Personal Branding; Your Important Message to Get Out There

People ask me all the time, “How important is it to develop personal branding as they go about finding their new career?” Here’s my observation. Volvo’s advertising campaigns demonstrate they want you to invest in their cars because they are safe for you and your family, not because it is a high performance sports car. That’s their branding.

Your personal brand is your promise of value. It’s the way you differentiate yourself from your peers, your colleagues, and your competitors. It’s understanding, then projecting your unique combination of skills, talent, values and passions. It’s your niche. You just have to do a little investigative work to help bring that niche – your personal branding to light ... and life. Everything you've ever done--and just as importantly, what you have chosen not to do--over your lifetime reads like a blueprint for your success. Ultimately, how you have made a difference.

The first step on this journey is looking deeply and honestly at yourself. What are your unique skills? What are your unique abilities? I want you to think about and answer this question: Do you believe that you are unique? What is it that distinguishes you from the other six billion people on the planet. How do you make a difference? Give yourself a few minutes to really think about it. Write it down if you like.

Let’s look at your responses. Did you say something like, “I’m very personable,” or “I'm honest,” or “I work hard,” or “I enjoy working with people”? This is where many people searching for their futures go wrong.

“Wrong? That's not wrong,” you might say to me, with your feathers ruffled a bit, “I am all of those things. What do you mean … wrong?”

What I mean is, when you wrote those words, were you saying that these things are uniquely yours? Were you saying that you are the only person on the planet who is honest, that you, and only you, work hard? And, lucky you, you’re the only one who gets to enjoy working with other people. Hey, I’ve heard about you; you’re that person, the one and only person, who is personable. I think you’re beginning to understand what I'm getting at. Now, imagine someone hearing you say something like this in an interview. I can assure you, they’ve heard it before. It doesn’t stand out.

I don’t doubt that you have all of the characteristics in your response, but that’s not what I'm asking you for here. I want you to change your vision of yourself, to begin to think about the collection of things that make you truly unique, distinctly different from anyone else.

I want you to understand you have uniqueness, a greatness that only YOU possess. Like a rare, valuable jewel, it’s critical to identify the facets that uniquely set you apart from everyone else on the planet. By understanding your track record of how you have made a difference, you begin to define your personal branding.

Some like to craft a clever statement that helps represent them. To help you get a better understanding, here is an introduction (some might call it an elevator speech) one of my clients who is in banking and lending developed.

Hi my name is James Gottemoller. To help you remember my name Gottemoller rhythms with “got a dollar” and of course … I’m in banking. This is how I can make a difference for you and your company. It’s important to me that I help lenders clearly understand the customer information presented, to dig deep to avoid unnecessary risks, and prepare for a solid credit presentation. My intent is management has confidence in our abilities.
See how this reflects his values, even his passion, as well as his track record for his contribution to the overall success of the company. Jim told me that when he used this at a recent job fair put on by a company he would like to work for, “The hiring manager did a double take and it opened the door for more conversations.”

Branding, it’s important to get your message out there.

I know, I know. You hate that word networking

Based on many of our conversations from last week’s High-Tech Community Resource Career Fair, there are so many folks that have real concerns about the progress of their job search. I will be blogging to offer pieces of advice on to how to advance your search for that dream career.

Tip # 1 Networking -

I know, I know ... you all hate that word. Everyone harps on how important it is to network. To talk to as many people as you can about what kind of work you are looking for. Your hopes are that somebody - anybody will know if there is an opening somewhere - anywhere. The mistake most folks make is they are simply asking, "I do XYZ, do you know anyone who is hiring for XYZ jobs?" Here is what I want you to take to heart. In reality very few people know what actual positions are available in a given company unless they, themselves, are the hiring manager or they happen - just happen to see a posting within the company they work for. Maybe, just by pure circumstance, they may have been told by a friend or colleague they are looking for a XYZ person to hire.

Here is Common Mistake #1.

If you simply ask people if they know anyone who is hiring for what you are searching for, you will most likely get a, "Hum, let me think about that ... Gee, no I don't know anyone who is hiring, sorry." Well as much as I believe that person would truly like to help you, the conversation pretty much ends right there.

I don't like those odds. And I would guess to most who go about the job search, this conversation sounds pretty familiar.

I would much rather you have people champion your cause. People who would say, "I don't know if anyone is hiring for XYZ position, but I do know a couple of people I think you might be interested in talking with who do XYZ for ABC industry. They may not be hiring, but they might know a few other people with whom you should talk." Now, you can get some traction.

Solution to Common Mistake #1:

Ask to be introduced to anyone who is in ABC industry. You have a perfect opportunity to do a well thought out - well-executed informational interview. This approach has a great deal more impact with new acquaintances. There is no pressure to "interview for a job" you are simply "talking shop". You are learning more about them and their organization, how they are fairing in these tough economic times. Your passions ignite, their passions ignite and all of a sudden you are truly enjoying the conversation. More importantly, you have found an ally. One who will be able to help you with the most important question of all, "Do you know anyone else with whom I should talk?" Then you can repeat the entire process.

See chapter 9 in Cash In On the Passion Do What You Love ... Love What You Do for more important strategies on informational interviewing.


Susie Mathews
Career Coach
262-391-3828
www.cashinonthepassion.com