Why You Need a Career Brand: What It Is and How to Build One
When you think of “brands” you probably think of products or companies, but branding is not only for companies, it’s for people too. You might also think of branding as a fluffy marketing concept where people like Don Draper sit around a table on Madison Avenue coming up with ideas to convince people to buy their product or service. But the truth of the matter is this: a good brand is not fluff. A good brand, whether it’s a product, service, or a person, is authentic, relatable, and clear. It is your unique combination of skills and experiences that tells people not only WHAT you do, but WHY they should work with you. In simple terms, your brand is your reputation, and it’s important if you want to get a new job, find new opportunities, or stand out in any way.
So what is your brand? What do people think about you? It’s tempting to overlook or ignore this question, but it’s critical for getting a better understanding about how you are perceived. Once you have that insight, you can use the information to discover and lean in on your strengths and find ways to improve other areas you want to work on.
When I was a recruiter, one question we would regularly ask candidates was, “how would people describe you in three words?” This is a simple, but very insightful question that revealed a few things: A) does this person have self-awareness? B) have they taken the time to listen to feedback and how have they responded to and framed that feedback? and C) does that feedback seem to align with everything else that they are presenting about their experience?
What are three words people would use to describe you and can you answer this question with clarity and confidence?
Get feedback
There are several ways you can start to get feedback about your brand. The first is to simply poll a few people in your life. You can also draw from previous performance reviews or recommendations you’ve received to find themes, or you can use an anonymous survey tool like Survey Monkey. A more powerful way to get feedback on your brand is through an assessment tool. The one I use with clients is the 360Reach Personal Brand Survey. If you’ve ever participated in 360 performance review at work, you know that the benefit of a “360” is that it provides well-rounded feedback from not only your supervisor, but your colleagues too. The 360Reach takes that several steps further and allows you to get anonymous feedback from anyone. This can be people you work with, friends, neighbors, family, even the FedEx delivery person if you wish! The survey provides feedback about your brand attributes (personality characteristics), skills, leadership competencies, strengths/weaknesses and how your self-perceptions might differ from the perceptions of those who know you. You can learn more about the survey here.
Develop a personal mission statement aka elevator pitch
No matter which way you decide to get feedback, the important thing is that you use that information to develop a clear message about what you do and the value you offer. This is also often called an elevator pitch, but I also call it a professional mission statement.
A strong mission statement is the foundation of your brand and your brand/reputation is the cornerstone of your career. By taking your brand seriously, you’ll be able to stand out in a crowded job market and position yourself for career success.
My Mission Statement: I am passionate about helping people advance their creativity through executive positioning, branding strategy, and coaching. I am an International Coach Federation (ICF) certified Career Transition Coach and 360Reach Personal Brand Analyst, and trained as a Kaizen-Muse creativity coach. My motto is start small, dream big and WORK HAPPY!