A wise professional recognizes that employment is never a guarantee. That’s why it’s essential to keep up with your online presence, networking, and being active in your field’s community. Maintaining your stellar brand should include polishing up your resume too. Even while happily employed, keeping up to date on your resume is essential, says Venture Rocket. Here, learn five essential tricks to mastering a personally branded resume.

1. Your personal branding statement

Gone are the days of long introductory paragraphs or even objective statements. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t have the time or patience to read through a stack of resumes with drawn-out paragraphs. Don’t let this over-done aspect of your resume block the reader from getting to the important substance beneath it. Instead, switch it out with a concise, to-the-point personal branding statement. This will set the stage for your brand and how you can apply it in the workplace. Also, because many companies using tracking systems to review resumes, infuse your statement with key terms and phrases to match the position’s description.

2. Add graphics and badges

The traditional layout of your address, phone number, and email centered under your name is the most common header for resumes. Give this tired-out format a facelift on your branded resume. Include small graphics with your contact information, such as the “@” symbol with your email, or the LinkedIn badge with your URL, and a globe with your personal website, suggests Career Rocketeer in their recent article, Personal Branding a Resume. Simple graphics can really open up a text-heavy resume and modernize its appearance. Small things like these can completely alter your resume’s appearance and professionalism.

3. Invest in a logo

Depending on how creative or traditional your field is, consider infusing a logo into your brand. It should be simple, like all effective logos are, and should also convey the mood of your personal brand. Commission a graphic artist or play around with Photoshop to create an image to perfectly capture your brand, suggests recent article 10 Resume Tips That Will Enhance Your Personal Brand on Mortgage Hired. A good graphic can be used on your resume, cover letter, and references for an impressive set of documents, as well as on your business card and personal website. The consistency will make your application look professionally put together compared to a stack of regular word documents, which can appeal to a hiring manager with many of resumes to review.

4. Testimonials speak for your brand

Career Realism suggests adding testimonials to your resume for an extra emphasis to your personal brand. Much like the Recommendations section on LinkedIn, excerpts of testimonials add a powerful touch to the credentials of your resume. Consider adding a few snippets to accompany relevant work experience. Choose coworkers, bosses, or clients who can speak to the true values your brand encapsulates. Consider a variation in typography and setting on the resume layout for a professional and easy to read appearance.

5. Don’t forget your website

One thing you should never leave off your personally branded resume? Your personal website. Always include your URL with your contact information in a prominent location. Because hiring managers often perform an online search before selecting candidates, leading them to your own website will impress them with your professionalism, excellence, and seriousness as a job seeker.

Don’t have your own website yet? Try Squarespace. With Squarespace, you can get outfitted with a yourfullname.com URL for maximum exposure and the best in web aesthetics. Plus, the benefits of a website are endless. A website allows you to expand on what you could not include on your branded resume. A website can house work samples and portfolios, testimonials and recommendations, a more thorough background of your experience, and most importantly it can allow you to tell the story of your brand. Let Squarespace present your brand to the world!

How do you apply your personal brand to your resume? Leave a comment and let us know!