Assignment Content
- Review the following video “Tips for job seekers: How to negotiate your salary pt. 1” and “Tips for job seekers: Advice on personal branding pt. 2”, and answer the critical thinking question that follows:
Summarize the key points from the video in terms of what you have learned regarding what skills and knowledge you would focus on when building your personal branding information for a potential job interview. Why focus on those skills? In your summary, reflect on, and explain, how you will apply what you have learned in a career context.
Your summary should be a minimum of one page of content in length. Properly cite any references utilized in APA format.
Nov 8, 2018,11:30am EST
10 Golden Rules Of Personal Branding
Goldie Chan
Contributor
Chan, G. (2018, Nov. 8). 10 golden rules of personal branding. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/2018/11/08/10-golden-rules-personal-
branding/?sh=25ac506a58a7
Creating a personal brand can be a daunting, mythical task. And one of the
easiest ways to get lost in the process is to not know where to start. Even
Oprah Winfrey began by going through several style iterations on a small local
show before defining her voice into one of the most influential personal
brands in the world.
In both our look-at-me cultural shift and evolving job market, it’s both helpful
and necessary to stand out when applying for a job or starting your own
company. A personal brand is for (almost) everyone. So here are 10 golden
rules for creating an engaging, unique, and inviting personal brand.
1. Have a focus.
“Too many people are unfocused when it comes to press and coverage, trying
to be “everything to everyone.” Decide what your key message is and stick to
it,” says Cooper Harris, founder and CEO of Klickly. Her personal brand has
undergone a dramatic shift—from working actress to respected tech
entrepreneur and she has handled this shift by only focusing on one message
at a time. Keeping your message focused for your target demographic will
make it that much easier to both create content around your personal brand
and have others define you.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/
https://www.klickly.com/
In fact, Adam Smiley Poswolsky, millennial workplace expert and author
of The Breakthrough Speaker, takes it one step further when he’s advising
speakers: “Carve a niche, and then carve a niche within your niche. The best
personal brands are very specific.” And Juan Felipe Campos, VP of tech and
partner at Manos Accelerator, goes one step further to focus on communities
that he targets with his large-scale clients. “Keep your message and content
consistent to one niche topic to become memorable within a targeted
community.” The narrower and more focused your brand is, the easier it is for
people to remember who you are. And when it comes time to hire a speaker or
a new employee, your narrowed-down brand will be what they remember.
2. Be genuine.
There’s an easy way to have an original personal brand—and that is to be
genuine and authentic. Millennial influencer and head of marketing at Popular
Demand, Monica Lin, says “People can see right through a disingenuous act.”
The more obviously a brand is a copycat, the more the audience will call out
the perpetrator for it. Monica’s personal brand experienced a huge amount of
growth after she began engaging with her audience more meaningfully on
Twitter.
“Be genuine. It will make it much easier to manage your personal brand on a
daily basis,” explained William Harris, Facebook ads expert at Elumynt. Your
personal brand should be an easy daily filter that you create content and reach
out to your audience with. And finally, Justin Wu, founder of CoinState
says “Be a master of your craft, skillset or industry before starting a personal
brand. Then your content will help amplify who you are.” When initially
building his personal brand, he garnered a reputation of being an expert in his
field while simultaneously amplifying on social media that same renown. If
http://smileyposwolsky.com/
http://elumynt.com/
you’re deeply skilled in one area, your reputation alone will help you build the
brand you want.
3. Tell a story.
If your personal brand isn’t telling a story, you’ve already lost half of your
potential audience. Allen Gannett, chief strategy officer at Skyword and author
of The Creative Curve explains it best:” The most effective personal branding
strategy these days is to build a true narrative – single character monologues
are boring in Tinseltown, and even more boring for your personal brand.” No
one wants to hear you shout about your brand into the social media void, so
create a story around your brand that your audience can engage with. Allen
regularly meets and chats with his audience in airports around the world,
further developing his warm and friendly personal brand.
One of the best ways to tell that story is through written content or video.
For Pelpina Trip, social video strategist, this is definitely the case. Her own
video channel on LinkedIn sees some of the highest levels of engagement
across the platform. “The most personal way to communicate online is with
video. Simply use your smartphone to video message your clients, make a
personal connection with prospective clients and connect with co-workers.
After all, you always have your smartphone on you!”
