Digital You: Real Personal Branding in the Virtual Age

It’s your agent. Often delivering the first impression to a prospect, your LinkedIn profile is you when you aren’t there.

People with strong personal brands are explicit about who they are and who they’re not.

Sanders’s research has shown that the more you are liked, the happier your life will be, and he coaches readers on four specific factors:

It’s your recruiter. LinkedIn not only helps others find you, it helps you find the ideal people you need for those open positions on your team.

Quotes, awards, testimonials, and accolades bestowed upon you from someone else or by an organization—like being quoted in a publication—along with your degrees will serve to confirm what you’re saying about yourself.

Make your accomplishments count, literally. Sales figures, budget savings, number of presentations, frequent flier miles accrued in a year: It all adds up.

Your relationships with those around you are transactional, not relational, which makes you easier to replace. This puts you in the position of having to actively pursue every opportunity you seek—with little external support, and lots of exertion on your part.

Personal branding is not a onetime event. You change, the work landscape changes. Everything around you changes. Your brand must evolve to remain relevant.

“Seventy-six percent of CEOs are concerned about the lack of digital skills within their own workforce—and 23 percent are extremely concerned about the digital skills of their leadership team.” —PwC 21st CEO Survey: Talent