4.5 Building Your Brand

Securing your advantage with personal branding

Personal branding is about crafting a narrative that others remember, encompassing expertise, skills, personality, and presentation. It’s the reputation one shapes through consistent actions and communication, aligning with authentic values and desired perception.

Similar to a restaurant ensuring every aspect aligns with its image, personal branding requires consistency across interactions. However, intentional efforts are essential to shape both present and future narratives, guiding career track. In essence, personal branding is the art of creating a cohesive and compelling narrative that resonates with others, influencing perceptions and opportunities.

Making your brand authentically you

Personal branding is about authentically embodying your story in today’s conversation-rich world. While the term might sound corporate, it’s rooted in conveying who you truly are. The more authentic you are, the more compelling your brand becomes, drawing others to your narrative.

Your reputation, or brand, is essentially the story you tell others, but it must first resonate with your own beliefs and values. Crafting a genuine personal brand requires alignment with three key elements:

1. Your core character. Conducting an authentic personal brand audit involves several steps. Firstly, self-perception is crucial. Identify your strengths and what sets you apart.
2. Demonstrated strengths. Gather feedback from trusted colleagues to gain insights into how others perceive you. Comparing self-perception with external perceptions can highlight alignment or areas for improvement.
3. Unique value proposition. For this, envision your future career aspirations and consider the brand needed to realize them. This iterative process ensures ongoing alignment between personal brand and career goals.

Regularly reassessing and refining your personal brand, perhaps annually, is vital for staying relevant and aligned with your professional trajectory.

Creating a likeable personal brand story

How you tell your career story not only reflects your feelings about your career and life but also shapes your identity. The concept of narrative identity shows that those who find their lives meaningful often tell stories characterized by growth, communion, and agency. To reclaim authorship of your career narrative, you must take ownership and write it in a coherent and compelling way. This involves interpreting experiences as positive or negative and intentionally finding meaning in your career journey.

Command your personal narrative
Taking control of your narrative prevents others from making incorrect assumptions about you and ensures that your story is communicated explicitly. This process involves reflecting on your passions, experiences, mistakes, recognitions, and future goals to highlight your credibility, skills, and desired qualities. Personal branding is a personal endeavor, so craft a narrative that truly reflects your journey and personality.

Creating an unforgettable brand

Having a concise 3 to 5 sentence brand statement ready can transform casual interactions into opportunities to showcase your skills and values effectively.

For example, instead of a generic introduction like “I’m Stacy, a senior project director at ABC Green Technology firm,” Stacy could highlight their passion and impact by saying, “I manage a team of project managers who design sustainable technologies that make a difference to the environment. I love the work I do each day.”

Your brand statement can be used in various contexts, such as introducing oneself to a new team, networking events, or casual conversations. By focusing on the value you create, who you create it for, and the expected outcome of your work, you can effectively convey your passion, dedication, and capabilities in a memorable way.

Audio transcript for Module 4.5 Building Your Brand

You’re about to dive into the mysterious realm of informational interviews. Armed with a list of questions you turn on the charm.

You find a seasoned professional online, a person whose career you admire from afar, like a fan stalking their favorite celebrity – but in a totally professional way, of course. With shaky fingers, you craft an email that walks the fine line between professional and “please don’t think I’m a weirdo.”

You start with the classic pleasantries, throw in a sprinkle of flattery about how their career journey is more fascinating than a streaming platform series. You even manage to sneak in a small joke.

Now comes the waiting game. You check your inbox like a teenager waiting for a text from a crush. Finally, a reply! They agree to the informational interview, and you do a victory dance that would put any TikTok star to shame.

But here’s the plot twist – you’re so pumped about the interview that you forget to Google what an informational interview actually is. Panic sets in as you frantically search the internet for “how not to embarrass yourself in an informational interview.”

In the end, with newfound knowledge and a slightly sweaty forehead, you nail it. You leave feeling like you’ve just aced a final exam, only to realize the real test is the follow-up email. And just like that, you’ve embarked on the rollercoaster of career advancement – one informational interview at a time.