When you think of a brand you know and love—Coca-Cola, perhaps, or Disney, or any other major consumer brand—certain expectations come to mind. You love a brand because those expectations exist and are consistently met. So what expectations do you create (or want to create) in other people and consistently meet? Are they positive expectations that help unlock career opportunities? What, in other words, is your brand?
Your brand, quite simply, tells a potential employer who you are. It tells them what to expect from you. They build that brand from everything they can see and learn about you: from personal interactions or hearsay to social media, open source projects, and Q&A websites where you participate—basically, everything online and everything offline as well. Your brand helps an employer see what you’ll bring into the workplace, so you should ensure that your brand reflects what you genuinely will bring.