Personal vs. Professional Branding
There may not be much difference between personal and professional branding, but from my perspective, your professional brand is what matters to a potential employer, networking contact, or anyone who can help you find a job or grow your career. It's more than a case of making sure your personal brand reflects who are as a person. It's also making sure that the information available about you online is visible, available, and relevant - to where you are in your career and where you want to go next.

Check Your Brand
What type of branding do you have? There's an easy way to check what image you are showing to the world. Google your name and see what shows up. I've put quite a bit of effort into building my "Alison Doyle" brand. Google my name and you'll find, all on page one of the search results, my About.com Job Searching site, my LinkedIn profile, my Twitter Profile, links to the books I've written, a link to myAlison Doyle blog, and a link to my company's web site.

Susan Heathfield, About.com's Guide to Human Resources, has done a good job of building her professional brand, as well. Google "Susan Heathfield" and you'll find Susan's About.com site, her blog, and her bio on Microsoft, where she has contributed some articles.

This is all the type of information you want a prospective employer or client to find. You don't want to advertise the photos of what you did on your summer vacation, the great time you had at your high school reunion, or the number of "last calls" you've made at your favorite bar or club, to anyone who might be in a position to hire you or recommend you for a job.

Keep Your Personal Life Private
You can still have personal information on the web. Just make sure that it's only available to the people you want to see it. Use this Job Search Internet Checklist to ensure that employers are finding what you want them to find, and what they are viewing is appropriate.

Be careful what you write on your blog, or other people's blogs or social networking pages. Don't let the whole world see your personal information:
Blogging and Networking Do's and Don'ts
Facebook Privacy Tips
MySpace Privacy Tips