Do You Have a Personal Brand?
Posted on September 11, 2018 by Sean Carney, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
Like it or not, you are a brand, whether you decide to manage it or not. Companies and co-workers are judging you as a brand so why not manage it?
There is competition for great jobs at great companies and these positions are desired by well trained, smart people just like you. There are two ways to differentiate yourself from your completion, the first is networking, the other is personal branding.
Like it or not, you are a product, and your product has a brand, whether you decide to manage it or not. Companies, clients, and co-workers already are judging you as a brand, so why not take it as an opportunity to meaningfully impact how they all perceive your brand?
Do you know what your personal brand communicates?
A successful personal brand is being known for something specific, and this can definitely help your career as well. Depending on your career trajectory or target companies becoming associated with certain characteristics can help you differentiate yourself from the competition who have just as much education or expertise that you do.
Building a successful brand will lead to more spontaneous opportunities, which is always better than being in perpetual job hunting mode. By leveraging your personal brand company recruiters hear about you through word of mouth and referrals, others read your blog, LinkedIn posts, and even social media posts. And it takes substantially less energy, and even the opportunities are more serious and likely to convert.
Starting to formulate your brand begins with a personal inventory of your skills, strengths, qualities, and values. You will also have to take an honest look at how your family, friends, work colleagues, and clients perceive you.
When you discover your strengths, motivations, qualities, and values in relation to work. Once you identify your unique combination of these factors you then can show an organization what your value proposition is, and deliver consistent messaging to your network and potential employers.
Having taken a hard look at your current state, what you offer, and how people around you perceive it is the first step to building and strengthening your personal brand.
Does the current perception of your brand reflect who you are and where you want to go?
