When it comes to standing out from the crowd, it is important to know exactly how to brand yourself and your core professional offering, writes Karen Dunbar of The CV & Interview Advisors. In today’s legal landscape, many law firms and legal professionals look and sound the same, so how can you make yourself stand out?
As a Personal Branding Specialist with over 8 years of experience writing (and reading) CVs, I can very confidently say that most CVs that I read sound the same. People use the same clichés, the same structure and the same achievements (or lack of!). So, if a recruiter or hiring manager is trying to find the best candidate for a role, it makes things very difficult for them. Often, the most talented, qualified and experienced legal professionals miss out on roles because their CV and LinkedIn profile lets them down.
However, before you give up completely and resign yourself to the fact you won’t secure that perfect new job, there are some simple things that you can do to make yourself stand out from the crowd.
Release your marketing prowess
Many legal professionals, despite not realising this, do possess the skills ideal for marketing themselves. These include a meticulous approach to writing using outstanding attention to detail, the ability to engage with diverse audiences from clients through to senior stakeholders and powerful influencing skills. If you think about these strengths, then it makes sense that you can use these to help you create visibility and build your personal brand.
When creating your CV and LinkedIn profile, what value do you offer your employer and clients? What is it that you can bring to the table that your peers can’t?
Evidence, Evidence and more Evidence
As a legal professional, your entire career is based on facts and evidence. So, why should your CV and LinkedIn profile be any different? When it comes to making yourself stand out, you need a lot more than just fancy words. You need evidence to back it up. The people reading your CV and LinkedIn are not psychic and very likely, they don’t know you. It isn’t enough to say that you are amazing at what you do, you must show them why. This means providing tangible results that back up what you say you can and have done.
Share your knowledge
Becoming a thought leader in your field is a great way to raise your personal brand. Could you create articles or white papers to attract future opportunities to you? Do you specialise in a certain area of the law? Do you have any interesting insights or ideas when it comes to the legal profession? Sharing your ideas is a great way to build your brand and your network.
If you would like to learn the blueprint to writing a high-impact, interview-generating LinkedIn profile that dovetails with your CV, you can register for our upcoming free webinar here:
