Richmond, VA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/18/2013 -- Gone are the days of creating a resume and showing up to an interview with a clean slate. With millions of young people cross-publishing a wealth of information about their lives online, many potential employees are forming their first impressions and making vital decisions based on a candidate’s online presence and the gut feeling it creates.

While ‘branding’ usually brings multi-national corporations to mind, two U.S.-based marketing experts are urging all young people to consider the benefits of creating and managing a personal brand of their own. By using the concept to strategically showcase a positive online and offline image, Patrick Sitkins and Larry G. Linne believe any young person can sail through today’s ‘online paper sift’ and become a compelling prospect.

“Information is so freely available; therefore it is everyone’s responsibility to create a rich and positive experience for anyone looking them up online. We all have a personal brand and, believe me, these days people will tap into it to get that gut feeling about their choice to invite you to interview or not,” says Sitkins.

Linne adds, “However glowing your qualifications and experience, if you present a bad personal brand you’ll be thrown onto the ‘no’ pile. Those creating and pro-actively managing their personal brands will find a wealth of opportunities at their fingertips, especially in today’s job climate which is tough to say the least. It’s never too early to start working on your personal brand and all students/graduates must start now.”

Knowing where to start isn’t easy. To this end, Sitkins and Linne have released a hugely-popular book that covers all aspects of the creation and management of personal branding. Titled, ‘Brand Damage - It’s Personal!’, the book is serving as a vital tool to thousands of young people who want to dominate their job search and careers.

Synopsis:

Personal branding is going to be one of North American business’s most critical strategic initiatives in the next three to five years. Information is more accessible on individuals than ever before. Social media is making details about people more accessible and creating a wealth of data to help people form opinions about individuals. ‘Brand Damage: It’s Personal!’ deals with the ever-growing importance of personal branding. This book is a practical guide for everyone from teenagers to seasoned professionals. It provides information on how to create and proactively manage your brand, items that can damage a brand, and entertaining stories and illustrations.

The book includes two unique perspectives. One from Larry who is a seasoned professional in his 50’s, and one from Patrick who is an early 30’s Gen X’er. You will see two unique perspectives as well as supporting stories and case studies from the eyes of these two branding experts.

To date, the book has attracted a consistent string of rave reviews. Steve Farnsworth, voted by Forbes Magazine as a ‘Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer’, says, “This well written, straight-forward informative book demystifies the dark arts of branding and lays them bare for the everyman without the brand witch doctor mumbo-jumbo. Brand Damage uses examples from our everyday lives to help you to quickly develop a solid foundation of fundamentals that you can immediately apply to your personal and professional brand.”

As one of the few books of its kind geared towards the layman, every parent is urged to purchase a copy of ‘Brand Damage: It’s Personal!’ for those who are graduating or starting college this year. According to Sitkins, “It’s never too early to start working on a personal brand and it’s likely to influence the make-or-break decisions that will decide the direction of your future.”

‘Brand Damage - It’s Personal!’ is available now: http://amzn.to/13drzbt

For more information, visit the book’s official website: http://branddamagebook.com/

About Larry Linne
Larry Linne is the best-selling author of the book Make the Noise Go Away. Currently CEO/president of Sitkins International and Intellectual Innovations, he owns two companies that are successful globally. Larry’s first book was a Clarion 5 Star top-performing book. He has spent more than a dozen years helping companies and individuals create and improve their brand, and is considered an international thought leader in business strategy and growth.

Patrick Sitkins is a partner and managing director at SiliconCloud, which is a leading global digital marketing firm. He is considered a branding leader and digital marketing and social media expert.