You’ve probably heard ad nauseam about the rise of the personal brand. If you’re on LinkedIn, it’s impossible to avoid it. Blame the thought leaders, they’ve made being themselves the thing selling the product——hang on, they ARE the product. The reputation of marketing is in the gutter and there’s always some new fad that makes my fucking toes curl. However, you can guarantee the majority are lapping it up. The personal brand guff is the most anus-puckering marketing trend of all time.
We are NOT all the same.
Marketing shouldn’t be a paint-by-numbers deal. Sure, there are tried and tested methods, and I bloody love a framework, but the ubiquity of the personal brand is bollocks. By logical reasoning, companies don’t qualify for the personal brand treatment (the clue’s in the name). So those of us in business probably shouldn’t rush to hire a personal branding specialist asap. The one-size-fits-all spiel makes me wanna haul my arse over the nearest cliff (and for me, that’s about 100 miles away but I am prepared to make the trip——that’s how strongly I feel).
Your business already has a brand.
Maybe you don’t realise it because you haven’t consciously created one but to your clients it’s clear. Your brand identity steams off the pages of your website, you either take control over it or allow others to interpret it for you.
Business values and words convey your message so it would be impossible not to give off a vibe. Freelancers knowingly or unknowingly become their business brand. The SM influencers would call that a personal brand. I would reluctantly agree (because I don’t want to sound even more of a wanker than usual) but what else is a freelancer to do? Well, unless you’re a household name, I question the importance of a personal brand.
Jobseekers and the personal brand.
CVs are out. Your social media is your CV!
I think Steven Bartlett may have said something similar and it’s the kind of thought-leaderery propaganda he would spout but is it true? Is it fuck. It’s a quotable soundbite from a hip (yes, I said hip) influencer but it’s total crap in the real world. Y’know, the one we have to inhabit and try to make a living in.
It’s crap because the recruitment industry didn’t get that particular memo. Creating a personal brand to secure a job is a waste of time. Aside from CV processing software and online job sites, the recruitment process is largely unchanged. Nothing confirmed that more than when I looked at freelance writing gigs. I often take a gander at SEO/marketing agencies looking for folks like me, and Jesus, the quality of the pickings is slim, and when I say slim I mean emaciated.
SNIDE NOTE 1: If you want writers to join your “exciting” agency, you have to BE exciting, not say you are. Also, hire an actual writer to write the job ad. Maybe they can somehow elicit the feeling of excitement.
The application process is the same as it ever was only now you get to feel even more like a cog in a machine. Organisations expect a CV——not a link to your bastard TikTok——but yes, it does depend on the role, however, they still want cover letters, portfolios——all the usual information in the usual format.
The world of recruitment remains a meat market, and now thanks to remote working, it’s a global slaughterhouse. I look through job ads with growing disappointment. Certain agencies (who will remain shameless) don’t know what great writing is and you can tell because they offer freelancers cash per word:
“The rate of pay is proportionate to the word count…”
SNIDE NOTE 2: If an agency adopts the word count model, they know jack about the industry they claim to work in.
Here are a few more squirts from the job ad shit fountain…
“Your initial rate of pay will be £40 per 1500 words.”
And…
“The first three articles are on a trial basis…”
Also…
“As you progress, depending on your writing skills and aptitude, the pay can rise up to £70 per 1500 words…”
Whoopy-fucking-doo.
I have a personal brand.
I can’t fight it. The personal brand is strong with me but in the olden days, a personal brand just meant having a personality. In reality, most agencies and businesses don’t care about you, they want to hire someone competent for the job, they sure as shit don’t care about your personal brand.
First published, 21st March 2024.
Does your website traffic suck?
Book a >>FREE website audit<<