**Building a Strong Online Presence**

Crafting Your Professional Identity: A Blueprint for Long-Term Success

In today's fast-paced job market, having a clear understanding of your professional identity is crucial for navigating the twists and turns of your career journey. It's not about manipulating search engine rankings or relying on quick fixes to land a job. Rather, it's a thoughtful approach to showcasing your unique strengths, personality, and value proposition.

The concept of personal branding has been around since Tom Peters' seminal article in Fast Company, "The Brand Called You." Yet, many professionals, recruiters, and experts continue to debate its relevance. But ask yourself: Why do internal candidates often get hired over external ones? Why are employee referrals so highly valued? And why do CEO job postings rarely go public? The answer lies in the power of a strong professional reputation.

Personal branding is more than a catchy tagline or elevator pitch; it's the key to unlocking job opportunities. It's about establishing a consistent online presence, building meaningful relationships, and demonstrating your expertise. In essence, it's the reason people get hired.

Recently, I participated in Job Action Day, a initiative dedicated to empowering job seekers to craft, build, and enhance their professional brand. Alongside Miriam Salpeter, we introduced the concept of VIV-id, or Virtual Individual Verified-id, to better capture the essence of personal branding.

So, do you have a professional brand? Or do you think it's just a myth? The truth is, your reputation matters, and it's up to you to shape it.

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