"Let's talk about your personal brand..."


It’s never been more important to clearly and accurately communicate your personal brand.  The concept of personal brand is about standards of behaviour and expectations that are shared between the individual and the employer.  It’s important to not only identify your personal brand, but you should also find a way to live and breathe your brand at work. 

Once you have identified your personal brand, you need to position it effectively. 

Your resume should:

  • Be an introductory document with the aim to generate invitations to interviews
  • Be an inventory, as preparation for articulating your background and your contributions
  • Provide an agenda for interviewers, a springboard from which to launch questions

Structurally, ensure that your resume has up-to-date contact details, an effective positioning profile statement, highlights your key competencies and achievements, and provides relevant information about your career experience.  This is where you have previously demonstrated your competencies and achievements, and where your profile can be seen ‘in action’.

The profile section is critical as it is likely to be the first thing a recruiter reads.  Every word must be meaningful and should highlight:

  • Your ‘value add’
  • Your ‘contribution’ and
  • What makes you unique

An example of a profile for a senior executive:

Highly motivated and commercially driven, internationally experienced executive.  Team orientated leader, pragmatic operating style with a strong commitment to outcomes.  Analytical and logic based business mind with a strategic focus and the courage and persistence to deliver results.

The key competencies and achievements section provides a summary of contribution and experience in meaningful terms.  You must be able to provide granular examples to back up the statements you have made in the profile section. 

For example:

  • Percentage gain
  • Cost savings in dollar terms
  • Profit increased in dollar terms, and/or
  • Applicable timeframes and volumes


Preparation of a professional resume is a key component of any career management or career transition exercise.  Ensure you stand out from the crowd!