4. Be consistent.
Being consistent is very similar to having a narrow focus—it’s much easier to
get recognized for one topic if you consistently create content and brand voice
around it. “Ensure that your personal brand promise stays consistent, both
online and offline,” explains Fyiona Yong, director and millennial leadership
coach (ICF ACC). She regularly works with millennials in a corporate context
to help them define their more conservative work goals. “You have to
demonstrate consistency across your communication, gravitas, and
https://www.linkedin.com/in/allengannett
http://www.pelpina.com/wp/
https://www.wholistic-cc.com/about/
appearance. Don’t underestimate how tiny inconsistencies can derail personal
brand effectiveness.”
On the opposite, creative side, CyreneQ, a top storyteller on Snapchat,
suggests “something consistent either visually or personality wise. Something
unique that people can associate with your brand and know it’s you. For
example, a sidekick mascot or having a catchphrase you say after every video –
something people can fall in love with.” Her sidekick mascot, Ele, has
garnered millions of views per Snap for brand work, allowing her fun personal
brand to represent big box brands like Walmart and DC. So whether you’re
creating a wild, incredibly out-there fun brand or one that’s a bit more on the
conservative, corporate side, consistency is key.
5. Be ready to fail.
Failure is tough, and all of us generally want to avoid it – that’s human nature.
However, to have a personal brand that rises above the rest, you need to have
a failure. Walt Disney spoke of this often when he reminisced about his failed
first attempts at creating an animation brand. “I think it’s important to have a
good hard failure when you’re young. I learned a lot out of that. Because it
makes you kind of aware of what can happen to you. ” And what can happen is
never as frightening as not trying at all.
When Timothy Hoang, CEO of Stories By Tim, Inc. develops his influencer
clients, he likes to tell them: “You’ll never achieve the best branding until you
fail a couple times while pushing past your comfort zone.” The very best
brands always come from repeated trial and error, mistakes and failures and
not from instant perfection.
6. Create a positive impact.
https://www.instagram.com/storiesbytim
After you’ve developed your personal brand over a period of time, there are
generally two ways to continue to build your brand – hop over others and burn
bridges or steadily grow a community around your brand. Jacob Shwirtz, head
of social partnerships at WeWork, who has worked with many of the top
influencers in the world, including makeup personality, Michelle Phan, gives
us this wisdom.
My quick tip on personal branding is to remember you are your brand, no matter what
your current job is, what project you happen to be working on at any one time or
whatever the priority happens to be today… always keep in mind the impact you leave
on others and remember all we have is our own reputation and that’s our brand , so be
awesome to each other!
Keeping a positive attitude and helping others will only help healthily grow
your brand in the long run.
7. Follow a successful example.
“People interested in personal branding need to start marketing themselves
like the celebrities and influential people that they look up to every day,“
explains Jason Wong, CEO of Wonghaus Ventures. His own personal brand
has gone viral several times, over subjects like ice cream in Japan, inflatable
pool toys and memes, earning him the title of the “Meme King.” His success
often comes from studying trends and popular individuals on different social
media platforms and then implementing them with a twist. Creatively
dissecting social analytics and establishing the next big trend can be within
your grasp too, if you pay attention across all social media platforms and not
simply focus narrowly on one of them.
https://wonghaus.com/
8. Live your brand.
As mentioned before, one of the ways you can make building a personal brand
difficult on yourself is to separate your brand from your personal life. While
certainly doable, it’s easier when initially creating a personal brand to have
your actual lifestyle and brand be one and the same.
Tim Salau, community builder and founder of Mentors & Mentees, who works
with college students to help them build brands that will get them hired,
believes in this idea as well. “Your personal brand should follow you
everywhere you go. It needs to be an authentic manifestation of who you are
and amplify what you believe.” With this in mind, your personal brand is not
only a reflection of a series of job functions like marketing, finance or creative
but also ideals like giving back, thoughtful leadership or mentorship.
9. Let other people tell your story.
The best PR is by word of mouth. Creating a personal brand in the public
sphere is no exception to this rule. Aaron Orendorff, editor in chief at Shopify
Plus, tells his personal story through lively videos and the occasional bunny
co-host or two and his audience remembers. They’re able to recall the bright
outfits and the animal friends and tie those pieces of the story to their
interpretation of his brand. As he eloquently states: “Personal branding is the
story people tell about you when you’re not in the room.” Jessie Maltin, co-
host of Maltin On Movies works with her father, renowned film critic Leonard
Maltin and has watched him build his career over the past several decades.
“All you have in your life is your name and the reputation you garner.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MentorsMentees/
https://nerdist.com/podcasts/maltin-on-movies/
10. Leave a legacy.
Once you’ve built your personal brand with a reputation and community
behind it, the next step is to think about the legacy that you’ll leave behind.
