You wouldn't go off to a job interview in your blue jeans or without combing your hair, would you? In this day and age, it's essential to look and act your best. Personal branding is an important way for you to distinguish yourself from the pack.

A CIO.com article outlines six personal branding mistakes that could cost you a job offer; here are a few suggestions:

• Avoid being too prominent. Don't use too much social media such as LinkedIn and Twitter without evaluating the landscape.
• Take your time figuring out your personal brand. The biggest mistake is moving too quickly to define who you are.
• Make sure you have one voice that's consistent at all times across any kind of media you use.
• Use your social media sites regularly. Using them only occasionally makes you look unsure of what you are doing.

"If you establish a Twitter profile but you never tweet, it's going to hurt you more than help you," Dan Schawbel, personal branding expert and author of "Me 2.0," tells CIO.com.

It's still a tough market out there, and it's essential to stand out. I once worked at a company where a potential employee mailed the boss half of a $20 bill. She told him that she would give him the other half when she got a job interview.

Needless to say, she got the interview and the job. Sometimes, it's the offbeat gesture that works far better than the usual tried-and-true means of applying for and getting hired.

For more on branding yourself for a job:
- see this CIO.com article

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