Many of the marketing candidates I speak with consider themselves branding experts and marketing strategists – but when it comes to their job search, they fail to see the comparison.

The recruitment process is a marketing and branding exercise for both candidate and client, and it’s more important than ever to ensure your own ‘brand’ is something businesses see aligning with their own values.

For marketing candidates with not much experience: Demonstrate your passion of marketing with proof! Create a blog, website or Instagram profile that aligns with an interest of yours. You will build invaluable digital market and social media skills but will push yourself ahead of the crowd by demonstrating an existing skillset that you may not have gained through paid employment.

For candidates with a well-built marketing career: Have you Googled yourself recently? Is your LinkedIn profile filled out completely and with lots of detail? Organisations look closely at not only your CV but your social profile – if you’re an expert in B2B marketing and communications, what does it say if you have little activity or presence on your LinkedIn profile?

For marketing candidates at all stages: Ensure that what you deem personal is kept private or hidden but that you do have some sort of online presence. We have countless stories of offers being withdrawn because of a comment or post that is still publicly visible. If you deem yourself a marketing expert, then this is marketing 101 – managing your brand!