EFFECT OF PERSONAL BRANDING EFFORTS ON JOB PROSPECTS OF A LINKEDIN USER

Abstract

In this article, the authors examined the relation between Personal Branding efforts in LinkedIn and their job prospects. While there are other social media sites which can be taken into consideration for the study, LinkedIn is deemed to be a purely professional social networking site with content relevant to jobs, industry, economy etc. The authors found that sizable LinkedIn users do not post, share or visit content with the intent of “Building Personal Brand”, however wishes to attract the attention of potential recruiters on the platform. While the term “Personal Branding has been discussed in numerous papers, journals and articles, broader clarity is guaranteed on the same. Additionally, it was duly noted that a person looking for a job doesn’t trust LinkedIn entirely and thus signs up on various other established job portals or seek suitable referrals at the same time. “Your brand has moved online. That means you need to translate who you are in the real world into a congruent bits-and-bytes version of you. First impressions are important to your career success, so whether they take place with a handshake or on a handheld device, you need to make sure yours is authentic, compelling, and relevant.”, said Mitch Joel in his book ‘Ctrl, Alt, Delete’. “It is much more than a style of dress, a particular degree or credential, or the associations to which you belong. Mainly it is the unique “stamp” you put on everything you say or do. Because no one will do things and present themselves in exactly the same way that you do, your uniqueness is what people notice”Annabelle Reitman and Caitlin Williams on Personal Branding in their periodical journal ‘Distinguish yourself and excel in the profession’. Author Neal Schaffer in his journal “LinkedIn or Left Out” shares his view on LinkedIn by stating“It is much more than a style of dress, a particular degree or credential, or the associations to which you belong. Mainly it is the unique “stamp” you put on everything you say or do. Because no one will do things and present themselves in exactly the same way that you do, your uniqueness is what people notice.” Further legal trainer Avery Black feels “The most effective way to start your job search is by developing relationships with people. The Internet, through professional websites like LinkedIn and social media sites like Face-book and Twitter, allows people to start a dialogue with each other.” The above quotes individually bring out the core pointers of this literature“LinkedIn” and “Personal Branding” and “Job Search”. “Branding” which audiences still relate to tangible products have slowly seeped into individuals. Individuals are making informed decisions and suitable actions in order to attract the attention of a specific set of people which in this case are job recruiters.