In the words of Sally Hogshead, “Different is better than better.” In the second part of a 3-part series on personal branding, Jennifer shares some tools, strategies and exercises from her Personal Brand Worksheet that you can use to discover where you’re at and help to get to where you want to be. In next week’s episode, we’ll be taking what you’ll learn today out in the world.
- In today’s episode, Jennifer will talk through some of the steps of her Personal Brand Worksheet. This week’s episode is the second part of a 3-part series on personal branding. If you missed last week’s episode, please listen here before continuing with episode 24!
- What is a personal brand? Jennifer defines the personal brand as “the perception that people have of you compared to others in similar positions”. So in order to secure those opportunities that you want, you’ll have to stand out from a crowd in a big way.
- So where does one start? One of the best personal brand assessments that Jennifer has found was created by Sally Hogshead. You can find it in her book called Fascinate: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist or online at com
- Today’s world is noisier than ever and career success no longer hinges on securing a quality job. To really move up, get noticed by the right people at the right time is the name of the game. But how can you stand out when everyone else trying to do the same thing at the same time on the same platforms?
- You might be happy with your job today but if the 2008 recession has taught us anything, it’s that ironclad job security is a thing of the past. Rather than focusing on employment security, the new reality of work is all about employability. And that’s where your personal branding comes in.
- Do you have Jennifer’s Personal Branding Worksheet in front of you? Let’s get started! Feel free to pause the podcast and take your time on each section.
- Forget your job title. Don’t let it pigeonhole you when you’re looking to make an impression. Instead, consider: how does what you do add value? What are you most proud of? And what gets you excited? These are things that will help you stand out.
- Identify your skills and strengths. What do you bring to the table? What comes naturally to you? Narrow these down to 3 to 5 thing that you truly excel at. You can use the words on the worksheet for inspiration!
- Let’s take a look at the bigger picture. How people view you is an integral part of your personal brand. Think about how your colleagues or friends would describe you.
- What do you aspire to be? How do you want to make an impact in this world?
- We all have a personal brand whether we want to or not. So now it’s time for the hard part: ask the people around you about their perception of you to find out what your existing brand looks like. What three words would they use to describe you?
- Take these words and type them up into a document. No skipping allowed! Upload them to net to create a word map and find the words most commonly used to describe you. This can help you identify what people do – and don’t – associate with you, and help you figure what you need to do to get the words you want to show up on your map.
- So you’ve taken stock of where you are but where do you want to go? One exercise that can help you shape your personal brand is creating a Personal Branding Statement.
- Jennifer uses the BRAND acronym to break down this exercise. B for bold, R for relevant, A for authentic, N for notable, and D for differentiated. Jennifer also talks about some notable personal branding statements she’s come across and why they stood out to her.
- Ready for some homework? Start thinking about your own personal brand statement. Jennifer suggests using Kary Oberbrunner’s formula to develop your statement. Fill in the blanks!
- I am (your professional identity) who helps (your audience) do or understand (your unique solution) so that (transformation/benefit).
- Share your personal brand statement with us! You can send Jennifer an email or LinkedIn message or share it on social media with the hashtag #impactmakerspodcast.
Resources & Links:
Impact Makers Episode 30 – Your Personal Brand
Fascinate: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist
Impact Makers Episode 4 – Quit the Cubicle with Mike Kim
Impact Makers Episode 7 – How I Became A Speaker And Entrepreneur
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