The art of personal branding!

When I was a youngster, my Mom and I would go shopping together at A&P, Shop Rite, Kings, Grand Union, and other supermarkets in the New York City metropolitan area. We would go down the peanut butter and jelly aisle & my eyes would see Peter Pan, Skippy, Jif, and other brands on the shelf. I thought to myself "Which of these brands of peanut butter is the best?"

What makes someone choose Skippy over Peter Pan or Jif over the store brand. Just like a jar of peanut butter, you are a brand. It is clear that each professional possesses a personal brand, even if he or she has never given it a second thought. Being oblivious to our brand can be the single most overlooked area of your professional development. Our brand is our reputation. It precedes us and it follows us. It is alive - a real time "mirror" that reflects our values, feelings and actions. Like a mirror, it speaks the truth of who we are. We can try to manage our brand, but in reality, it is a simple reflection of who we are. Anyone who interacts with us gets to know our brand and can judge if our externalized brand is genuine or a fake.

When someone is considered for a new job or a promotion, their branding is a major factor in the decision-making process. When one interviews, the interviewer and other decision-makers/hiring authorities make their final decision based on that candidate’s reputation, how he or she acts, how he or she relates with others, if he or she fits into a given culture, etc. These are all aspects of one's brand. If you are not clear of your brand, you may be in for a surprise in your future, whether at a performance review or for a new job.

Your brand is the amalgamation of

1) interpersonal behavior – values, feelings, beliefs

2) skills 

3) package – dress and grooming

It is easy to change your packaging but it is more challenging to enhance your hard skills. But perhaps most challenging is to evolve your soft skills, how you interact with other people, for those actions reflect a much deeper aspect of our identity.

So what is a "Power Brand"? It is a person whose reputation endures, through times good and bad, who shows up consistently over long periods of time. It is a person whose consistent actions align with her/his core values. Power Brands keeps their promise and deliver what an audience expects, even at the most unexpected times. Authentic.  Reliable. Enduring.

A person with a weak brand tries to be something he or she is not. Perhaps he or she believes window dressing is sufficient to change the brand. But these weaker brands change with the winds. At their core, they are unsure of who they are or are afraid to be who they are, and thus follow the actions of expediency.

What is your brand? Have you thought about it? It may be the single most important professional development area for your success. Be forewarned. To understand your brand and to develop a Power Brand requires courage. Courage to understand who you really are, how others perceive you and courage to decide how to move forward, aligned and authentic.

Tiger Woods, Toyota, YouTube, Apple, Coca-Cola, Reebok, Target, Starbucks – all brands (What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear about these companies?)

So, what is the process of differentiation? It ties to personal branding. Personal branding is successfully using what makes you unique & valuable to differentiate yourself from your peers thus attracting the attention of those who need to know about you.

Think about your favorite brand of tennis shoes, sneakers, gym shoes (whatever you call them!!). You have developed a possible life-long relationship with that shoe/sneaker. You rely on it. The shoe never lets you down. You trust the shoe will get you from point A to point B. Like consumer products, you have a brand as well – your reputation – a level of professionalism.

 Your reputation is your most vital asset, no matter what your career goal  

There are others who want to achieve the same goals as you. What would make an employer choose you over someone else? What would help you get the promotion you seek?

If you are not a brand, you are a commodity meaning what you do and how you do it is not unique. It is available from many others. It is your unique combination of personality characteristics, strengths, and passions which make you successful.

You need to look inside of you to determine your goals, passions, values, skills, strengths, etc. What others think counts. Your brand is held in the hearts and minds around you. You need to get input from those around you.

When you have a clear and solid reputation, those around you use the same words to describe you and they spread your message for you. You become appealing to hiring managers who understand exactly what you have to offer them. You start to build a “fan club” of people who respect and admire your brand. Just as people become devoted fans of Facebook, YouTube, Apple, or Starbucks, you have your own brand ambassadors sounding the trumpet with your message to those all around.

Branding is all about maintenance. You need to put a little bit of who you are into everything you do so you are building a reputation as you go about your day to day work. Think about how you can exude your brand during a meeting, writing a report, , making a phone call, etc. 

 1.       Know all about yourself. Prior to developing a personal/professional branding plan, really get to know who you are and what you want from your life professionally. If you know where you want to go in the future, it will help direct your brand. Take career self-assessments that hone in on your values, skills, interests, etc.

2.       Showcase your skills. It will make you stand out and get noticed. The enemy of successful branding is conformity.

 3.       Makes notes about what makes you notable. At the end of the day/week/month/quarter/year, write down all of your accomplishments

 4.       Google your name. Egosurf. Plan to do an on-line search of your name every week and ask yourself if the results reflect what makes you compelling and differentiates you from the rest of the crowd. You want to establish a level of professionalism that is respected in the industry. Build a stellar online identity. Future work supervisors, clients, headhunters are searching for you and make decisions about you from what they learn

 5.       Update your resume and LinkedIn on a regular basis. Each quarter (every three months), look at all of your accomplishments over the past 13 weeks. Then, make any necessary updates to your existing resume and LinkedIn.

 6.       Stay current. Be up-to-date on what is happening in your field/industry. What is hot? Have a professional development plan that helps keep you current in the skill that are integral for success to succeed in your area

 7.       Connect!! Join career groups, browse articles to know what’s hot and what’s not.

 8.       Develop career karma. Join and get involved with social networking sites and professional associations/organizations. Connect with peers. The most successful networkers approach networking with an attitude of generosity and not need. They know that networking is a two way street and work to build relationships that last. Network for mutual benefit.

So, which jar of peanut butter are you? What makes you unique and valuable to attract the attention of others for your service? Take some steps today to learn more!



Brook Borup

We help entrepreneurs get stuff done. Call your Dream Business Builders for all your business operations and marketing needs. Book a FREE call today to see what's possible for you!

1y

Eric, you share interesting information. Thank you!

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Rita Evans

Executive Director Education Business w/Expertise in Operations | Organizational Development | Open to New Opportunities

8y

Great article and well worth the wait. Thank you for letting me know it was here to read and reflect upon. I will share with others that need to rview this.

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Eric Melniczek

Career Coach | Headhunter | Connector | Speaker | Author | Relationship Builder

8y

Kaitland Willingham, M.A. and Rita Evans, I finished the article.

Rita Evans

Executive Director Education Business w/Expertise in Operations | Organizational Development | Open to New Opportunities

8y

Okay,so is there more to the story or am I just missing it? Certaiinly these are examples of the process and possibly great memories. I love peanut butter and jelly as much as anyone, but then I can be very picky about my selection when it comes to peanut butter and jelly. I don't however intend to exclude through those choices, but rather to select and open myself to specific and different choices. One would hope that in differentiation in education, for example, that the best options would be selected for students in order to see success in learning. No matter, you left me hanging and craving more and perhaps that is the most important potential aspect of differentiation.

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