15 Ways to Prepare Your Personal Brand for Startups - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

15 Ways to Prepare Your Personal Brand for Startups - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career What is one piece of  personal  branding advice youd give someone who wants to work for a startup? The following answers are provided by members of  Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched  StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. 1. Establish a High Value  Personal  Brand Regardless of where you are working at any given time,  your  personal  brand  will always stay with you. Invest the time and capital into your  personal  branding website,  your  social media and  your  visual content to project the highest value image possible. Investing in good photography is really important. Richard Lorenzen,  Fifth Avenue Brands 2. Protect  Your  Reputation The importance of having an honorable reputation is vital in every aspect of  your  business growth.  People want to partner and be associated with individuals who are well-respected in the industry from the beginning.  Dont forget, word travels fast. Sean Marszalek,  SDC Nutrition, Inc. 3. Illustrate  Your  Previous Work Startups  are looking for professionals who can execute and make a difference. While building  your  personal  brand, be sure to clearly tell narratives or illustrate what you have done or can do. There is a premium for doers, and the best thing you can do is quickly show a prospective company that you will  drive results rather than simply fill a role. Andrew Thomas,  SkyBell Technologies, Inc. 4. Be Unique Startup founders are intrinsically eccentric people. They have an enormous appetite for risk. They are exceptional and they like hanging around exceptional people. Make yourself exceptional. Be the only candidate that has a public portfolio. Let me as a startup CEO see your  blogging, design, art, presentations, code, etc. I want to  see what Im about to invest in. Kyle Samani,  Pristine 5. Generate Content Invest time in generating content on different platforms; whether its tweeting, blogging, guest posting or posting slides. Make sure youre engaging with people and sharing useful information. The more you do that, the more valuable  your  brand  will be making you a good fit to work at a startup. Ben Lang,  Mapped In Israel 6. Showcase  Your  Expertise Personal  branding is very important but nobody likes someone who is overly promotional or too confident. Showcase  your  expertise and help others;  your  actions will help build a  personal  following worth having. Stanley Meytin,  True Film Production 7. Do Something Entrepreneurial Whether it is a big idea or small, entrepreneurs like to surround themselves with other entrepreneurial-minded people. Explain things that you were a part of from idea inception through execution. It doesnt even have to be a business; start a non-profit, a blog, a small mobile app, be the leader of a new club on campus, etc. Anything that can serve as  your  entrepreneurial portfolio. Adam Stillman,  SparkReel 8. Get  Personal Startup culture favors personality, whereas larger screening efforts can  exclude it. Don’t be afraid to showcase who you are beyond just accomplishments and test scores. Sam Saxton,  Salter Spiral Stair and Mylen Stairs 9. Write Articles If you want to work for a startup, show them that youre an expert in whatever industry you want to work in. Write articles for  your personal  blog, or on external publications. Especially if youre looking to land a marketing or sales role, showing that you can create a community around  your  content is extremely attractive to  startups. Kelsey Meyer,  Influence Co. 10. Present  Your  Personal  Footprint Online Twitter is a great place to start, but having  your  name mentioned in content related to the startup market will separate you from other candidates. Timothy Schmidt,  WebsiteRescue 11. Be a Character Rather Than a Resume Startups  hire characters rather than positions, so applicants who are too focused on the position itself (title, job duties) and their own experience, rather than on the impact they can make, are going to bring up red flags. Experience is great, but grit and passion are timeless traits that are desirable to startup hiring managers. Show  your  true colors and let  your  freak flag fly,” as they say. Sean Kelly,  HUMAN 12. Find Something to Offer Working for a startup means that you are in a very entrepreneurial environment, so show that in the way you approach them. Tell the company what you will do to make their business better, faster, stronger. People are not hiring roles, they are hiring results. Jessica Richman,  UBiome 13. Go the Extra Mile In a startup, things can be hectic and hours can be long. Companies want to hire employees who can roll with the punches and are willing to go above and beyond.  Brand  yourself as someone who cares about not only the opportunity, but also equity. Founders want a team that is  motivated by the long-term success of the company, and an equity focus speaks volumes about where  your  motivation lies. John Tabis,  The Bouqs Company 14. Develop a Representative Digital Persona Startups  are environments that require team members to absolutely love each other. One easy way for an employer to get to know the real you is by viewing  your  personal  and professional blogs, social media accounts and websites. A  passion for badminton and rock climbing can get you a ton of points because youll be someone fun to have on the team. Firas Kittaneh,  Amerisleep 15. Build Things First Nothing destroys a  personal  brand  more than a B-level product. And no amount of dressing can cover up the blemish that a bad product or lack of experience creates. If youve never actually created something that generated value for others, do that first before you spend even a minute on  personal  branding.  Startups  look for people who have built things, not promoted themselves. Mark Arnoldy,  Possible Featured Photo