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When you are in Human Resources, everyone thinks you know everything there is to know about getting hired. Truth is, most HR folks stumble when implementing their own self-marketing efforts. Having coached numerous HR professionals, many find resume writing difficult and networking intimidating. So, if you think you are alone in finding job hunting a challenging task, think again.



In today's tough job market, you must learn to define and promote your personal brand in order to distinguish yourself to employers. Through personal branding you define you career identity and set yourself apart by emphasizing your unique talents in a way that showcases what is distinctive about you. You must develop a mark of excellence that reflects your own unique talents and abilities in the tasks or activities you do best. People who display a great personal brand find it relatively easy to land great jobs and earn promotions. And, they often get paid more than their counterparts.



To increase your opportunities to move ahead try implementing these success strategies:



· Define your personal brand. You must clearly communicate your personal brand or professional reputation and career identity to your potential boss. Define your key strengths, talents, and personality traits. You must then master self-marketing techniques to emphasize these attributes in your resume, cover letters, and all communications with potential employers.



· Target your resume. Avoid using any general job descriptions since these are very ineffective. Keep your resume concise - no longer than 2 pages. Employers care most about seeing what results you have achieved. Be specific! Defining how you have saved time, increased productivity, cut costs and added to the bottomline. Make sure your resume screams, ''I'm a get-the-job-done kind of person.''



· Network! 63% of all jobs last year were found through contacts according to the Department of Labor. Cultivate your network. Join LinkedIn and post your professional profile. Attend professional meetings and conferences, making an effort to meet two new people to expand your network.



·Dazzle the Interviewer. Start the interview in the best possible way: when the interviewer asks the, ''Tell me about yourself'' question, forget an autobiography. Use the 60 Second Sell outlined in the book 60 Seconds & You're Hired! This technique has you analyze the job duties the employer wants accomplished, then select your top five selling points your strongest abilities, experience and skills (AKA your personal brand), that demonstrate that you can do the job. Link these five points together in a few sentences and you have created a ''verbal business card''. Keep the momentum going with good, prepared answers to questions and practice before you ever face the interviewer.


·Negotiate the salary. The biggest salary increases are the result of negotiating with the new employer. So you need to know exactly what your skills are worth in the marketplace so you do not undersell yourself. Most people have no idea.