Brand You should be You
Who are you? What’s your personal brand?
If you’re employed, a personal brand is your identity. You want it to help you keep the job you have and advance to something better.
If you’re looking for work, a personal brand is the face you present to potential employers. You want it to show your strengths and employability.
That’s what’s behind the explosion in books and articles and blog posts about personal branding. Amazon lists almost seven hundred books on the topic. Ten percent of them have been published within the last six months.
The books run the gamut in quality and helpfulness, but most of them have a single thing in common. They’re about tactics.
So you can learn how to present yourself. You can learn how to use social media to increase awareness of your personal brand. You can learn how your clothing and your resume and even your handshake tell the world about you.
That’s good. But what’s missing is that your brand should be you.
Your brand should be you. It should not be what you wish you were. You need to be realistic about who you are and your strengths. Otherwise you’re writing checks you can’t cash.
Your brand should be you. It should not be what someone else is. Examples are good for guidance. But you are a unique individual and your brand should reflect that.
Your brand should be you. It should not be what “they” want. Your brand should help you live the life and have the career that brings you success and joy and fulfillment. It needs to be based on who you are, not what happens to be hot in the market just now.
Use the tools of personal branding. Master the techniques. Just make sure the brand you present is the person you are.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Wally,
This is a great post for reinforcing the authenticity of ones personal brand. Too often, people start from the outside-in with their brands, asking “what kind of person do clients want” or “what does an expert look like” in their well-meaning attempt to meed the needs of their (potential) customers or clients. But indeed, what really makes a personal brand effective is starting from the inside-out, from a sense of who you are (and also, who you are becoming), and emphasizing clarity of purpose over desirability.
Despite the importance of being clear about who you are and what you have to offer, which people often grasp as they develop their personal brands, I think it is important to keep reminding folks that they shouldn’t let ‘personal branding stifle authentic voice’. This is something I’ve been writing about on AuthenticOrganizations.com, and I’m excited to add a link to this great reminder for starting with ‘who you are’.
cvh
July 14th, 2009 at 7:36 am
[...] back off. Stop telling us how to package and brand ourselves. Instead , encourage us as we invite each other to speak our own [...]
August 8th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
[...] Bock presents Brand You should be You posted at [...]
August 8th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
[...] Bock presents Brand You should be You posted at [...]