Brand 'Me'

Should people see themselves as brands?

We all have reputations that other people have assigned to us. These reputations can sometimes bother us and we aim to influence them - just as brands do. Consumers, like friends, talk about our good and bad actions and give their opinions on them - sometimes more publicly than others.

Therefore should we apply the same rules to our lives that we, as marketers, would suggest to businesses we were advising?

To a certain extent I think we should....

Everything you blog, write, comment on and have written about you acts as a footprint about brand 'you'. Potential employers will be able to type your name into google when your CV lands on their desk and find out a wealth of information about you. But be warned make sure your privacy settings on your social networking site aren't set to allow everyone on your profile. However this for me could be a separate post all together - should you have your boss and colleagues as friends on Facebook? Keep tuned...

In a time when companies are being approached by hoards of applicants for one position they are looking for the whole package. They no longer just look at your CV, they want a certain type of person: a pro-active employee with a good, professional reputation.

As a student it would be ridiculous for me to say that if you want a job you can't go out and have a good time or have a Facebook profile to share laughs with your friends. All I am saying is...Think - before you join that Facebook group that could be seen as offensive, before you tweet that depressive status about your life and especially before you have your picture taken with your head in a toilet...

I would be interested to hear others thoughts on this so please feel free to comment.