How the personal brand became the new CV

IT’S the age-old question: if you aren’t online, do you even exist? Unless you’re a spy or a fugitive who never sleeps in the same bed twice, not having a digital footprint today would probably sound odd; particularly to smartphone-obsessed types who spend most of their days with their noses pressed against phone screens and their thumb joints fused into an arthritic scroll crook.

In a food court recently I walked past a table where four young men were seated. Each was entranced by their phones while in the presence of other living, breathing human beings. I laughed quietly to myself (LQTM) as I slurped up the sweet irony of this moving pastiche of modern technological malaise. I would have taken a picture of the scene stealthily and posted it somewhere online but I was caught up catching up on some light social media voyeurism on my own phone at the time.

For all the ubiquity of the internet, the surprising truth is that there are still billions of people around the world who are gleefully (or woefully) unplugged from the matrix. Nearly one-third of the global population is offline. Some friends have told me they’re not on any social media platforms; they use a haughty tone generally reserved for saying things like, “No. I’ve never done drugs.” Such poseurs. This, to me, sounds as peculiar and limiting as not having a passport. For many, socials are a toxic soup of abhorrent, unsolicited opinions, an unpardonable waste of time and a dilution of one’s focus. Both statements are true.

Still, irrespective of age the internet and social media platforms in particular are crucial for personal branding in the digital epoch. Why should you be interested in personal branding anyway? You aren’t soap or Weetabix. Probably not many people walk around conscious of the fact that they’re doing so in the information age. Even if you aren’t interested in what’s happening online, many of the people with whom you’re trying to connect and many of the opportunities you’re angling to tap into are best sourced through the digital domain.

If you’re interested in moving up the career ladder, a robust personal brand built online can be far more useful than the conventional CV. By contrast, a resume spells out your credentials and any specialist training you might have that, in theory, aligns with the needs of a potential employer. Profiles with regular posts on platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok and perhaps to a lesser extent Instagram, give headhunters a clear sense of your abilities, work experience, methodologies and real-world examples of how your problem-solving skills and training culminate in the successful completion of tasks.

Ultimately, what employers are looking for is competence, an ability to work with others, consistency and delivery on time. It’s important to note that in the world of qualifications, you’re just a speck among thousands in a stack of eminently qualified CVs sitting in someone’s inbox. It’s standard procedure for talent-seekers to scour the internet for the traces of expertise they’re looking for in you. Finding online evidence that shows prospective employers you could be a better fit for them makes their decision-making easier.

Over the years I’ve had to engage the services of freelancers — graphic artists, online ad managers, DVD authoring services, book cover design, etc. I must admit I’ve become a terrible snob in the process, perhaps because I had to kiss (and even eat) more than my fair share of frogs before settling on worthy candidates. In most cases, if a company or job suitor didn’t have a website or a substantial social media profile populated with sufficient self-generated content, they were summarily disqualified from consideration with extreme prejudice. I have nothing against blind dating, but I’m not going to extend that open-mindedness to freelance prospecting. If I’m doing behind-the-scenes surveillance for a small operation, you can rest assured larger companies with more skin in the game are stalking their quarry online.

Personal branding online achieves another important effect: it future-proofs your career ambitions whether you’re a professional, a gun-for-hire or an entrepreneur. Building a digital impression of the value (ugh, such an overused word these days) you bring to the table is an asset that will only grow in worth as your ambitions evolve. A CV is great and all that; don’t throw it in the tall grass just yet. But looking at this digital age as a pool party, you don’t want to be the only one there with no swimwear.