Photo via Marketing Assassin

It’s About What You Can Do For Others

Personal branding should really be called “managing your reputation” and “here’s what I can do for you” (and make the world a better place for all you commerce/MBA bottom line job seekers).

In Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, the most dangerous thing is not knowing yourself or the situation (what I call the “landscape”).

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself you will succumb in every battle.

Once you know yourself, you need to know what the company that want to work for wants and what the hiring guy is really looking for.

If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

And his wise words are still as relevant today as they were back then whether your in management or a job seeker.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

So where does the idea of “giving” to others factor into this?

Why Giving Is Hard Wired

If Twitter followers are giving you their attention then that attention is worth something.  According to Joshua Waldman’s post, the more you talk about other people (and not yourself), the more followers you have.

Graph via DanZarella.com

And a more real world case of hard wired altruism (or the protective nature of the community) can be found here on Matthew Taylor’s blog.

If you’re keeping these 2 ideas (giving more, talking about yourself less) you’re off to a great start in making connections and landing a job.  Think about how you can apply this in your writing — be it blogging, resumes or reports.

Let me know how much of a difference it makes!

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Technorati Tags: Job Search, management, personal branding, reputation