Abstract
Due to the growth of Web 2.0, the fact that all the activities transcend from offline to the online environment and the control of your information is more complicated; personal branding comes into play. This study aims to investigate the importance of developing, maintaining, and promoting the professional identity on LinkedIn of a communication and marketing specialist and show their perception on which aspects are essential for hiring someone for such a position. Also, this study investigates the attitude of recruitment and human resources specialists towards the development of a personal brand on LinkedIn and the criteria used in evaluating a communication and marketing specialist. Quantitative research based on two questionnaires was used to understand the perceptions of the study participants. The results indicated that social media networks are a useful tool for developing a personal brand, but communication and marketing specialists show an average involvement. Likewise, recruiting specialists have high expectations, while communication and marketing specialists are using the same methods for self-presentation.
1. Introduction
Over history, defining and developing a personal brand turned out to be quite a debated concept from many specialists and author’s perspectives in various fields. But, it can be confirmed that this concept is essentially a representation of reputation. This concept is primarily based on how an individual exposes his identity, especially professional identity. Branding became one of the most important aspects of a business strategy. The author of the book ‘The Brand Called You,’ Peter Montoya (2003), says that the key to a personal brand is to know how others perceive you. Montoya (2003) suggests that a person should develop a personal brand first when his accomplishments are not recognized when others achieve the goals he has set for himself. Also, someone should create a brand when he feels he has reached as far as possible or when he wants to distinguish from the competition.
6. Conclusion
Results led to the conclusion that while most communication and marketing specialists opt for creating a professional identity within social networks and recognize the importance of having a LinkedIn profile, they pay attention to their online identities only when looking for a new job. In other words, they have a relatively positive attitude towards building a personal brand and the use of social media networks in this endeavor. In support of these conclusions, they use the elements of their online profiles to build their personal brand to a relatively small extent, as updating information is often more than a year away. Concerning the second research question, the results showed that recruiters use social networks to check potential employees, most often after receiving the application. Based on the results analyzed, it can be stated that it is essential that a communication and marketing specialist has professional experience, communication skills, and its profile matches with professional qualifications. From the perspective of communication and marketing specialists and the assessment of recruitment specialists, it was noted that they also consider important problem-solving skills.
