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Think back to a time early in your career when you met with your boss for a performance review. Do you ever remember your boss stating something about your ability in a certain area, as if that was all you were
good at?
Or has someone ever introduced you at a business function by stating an area of your expertise as if that was all you did? (Which made you think, “Hey! That’s only a piece of what I do, but it’s certainly not all I do!”)
If either of these situations occurred, you were branded (and burned!).
Perhaps something like this happened to you recently, or maybe you’re wondering if you ever really defined your brand. (It’s not too late!)
You can define your brand, re-work your brand, or tweak your brand. The important thing is that you know your brand and use it to its fullest potential.
Why Brand Yourself?
Branding yourself opens new and better doors for you. It ensures that you focus on work that you enjoy and that utilizes your strengths (even in creative ways). It also keeps you current in your field so that you can re-position your brand, if needed.
Branding yourself also ensures that other people are not in control of your brand. I constantly write and say, “If you don’t brand yourself, someone else will – and it may not be the brand you want for yourself.” When you let other people brand you, you let them control your future. You also let them control how others perceive you.
Wouldn’t it be better if you branded yourself, controlled how others perceived you, and had more control over your future than other people?
And while thinking about why you would brand yourself, consider what you want “branding” to do for you, such as build credibility, earn more money, ensure that you will thrive in economic downturns, or open
new doors of opportunity.
What else do you want personal branding to do for you?
Comments
Login or register to post a commentThanks Glory, this is an
Thanks Glory, this is an interesting concept, and one I am not sure I am familiar with.
When I think of branding it sounds like a way of "marking" or defining one's identity. If I am correct in that, is there an official way of going about that that you are referring to? How would one go about developing a personal brand?
I often think about defining myself and all the things I "do" (work, school, social life) but don't really know how to pull it together, or what to include or exclude. Should I have a website and a business card, self motto, etc? And what do you recommend if I am still in the formation process and still trying to figure out what it is that I do??
Thanks for the thought provoking post.