Did you know one of the most effective ways to land a top gig is to upsell your personal brand? Well, the people who might hire you certainly do. So, if you’ve not thought about brand awareness before, let’s start now.

Whether you want to move into a senior management post or try out in a start-up role, you can boost your chances of success by controlling the persona potential employers see.

It’s not about creating a false identity. On the contrary, it’s about enhancing the qualities you already possess and promoting these, so they work in your favour.

Unfortunately, many candidates sell themselves short because they don’t believe they’re good enough. By discounting themselves, they never get the chance to upsell.

You can remove this subconscious mistrust of your true value by creating a personal brand you personally believe in.

Begin by making a list of key features you’d like others to notice about you. These might be your open and friendly nature, specialisms you’re an expert in, examples of previous successes in the workplace, your interests and your passions.

All of these and more are your unique selling points (USPs). Allow yourself to become comfortable with them by continually acknowledging them – so much so you’re even happy to talk about them.

Now for the next stage: upselling these qualities to potential employers. The notion of upselling is generally used in retail to describe the art of persuading a customer to choose something extra or more expensive. When it comes to landing a job, upselling your personal brand is the ability to persuade your interviewer they’re no longer content to accept other candidates on their shortlist, they really want you: the super-deluxe version. In fact, they may need to up the ante in terms of salary and perks just to get you.

In practice, this means showing off your USPs by introducing them into the mix during your interview. Be entirely self-aware and unashamed about what you’re adding to the conversation: it’s not bragging, it’s giving clear signposts that point to your brand and lead employers closer to realising what you can do for their company.

Remember, too, not all the upselling takes place at the interview stage. You should be continually marketing your brand. Build a better CV. Create positive content for your social media posts and blogs. Promote diverse and engaging content that attracts interest from the kind of companies you want to work for.

The world of recruitment never stays still for long and so your brand must always be evolving.

Above all, be passionate about yourself and your goals and never too bashful to show off the talents that will help you achieve these – your personal brand is your key to unlocking a fantastic new career from [site_name].