Job Search & Your Personal Brand – how do you stand out?
Back in 1997, Tom Peters coined the term “Me Inc.” in his article, The Brand Called You. Peters claims that you’re the CEO of Me Inc., and in the new world of work, you need to be clear about the value you bring.
How do you stand out? What is your uniqueness? If you don’t know this, how do you expect anyone else to? Oh, sure they MIGHT be able to analyze and figure out what you offer when they read about the tasks you performed at your last job, but you’d be banking on a hope that they have time to analyze you (they don’t). You’re also leaving the door wide open for other candidates who HAVE clearly stated what they bring to the table. Don’t leave it to chance. Get clear about your brand.
My quick formula for this is Talents + Passions + Impact = Personal Brand.
Talents
Your talents are what you naturally do well. Talents are inborn and don’t take any effort or energy to express because they’re so much a part of you. By the way, talents are not to be confused with skills. Skills are taught. For example: you have musical talent, but you need to learn the skills required to play the piano.
Passions
A talent can be inborn and natural to you, but it might not be what you’re passionate about. My daughter is a talented athlete. However, as much as she enjoys playing basketball, she isn’t passionate enough about her talent to work on her skills in the off season, nor does she plan to be a professional athlete. Look at the talents you truly care about – ones that you’re passionate about.
Impact
If you’re like me, you’re a good little girl (or boy) who produces results because it’s the right thing to do when you’re on someone’s payroll. That’s fine. Go ahead and add in accomplishments based on the actions and tasks you do as a normal part of the job. But I’m going to challenge you to look at the impact you’ve made doing the things you LOVE. What does that look like for you?
Personal Brand
Put these 3 factors together and see what you get. Make sure that what you get shows up on your resume. Make sure you’re weaving your personal brand into your introduction statement when networking. Most of all, be sure your prospective employer hears about personal brand while you’re in the interview process together.
Happy Hunting!
[...] One of the central themes in my book, What You Need To Know To Get A Job Now! , is that you are the product you are trying to promote during your job search. And, by the way, even when you land, you are still promoting the product of you as you impress your managers and obtain new projects and roles within the organization. Tom Peters, in his article The Brand Called You, discusses this concept very thoroughly. He says that you are the CEO of Me, Inc. and challenges you to figure out what you stand for. [...]