What does a professional brand mean to you?

When you think about a “brand,” what is the first thing that comes to mind?  Maybe it’s your preferred coffee (Starbucks vs. Dunkin vs. neighborhood coffee house,) or a corporate brand like Nike, Apple, or Amazon.

I am betting few if any people reading this thought immediately of THEMSELVES as a brand.  But you know what?  You have one even if you don’t know it yet (everyone does.)  It’s like Jeff Bezos of Amazon famously said: 

“Your brand is about what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

And?  Your brand is super important when it comes to your career – especially when you are conducting a job search or considering a career shift!

Two things to know as you begin a job search or transition:  WHAT is your brand, and HOW does it come into play.

WHAT:  When it comes to defining your brand as a candidate, you want to convey the following:

1.    What you do, and for whom (e.g., Financial Analyst with experience in the manufacturing, healthcare, and technology industries.)

2.    How well you do it; this includes things like your top skills, strengths, awards, and certifications.

3.    What makes you uniquely valuable?  In other words, why someone should hire you over someone with the same background and skills as you.

HOW:  Once you have identified the “What,” there are at least four key opportunities to convey your candidate brand.  It is essential that your message is consistent across all four:

1.    Resume:  Start your resume with a strong “Summary” including all of the “What” items.  Use the 80/20 rule to recognize that 20% of the keywords may be tweaked depending on the job to which you are applying.

2.    LinkedIn Profile:   Use your headline, your “About” section, skills and endorsements, recommendations, and even your profile and cover photo to convey who you are as a professional.

3.    Networking Conversations:  Your elevator pitch. In other words, if you only had the length of an elevator ride to tell someone about yourself, your search and how they might be able to help you, what would you say?

4.    Job Interviews:  #1 is how you show up – your attitude and appearance.  And then?  Your brand can be used as a response to the ever ambiguous “Tell Me About Yourself” question (which, let’s face it – isn’t a question) as well as the stories you tell to respond to the interviewers questions.

What’s your brand?  Do you know?  If you do, how well are you representing it in your world of work? Please share so others might benefit from your experiences!

To chat more about YOUR professional brand and how to improve upon it, check out what it’s like to work with me by reading the Testimonials tab, or give me a shout by hopping over to “Contact” or emailing me at empoweredresultswithkat@katresults.com.