We’ve all heard it before: Personal branding is key to job search success. Hiring managers and recruiters are looking for information about candidates online, and when they can't, they are less likely going to select those candidates for a job opportunity. But did you know job candidates are searching you the same way you are searching them? Perspective applicants, as well as candidates currently in your hiring process, are researching your company and employees to help decide whether to apply for or accept a job at your organization.

When hiring managers are more visible, whether that's speaking at conferences, maintaining a social media presence, or blogging online, it can dramatically increase the chances of landing that top candidate and attract quality applicants to your company. The fact is, candidates want to learn more about who their potential boss might be just as much as they want to know about them. They want to know if they’d be a great manager to work for, what they could learn from them, if the team culture is a good fit, and if they’ll get to work on projects that align with their career goals and interests, just to name a few.

That’s why it’s extremely important for hiring managers to work on and maintain their personal brand because it can make or break a job offer to a top candidate and help attract the right talent to begin with, not to mention build your company's employer brand in the process! Here are four more reasons why hiring managers need to build a strong personal brand, and how you can get started:

1. Influence Applicant Decisions
Job applicants are researching companies online as they would with any other purchasing decisions, and they have more information about your company than ever before. A recent employment brand survey from CEB shows that 80% of job candidates’ decisions to apply are influenced by sources outside of a company, such as social media, peer to peer and word-of-mouth recommendations.

Research has also shown that brand content and messages shared by employees gets 8 times more engagement and 561% more reach compared to a company’s official brand channels. By improving their personal brand, hiring managers can become powerful storytellers and brand advocates for their company, helping to attract and recruit the right people to their teams.

2. Build Trust
“People don’t quit jobs, they quit their managers” is not a myth. A recent study by Gallup found that nearly half of U.S. employees surveyed have left a job at some point in their career because of their managers.

Similarly, Leigh Branham, the author of The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, analyzed over 20,000 post-exit surveys and found that the number one reason employees leave is loss of trust and confidence in their leaders. The second reason is lack of recognition or reward and feeling undervalued.

Job candidates want to know their future managers are someone who they can trust, someone who will recognize their positive contributions and help them grow professionally, and won’t throw them under the bus when things get tough.

Hiring managers who regularly share information about themselves, their company and the great things their teams are doing will help candidates learn more about what it’s really like working with them and their teams, and if the hiring managers are strong role models they can learn from and work for.

3. Nurture Potential Leads
According to LinkedIn’s 2015 Global Talent Trends report, 70% of the global workforce is passive talent, meaning these people are not actively looking for new career opportunities. But just because they are not ready or actively looking for a job right now doesn’t mean they won’t be in a few weeks or months down the road.

To get their attention now, you need to proactively reach out, engage with potential leads, and work to build your credibility and trust. Job change is a big life decision to make, and candidates will only consider companies and people they know and trust. This responsibility to build trust and attract candidates shouldn't fall on the recruiter alone, hiring managers should partner closely on helping to attract great candidates.

That’s why a strong personal brand will give you an edge over other hiring managers when competing for the same talent. High visibility of your personal brand increases credibility and earns candidates’ trust, so they will be more willing to connect with you and maintain the relationship. And when the time is right, you’ll be the first person they contact.

4. Strengthen Employer Brand
By sharing your personal stories and insights on what it’s like working at your company, you are helping your organization build an authentic and compelling employer brand. Research has shown that companies with a strong employer brand enjoy 54% higher-quality applicant pools, 22% higher-quality shortlists, and 9% higher-quality hires.

Not only is a strong personal brand great for your job and career goals, but it will also help you make better, faster hires for your team and company. It’s a win-win opportunity for companies and hiring managers.