Read the articles by MakeTimePay to enrich and broaden your mind!

As humans, we seem to have to give everything - and everyone - a label so that we can put them into convenient, mental “boxes”. We do this so that we can better understand how to manage issues and people.

The simplest answer to that is, it depends what you are trying to “tell” your prospective interviewer. But that sounds ridiculous because it’s obvious that you’re trying to get the job you showed up for, right? Possibly. But let’s break this down into more deliberate and separate parts of the process.

A certain amount of laziness causes us not to be precise in our spoken language, but when it comes to matters that have to do with our personal reputation and professional presentation, it is important to shed that ‘laziness’ and take note of what is needed of us. In this case, it’s about ensuring we deliver appropriately if we are ever asked for a bio, or a resume or a CV. They may be related documents – which is why in working circles, people tend to use the terms virtually interchangeably - but they are technically, very different. And here’s how.

Simply put, your personal brand is the way you are perceived by those who “experience” you. That could be a face-to-face, personal experience, or via your social media posts or through your emails or WhatsApp messages. Looking at it that way, a personal brand is unavoidable. We all have them. For certain people, however, you really want them to perceive you in a very specific way. Those people in the work arena are going to be prospective employers, clients or even colleagues. Critically, you want them to perceive you in a way that is of your own choosing.

If you Google “best resume”, the top 20 search results that you get will be about formatting resumes. There are so many design template options and all of them are definitely very beautiful to look at, in terms of design. They show you where to put your name, your address, your work experience etc but why are people still being told that their resumes are ineffective?