When should you start building your personal brand?

Ever wonder when you should start crafting your personal brand? The answer:

Now. 

Because good personal brands not only win jobs - they also win scholarships.  

When I applied for the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship and read all the essay prompts, I realized "Mmmmm, I'm just a normal girl and think I might wanna be an English teacher" wasn't really a good personal brand. They wanted to know who I was, what I'd been through, what I'd done, and how that influenced what I wanted to bring to the world. 

I worked really hard and thought really hard to put my life into a cohesive essay and subsequent life plan. Sure, that plan changed a lot, but having a direction and thinking deeply about who I was is what made all the difference.

To start, make a timeline of your life and draw pictures to illustrate your milestones and most defining moments. What made you who you are today?

Then, start to think about what kinds of things you enjoy most. When do you feel most alive? What kind of work would you love to do every day?  

You may not know exactly how to communicate who you are and what you want to do right now. And that's okay. 

Having a personal brand isn't about having it all figured out. It's about deciding that you will constantly do the work to create your brand as you learn more about yourself and the unmet needs in our economy. It's about taking ownership of your career before someone else does. 

Whether you're about to start college for the first time or are just finishing up, it's time to begin to figure out what your personal brand is and how you can best communicate it online and in person. 

Today I just launched a free ebook to help you do just that - it's called How to Get a Job Without a Resume, and you can get it for free here!

Today getting a job is about so much more than a resume - it's about how well you're able to communicate your personal brand online and in person. And trust me, you have more to share with the world than you realize. 

Please feel free to share How To Get a Job Without a Resume with your friends and on social media, and feel free to share any thoughts or questions on Twitter using the hashtag #WithoutaResume!