Personal Brand Assessment: Why You Need One
Personal Brand Assessment
By Stephen Van Vreede (@ITtechExec)
Each of us, whether we like the phrase “personal branding” or not, has one: who are we, personally, professionally, and so on, and the message that we project. In today’s job market, we are now forced to think about our “communities” and our spheres of “influence,” and how well we engage in those communities is becoming a key component in our careers. Honestly, it’s a lot of blah, blah, blah that basically comes down to what the job search has always been about: meeting needs and providing value.
A lot of people think that personal branding is just about keeping your Facebook profile clean and having a professional LinkedIn profile. And although those are decent starting points, they miss the overall point. Personal branding is about differentation and problem solving. What about your background and skills is unique, and how can you leverage that experience to meet a real need that a potential employer has?
The problem for most of us is that it is diffuclt to assess ourselves objectively and in light of our targeted audience. Therefore, the message that we are putting out there is often quite different than the message others are receiving.
It’s not what you say; it’s what people hear.
Therefore, you want to make sure that you are sending a clear, consistent message that brings real value to your audience. A personal brand assessment is the best way to get an honest look at what your personal branding is saying today and what adjustments you can make to strengthen it. The days of just putting together a resume and a cover letter and sending them out are quickly coming to an end. Today, you need to be leveraging both traditional and social media, and the best way to do that is to look at the unique experience and skills you bring to the marketplace.
The ITtechExec Way
To arm yourself with more tools in your technical job search arsenal, we offer a FREE Technical Jobs report & Personal Brand Assessment to our followers. We also offer a 10% discount. Take advantage of our offer just by signing up to follow this blog or go to our website ITtechExec (be sure to indicate in the “How did you hear about us?” box that you found us through our blog).
I’m very much in the business of helping people and companies develop their “personal brand”. I most enjoy branding people because it’s such a dynamic profile with many different aspects with which to work. Think of any successful politician – their personal brand must be strong and positive.
Stephanie Bennis
May 14, 2012
Great points, Stephanie. Sometimes the phrase can be off-putting to some who don’t want to sound like a commodity. But if you think of presenting yourself as a solution, instead of as a product, personal branding takes on a whole new meaning.
@Rezlady & @ITtechExec: Career Pros for Technical Candidates
May 14, 2012
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