog at all, you know I keep harping on this…and for good reason. If you’re not going to do anything else on Twitter (and we can certainly debate the merits of that), you should at least jump in and participate in a chat or two on a somewhat regular basis. The key is showing up at the most effective chats. I’ve highlighted the following chats before, and I will list them again (you can usually find me at one or both of them):

• #ITchat (Tues., 1pm, Eastern): Each week this chat covers a different topic related to IT.

• #TCFchat (Wed., 3pm, Eastern): Hosted by the Tech Career Forum, this chat covers issues related to career and job search, from resume to personal branding to the state of the IT job market. You can learn more about the Tech Career Forum and #TCFchat on LinkedIn. You can also find out about the latest questions/topics for the upcoming Wednesday chat.