A professional brand is the representation of your unique value proposition in the workplace. It’s comprised of your articulated passions, professional style, perceived strengths and predictable results. Each of us has a professional brand, whether or not we’ve carefully crafted our public reputation. Our brand is how our network, leaders, and co-workers describe us when we aren’t in the room.
Professional resume writers use a broad spectrum of techniques to elicit an individual’s professional brand such as interviews, assessments, 360-degree feedback, or analysis of past performance reviews. This process reveals patterns of behavior, consistent outcomes, and common perceptions used to build a client’s branding statement and career summary. Professional writers frequently choose to include a client’s professional brand because it:
- Clearly defines value to a potential employer
- Aligns competencies with sought-after qualifications
- Distinguishes the individual from other candidates
Our brand is how our co-workers describe us when we aren’t in the room
Angela Watts
While industry experts agree about the importance of branding, there is a divide regarding branding format. In one camp (Pro-Adjectives), writers use authentic and specific adjectives to build a visual image of the individual in the reader’s mind (similar to how an author develops a character in a book).
Adjectives-based resume branding statement example
In the other camp (Pro-Accomplishments), writers use concise accomplishments to build a fact-based brand for the candidate. They recognize that human screeners have limited time for each resume and use this time to target accomplished individuals.
Accomplishments-based resume branding statement
So, who’s right?
In surveying several HR professionals and Recruiters from varied industries, it was found that a combination of Adjectives and Accomplishments was preferred. They tended to lean more toward Accomplishments than Adjectives but appreciated the combination approach.
In a recent LinkedIn post on this topic, several professional resume writers responded that they have been using and having success with this combination approach. It was explained that inclusion of adjectives helps to visualize the candidate’s professional style, while accomplishments demonstrate the impact this style has on teams, customers and employers.
Combination resume branding statement examples
The takeaway
Branding can build a consistent message about your professional value across platforms. Resume Writers and HR Professionals encourage job seekers to utilize this advantage, but the methods for conveying a brand in resume format are still under debate. Employing a combination of adjectives and accomplishments appears to be the optimal solution in the current job market.
Learn more
- 39 Resume Accomplishment Examples
- The Simple Formula for Identifying Your Key Achievements
- You Don’t Need Numbers to Show Accomplishments on Your Resume
- How to Write a Resume Summary Statement
Angela Watts is a multi-certified Human Resources professional, a Recruiter Academy certified Corporate Recruiter, an Executive Resume Writer, and the CEO of MyPro Resumes. She has sourced and screened thousands of applicants for SMB and Fortune 500 companies and aids clients from all disciplines to effectively represent themselves through unique and compelling resume documents and introductory correspondence. She is also a member of the National Resume Writers Association, the Recruiter Academy and the Career Thought Leaders Consortium.
