Brand yourself to stand out and shine Katrena Friel March 2009

Passion  This session is about helping individual professionals to stand out and shine through developing and then promoting their own unique personal brand.

Promotion  without self-promotion or “tooting our own horn”  What happens?  Nothing!

Being CEO of Me.com  Regardless of age  Regardless of position  Regardless of the business we happen to be in  All of us need to understand the importance of brand.  We are CEO ’s of Me.com  To be in business today our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called YOU!

Take a step back  You may need to step back and take a fresh look at you.  Take a very close look at what inspires you and drives you to be engaged in your work each day.  You chose the job you’re in for a reason.  You enjoy that industry and/or the people.  Or you are on a stepping-stone to something bigger and better.  If you’re feeling dissatisfied or bored, you too need to cast fresh eyes over your current position.

Discover… Brand You 1.Do a personal audit. 2.Look at your skills set. 3.Does your job align? 4.What sets you apart? 5.What do people say about you? 6.Personal manner.

Personal Audit  Determine your values and vision  Your future goals  What strengths do you have both for you and your company?  Make sure you define who you are.  Ensuring that it aligns with your deepest passions.  A clue to discovering the feeling or emotion of who you are is to identify where you are and what you are doing that makes you truly happy.  What inspires you?  What incorporates all your passions and skills?

Skill Set  Are you doing what you’re good at?  It’s great to stretch yourself outside your comfort zone and learn new skills.  To be truly in alignment with your self-brand you need to project confidence and excitement in the work you do.  You can learn those skills and gain confidence.  If you’re passionate about what you’re doing and have the right attitude that will shine through.  Most employers believe that people can learn skills for the job but having the right attitude and mind-set about your work is something that cannot be taught.

Job Alignment  Does your job align with your personality?  Do you prefer to be mixing with lots of people each day?  Or would you be more suited to more solitary work - enjoying your own company?

What sets you apart?  What sets you apart from the crowd?  What is unique about you?  What are your achievements and accomplishments?  What are your dreams or desires?  What does these things reveal about your emotional or inner side of you?

What do people say about you?  How do they perceive you?  Pay attention to how others describe you when they introduce you and how they treat you.  Are you described as fun loving, compassionate, professional or creative?  Do these descriptions align with your values and what you stand for?  What other personality traits do you have?

Personal Manner  Personal manner plays a part in how others perceive you.  Be aware of plus and minus personality characteristics such as:  self-confidence level  your way of talking  manners  social skills

Network  Take a look at some of the outside factors that represent your personal brand, such as:  The company you work for  Who are your friends, alliances and partners?  What networking groups do you belong to?

Homework Your Skills + Your Passions + Your Personality + People + Your Goals = Your personal branding statement Spend some time writing and rewriting this sentence until it is succinct and truly resonates with you and how you feel.

Reveal Your Brand  Ten seconds – Elevator Pitch  Look at your image  You are what you wear  Personality profile  Business image

PERSONALITY PROFILE  Another measure of your success in dealing with people is due to personality.  The dictionary defines personality as, “the quality, which distinguishes one human being from another, individuality, distinctive personal characteristics”.

Self Analysis  As corporate or individual professionals it’s important to discover your personality type.  Self-analysis  Uncovering of plus and minus personality characteristics is needed before an adequate self- satisfying self-image can be developed and revealed.  Aggravating speech habits, lack of good manners, sloppy dress and grooming can be your worst enemies.

Non Verbal  Your personal manner speaks loudly to other people.  Your voice, way of talking, eye contact, body language and the way you develop relationships at work all count towards giving you a ‘manner’.  We’ve all at times been horrified or surprised at hearing second or third hand what impression we’ve made on someone.

Be yourself  The best approach is to be yourself –  Keep in mind an awareness of how you may strike other people  Recognise that you can’t just let your manner work itself out  It’s the little things that can make the crucial difference.

What’s working? What’s not?  Punctuality  Your tone of voice  These are the things about you that speak out loud and clear to others.  Make sure that they’re working for you.  You’ve invested a lot of time, effort and money into learning or upgrading your skills for the job  Why not invest some time and effort into yourself?

Identity  Companies spend millions of dollars on getting the corporate identity right –  It’s the people in the organisation that really reflect the company brand  Often times that person is YOU.

Checklist Influencing elements:  Dress & Style  Appearance & Grooming  Manner & Personality  Self-Confidence & Charm  Plus & Minus Personality Characteristics  Work Space area  Communication  Telephone Technique  Meeting Room Presence  One on One Communication

Putting it all together  All elements of your personal brand and brand visibility must work together to ensure a coordinated approach to having your name, reputation or image shine.