Using Your Professional Brand to Propel Your Career
Most frequently, when people talk about branding, they are talking about their company or business. However, establishing your professional brand as an individual is equally important. Branding goes beyond colors and aesthetics; it speaks to one's vision, values, missions, and goals, all of which can be attributed to a business ora person. Continue reading to learn how to establish a solid professional brand that creates access and opportunities for you.
What Is a Professional Brand?
Professional brands are how you want others (co-workers, clients, companies) to perceive your professional abilities and work. Simply put, when they see you, they think _____ about you. Although you might not have thought about it before, you may already have a professional brand. For example, are you known to be the one to get things done in the office? Or are you the person they know requires constant follow-up due to your lack of organization and routines? (Please don't be that second person, no one likes that person!) Ultimately, you need to be clear on what you do and what you want in the desired role to align your brand.
What Do People Remember and Say About You When You Aren't Around?
Before you can communicate the strengths you possess and the impact you have had, you must invest time learning more about yourself. Utilizing tools such as the DISC assessment, speaking with co-workers or former employers, and even asking loved ones can help you learn more about yourself. In addition, researching multiple sources allows you to compile a diverse list of your strengths and growth areas. While this activity might be a rude awakening, you will quickly learn if how you think you are is how you are perceived to be by others. With this newfound information, you now must decide if you are ready to strengthen your professional brand or if you need to embark on a professional rebranding to shift others' perspectives about you.
What Do You Have to Offer?
When reviewing the information gathered from your multiple sources, work to identify trends and compile a list of at least 20 skills and strengths that you possess. Keep in mind that even negative feedback can be re-worded and switched to be positive. Stubborn to one might mean passionate to another; however, for whichever skills and strengths you list, be prepared to find concrete evidence supporting it. Your skills and strengths will serve as the foundation for creating and ultimately sharing your brand statement. Be sure to consider what motivates you, what brings you joy, and what your ideal career might look like. Finally, reflect on what makes you unique. More specifically, think about an accomplishment that you enjoyed accomplishing. Answering these guided questions will help you communicate the value you bring to the professional setting. Don't limit yourself to sentences, instead brainstorm your ideas in paragraph or list form and then shorten it. If you do not have relevant experience for what you want to do in the long-term, word your skillset from the perspective of how your transferrable skills and impact can apply in any position and industry.
Communicating Your Professional Brand
I know that I am awesome even on my worst days, and I'm sure that you do too. However, when navigating professional spaces and ladders, the tricky part becomes convincing others that you're awesome! While who we are and what we do remains the same, we need to become masters at "tweaking" our delivery. While our core message will remain the same, how we communicate the information will be tailored to who will receive it. As a school administrator, the strategies that I share with a parent versus a teacher will differ. The parent's strategies will be practical and easy to incorporate into their routine that targets overall goals. In contrast, the teacher's strategies will be more specific and aligned to the student's specific academic needs. This same notion should be applied to communicating your brand to various stakeholders. Remember, what you say is never as important as how you say it. Once you've mastered that, you are destined to obtain the results that you want.
Diana Williams, Resume Tailor
