DIGITAL JOB SEARCH AND PERSONAL BRANDING

Installment number two

“Your brand is the promise you make to employers on what you bring to them.” Shivonne Byrne, Director of Brand and Content at Microsoft.

All the noise in the media on personal brand can lead you to think creating and maintaining your brand is an arcane art. Nothing could be further from the truth. While there are books and webinars dedicated to the proposition that personal brand requires expert guidance, there is much you can accomplish on your own, free.

How do I discover my Brand? It pays to ask people, “What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of me in the workplace?” The answer may surprise you. Your brand may be completely different from what you think it is.

Examples: George P. believed he was seen as the go-to guy for all things technical both within his company and on the street. Turns out, he is perceived by most as a person who simplifies technology so it is accessible to anyone. That is not only a rare characteristic; the trait is highly desirable in most IT organizations. Once he accepted his brand he was able to revise both his elevator pitch and the accomplishments section of his resume and he distinguished himself from all the other highly competent technology professionals with whom he competed for key jobs.

Lorelei T. knows she is a brilliant technical marketer.  She is able to get products into the hands of the customers in record time.  She brands herself as an effective marketer who gets products to market quickly. After she queried her references she discovered she was most valued because she was able to keep communications between marketing, sales and development open and crisis free.  Lorelei’s actual brand was more valuable to prospective employers than the one she believed.

The brand statement is a concise description of the essence of your brand. Whether Paul H. is heading sales, creating alliances or running a company,  he connects with people and makes them feel part of the team. Paul is Senior Vice President of Partners and Alliances, but he doesn’t position himself as a Vice President. Instead, he positions himself as a successful senior executive and relationship builder; an important attribute for success in his role. His brand statement is “Community Builder.”

Many executives feel they need to conform to business norms when they go to work. But this prevents building a brand. In the world of work, those who stand out succeed, so put your brand on everything you do. Whether you’re making a presentation, in a meeting or writing a report, ask yourself how you can connect your brand to every situation.

Click here to learn why your brand is critical to your job search Installment One

Click here for installment two on Digital Job Search and Branding.

For discussion of how to discover how the world sees you: installment three.

Click here for installment four to discover your current identity.

Click here to start your branding efforts for your job search installment five

For other resources, click here. Return soon for more installments on personal branding…or better yet, join my blog.

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