Today, your most important career document is your bio—or what I like to call your branded bio. The resume used to be the tool that would get you noticed. No more.

Review your message. Go back to part 1 of this book and review the section where you defined your message or point of view. What words did you use to describe your unique message?

3. Myopia. Ironically, the third reason some people think personal branding is dead is related to the rise of virtual employees. Companies, once reluctant to let their people work from home for fear that they would goof off, are now becoming proponents of remote work. They are encouraging their employees to keep away from the office; in a 2015 Gallup

What makes you stand out? • What do people frequently compliment you on or praise you for? • What is it that your manager, colleagues, friends, and clients come to you for? • What adjectives do people consistently use to describe you—perhaps when they’re introducing you to others? • What makes the way you achieve results interesting or unique? •

Seventy percent of Millennials have left or considered leaving a job because it lacked flexible work options, while only about half of older workers report the same (Howington 2018). By 2020, almost half of the workforce will be made up of Millennials (Weber 2013).

What others think counts. Your brand is held in the hearts and minds of those around you.

It’s your publicist. Move over, CNN. LinkedIn lets you showcase your expertise and express your point of view. Through the way you write your summary to the content you share in your activity feed, the groups you join, and the conversations you have, you can tell people who you are and what you believe.

A 2018 study by Olivet University revealed that 76 percent of people think mentors are important, yet only 37 percent of people currently have one.

Vacuum it up. That means either take down the undesirable content if you’re the one who put it up, or speak to the owners of the sites where it appears and ask them to remove it.