A reflection on personal branding

The periods of job search or career transition are an excellent opportunity to redefine and polish one’s own brand. Notice I did not say define but rather redefine. Because even if we are not consciously working on it, everything we do still reinforces a specific brand – our personal brand. As I go to interviews, meet new people, experience different professional settings I am trying be very conscious of how I express my personal brand and ask if it is a match with what the company is looking for in considering me as a candidate. It is a rigorous exercise but one that I find extremely exciting and rewarding as it is guiding me through self-discovery and self-awareness.

Recently I have come across an excellent book titled Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port http://www.michaelport.com/. Michael is a very energizing speaker and he has several podcasts and video casts that I am totally addicted to. His book made me dish out another book from my library that I read a few years back. The title of that book was Be Your Own Brand (David McNally and Karl D. Speak) and it was one of those books that made me have a-ha moments every several pages. As I read and re-read the pages of both, I have begun to draw parallels between my professional career and personal brand.

As a marketing professional when I talk to my clients about their marketing challenges the question always comes to who is your brand…not as your CMO defines it but how it is shaped in the minds and hearts of your customer? What does your brand stand for? Who is your target audience? Why did you select that particular target audience? What problem are you solving for them? What makes your brand so different than others in the market? What are the supporting arguments for claiming that particular brand differentiator? Why should they believe you? Does your logo, corporate colors, font you selected, messaging of your ads…does all of that support your claim? When the leadership of your company talks to members of the press do they reflect your brand’s values and positioning? If you are a “fun” brand do your employees have “fun” while they work? If you are a “caring” brand, do you pay special attention to support your local community?

This is the kind of stuff you really can’t fake. This is especially true with respect to your personal brand. The stuff that you do when no one else is looking constitutes the mosaic of your personal brand that people clearly see in every interaction they have with you. By the same token stuff that people say when you are not in the room is your real brand message. It is true, you can work to improve, polish and re-emphasize your brand but you can’t fake it. It has to be authentic and relevant to your target audience to be real. As it is applicable to corporate brands the positioning of your personal brand is all about sacrifice. You can’t be everything to everyone. You have to be selective. Strong brands are distinctive, relevant and consistent.

In signing off I am going to borrow an Oprah quote from Michael’s book (that’s right, no personal brand is complete without an Oprah quote appearing somewhere visible).

Every time you suppress some part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are in essence ignoring the owner’s manual your creator gave you and destroying your design.
Oprah Winfrey