In the age of web 2.0 where barriers to communication have been lowered tremendously, the ability to brand yourself is becoming more and more vital. That’s exactly what Dan Schawbel’s new book, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success is all about. Dan kindly sent me a free copy in advance and I had the chance to review the book:

The book is essentially about personal branding – how to make a name for yourself, market yourself to others and stand out from the crowd. Here’s an extract from the book explaining what personal branding is:

Personal branding describes the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leverage it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers and build self-confidence.

Dan talks about how you can leverage the power of social media such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and others (page 146-149 provides you with a table listing out all the different types of social networking sites) to help build yourself a brand. It goes over the four steps in personal branding for career success:

1. Discover Your Brand
2. Create Your Brand
3. Communicate Your Brand
4. Maintain Your Brand

The book is laid out in a very easy to read format with tons of bullet points and lists. The book is suitable for the Gen-Y (college students) who are starting their careers as well as  job-takers and entrepreneurs, who are looking forward into building a personal brand of themselves. I recommend you to go get a copy of his book Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success