New Personal Branding Tool: RepVine.com

There's already a slew of personal branding tools online today but RepVine.com appears to be a welcome addition.

Much like the other 'user generated content' sites that are popping up everywhere, RepVine gives people the ability to solicit testimonials from your friends & colleagues. Here's how they describe their service...

"RepVine allows individuals and companies to collect and display references. In this section we explain why RepVine focuses on references, and why you should too.

We all use and need references, even if we don't think we do. As important, we also act as a reference for others. At RepVine, we want people to understand the instrumental role references play in their life and to take the reference process from passive to active.

The web is a great equalizer, allowing people and companies of all sizes to coexist on equal footing. Ultimately, the web is about information, and now more than ever the web acts as where people turn to look for information, not just about companies but about people. Sites like Google make it incredibly easy to find information of all types, but it's a double edged sword. Once information is out on the web, it almost never goes away.

What you post on a MySpace profile, what you upload onto video sites, and the comments you make on others profiles, all of that information will be unearthed and used when people want to evaluate you. The engines and community sites do not have to work against you. They can work for you, and that is what RepVine offers. RepVine enables you to aggregated meaningful information about yourself and to view the same information about others, without others, i.e. recruiters, making incorrect inferences."

Why I like it:

1. it's a simple, easy to use site
2. you can have a personal profile as well
3. it provides value to job seekers as a personal branding tool
4. your RepVine link will make a great addition to email signatures, blogs, and online profiles

FYI ... REFERENCES: keep in mind that employers value references/testimonials from colleagues and/or managers much more than ones from your friends. Ask for references from past teachers, former colleagues and supervisors. Limit your 'friends' quotes to your MySpace page.