by Alexandra Franzen

CEO of You, Inc.

Whether you’re a freelance journalist, a contracted copywriter, an aspiring novelist, or the editor of a post-punk graphic art zine, you are a brand.

That’s right—a brand. Just like Sony, Nike, Apple, and Wells Fargo. Do your grieving and get over it. It’s time to take your rightful position as CEO of You, Inc.

As a writer, you manufacture a highly desirable product: well-crafted words. Your product might take the shape of a tagline, a short story, a screenplay, or a greeting card. When potential clients meet you—either in person or in the virtual realm of social media—do they get an immediate sense of who you are and what you can do? Are they impressed? Intrigued? Hungry for more? Baffled? Bored? Or worse—indifferent?

Being a walking, talking brand is complicated. Your clothing, your demeanor, your online presence, your business cards, your portfolio, even the tone of your voice—everything you present to the world reflects on your personal brand.

Building a strong personal brand takes tremendous self-awareness and diligence. And maintaining your brand is a daily process—it’s enough to overwhelm even the most seasoned professional.

Let’s kick it back a notch and focus on a basic building block of personal branding: the résumé.

Cutting Your Own Hair

A client once said to me, “Writing your own résumé is like cutting your own hair.” It seems easy, right? After all, who knows your own skills and strengths better than you? But after the first few snips and clips, you realize that you’re lost. Your scissors are too dull . . . you can’t see the back of your head . . . and asymmetrical bangs?!? What were you thinking?

Put the scissors down, hon. No, really. Please. An objective outsider’s touch can be the difference between a ragged disaster and a winning look. Reach out to a trusted colleague, a member of your writing group, or an academic adviser. Take a free résumé workshop hosted by the Employment Action Center, your school’s career center, or EXCO. Or locate a workforce support center through the U.S. Department of Labor’s career site, Career Stop One.

(Need some support in the social media realm? For focused Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter expertise, why not call upon local media maven Kate-Madonna Hindes of Girl Meets Geek? In addition to providing professional consulting services, she generously offers an array of free tip sheets and PowerPoint presentations through her Box.net page. Websites like Mashable and Smashing Magazine also provide web presence strategies to simplify the virtual branding process.)

Your Résumé Trio

To simplify the branding (and job-hunting) process, I recommend keeping a trio of résumés on hand.

Your master résumé is just that—a complete list of everything you’ve ever done. And I mean everything. Every internship, every unpaid guest blog article, every ghostwriting gig that fell apart halfway through chapter five, every coffee barista job, every awkward temp gig. The whole shebang. Don’t worry—you’ll never send this megalist to a prospective client or potential employer. It’s “for your eyes only.”

Your targeted résumé is a clean, position-specific bundle of high-velocity personal branding. Drawing from your master résumé, you’ll pluck out the professional experiences that relate most closely to the job you’re gunning for. All killer, no filler.

Your future résumé includes things you’ve actually done, plus all the things you’re dreaming about doing. Writing down those achievements as if they’ve already happened is a powerful self-actualization trick. Too scared to type your goals in a fantasy Word document? And how, exactly, were you planning to accomplish them?

Your personal brand should dictate the style and tone of all three résumés, and the position you’re applying for should dictate the content.

One last tip for all the job-seeking wordsmiths: your résumé may be a mere snapshot of who you are, but it should still tell a story.

Alexandra Franzen is a freelance copywriter specializing in résumé design, cover letter editing, and personal branding—with a kick. You can find her blogging up a storm at Unicorns for Socialism and tweeting away @alex_franzen.

Ready to take your résumé to rock star status? Book a 60-minute personal branding jam session with Alexandra. Let her rip your résumé to shreds and build it from scratch—complete with a customized logo. Questions? Send ’em to alexandra@alexandrafranzen.com.