What are the keywords and actions that you want to be known for? Blake
Jamieson, artist at Blake Jamieson LLC, who paints pop art portraits of
famous tech and sports heroes reminds us that: “Building a personal brand is
much bigger than building a business. The only exit strategy is legacy.”
A personal brand is a lifelong project that constantly evolves and changes.
Even the experts who build or enhance the biggest brands in the business
know that there are no hard-set rules for creating a personal brand. But these
general guidelines help provide first steps, especially if you’re starting a new
brand or rebranding.
Creating the right personal brand will not only help you be known in your field
and consistently land work but it could be the difference between “Who are
you?” and “Thank you for being here” in your career .
Goldie Chan
I’m known as the “Oprah of LinkedIn.” I’m a personal branding expert, digital strategist and creative.
My video channel, #DailyGoldie, won LinkedIn Top Voice and was
…
https://blakejamieson.com/
https://blakejamieson.com/
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fgoldiechan%2F2018%2F11%2F08%2F10-golden-rules-personal-branding%2F&text=%23PersonalBranding%20is%20the%20difference%20between%20%E2%80%9CWho%20are%20you%3F%E2%80%9D%20and%20%E2%80%9CThank%20you%20for%20being%20here%E2%80%9D%20in%20your%20career.
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fgoldiechan%2F2018%2F11%2F08%2F10-golden-rules-personal-branding%2F&text=%23PersonalBranding%20is%20the%20difference%20between%20%E2%80%9CWho%20are%20you%3F%E2%80%9D%20and%20%E2%80%9CThank%20you%20for%20being%20here%E2%80%9D%20in%20your%20career.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/
Nov 8, 2018,11:30am EST
10 Golden Rules Of Personal Branding
Goldie Chan
Contributor
Chan, G. (2018, Nov. 8). 10 golden rules of personal branding. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/2018/11/08/10-golden-rules-personal-
branding/?sh=25ac506a58a7
Creating a personal brand can be a daunting, mythical task. And one of the
easiest ways to get lost in the process is to not know where to start. Even
Oprah Winfrey began by going through several style iterations on a small local
show before defining her voice into one of the most influential personal
brands in the world.
In both our look-at-me cultural shift and evolving job market, it’s both helpful
and necessary to stand out when applying for a job or starting your own
company. A personal brand is for (almost) everyone. So here are 10 golden
rules for creating an engaging, unique, and inviting personal brand.
1. Have a focus.
“Too many people are unfocused when it comes to press and coverage, trying
to be “everything to everyone.” Decide what your key message is and stick to
it,” says Cooper Harris, founder and CEO of Klickly. Her personal brand has
undergone a dramatic shift—from working actress to respected tech
entrepreneur and she has handled this shift by only focusing on one message
at a time. Keeping your message focused for your target demographic will
make it that much easier to both create content around your personal brand
and have others define you.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/
https://www.klickly.com/
In fact, Adam Smiley Poswolsky, millennial workplace expert and author
of The Breakthrough Speaker, takes it one step further when he’s advising
speakers: “Carve a niche, and then carve a niche within your niche. The best
personal brands are very specific.” And Juan Felipe Campos, VP of tech and
partner at Manos Accelerator, goes one step further to focus on communities
that he targets with his large-scale clients. “Keep your message and content
consistent to one niche topic to become memorable within a targeted
community.” The narrower and more focused your brand is, the easier it is for
people to remember who you are. And when it comes time to hire a speaker or
a new employee, your narrowed-down brand will be what they remember.
2. Be genuine.
There’s an easy way to have an original personal brand—and that is to be
genuine and authentic. Millennial influencer and head of marketing at Popular
Demand, Monica Lin, says “People can see right through a disingenuous act.”
The more obviously a brand is a copycat, the more the audience will call out
the perpetrator for it. Monica’s personal brand experienced a huge amount of
growth after she began engaging with her audience more meaningfully on
Twitter.
“Be genuine. It will make it much easier to manage your personal brand on a
daily basis,” explained William Harris, Facebook ads expert at Elumynt. Your
personal brand should be an easy daily filter that you create content and reach
out to your audience with. And finally, Justin Wu, founder of CoinState
says “Be a master of your craft, skillset or industry before starting a personal
brand. Then your content will help amplify who you are.” When initially
building his personal brand, he garnered a reputation of being an expert in his
field while simultaneously amplifying on social media that same renown. If
http://smileyposwolsky.com/
http://elumynt.com/
you’re deeply skilled in one area, your reputation alone will help you build the
brand you want.
3. Tell a story.
If your personal brand isn’t telling a story, you’ve already lost half of your
potential audience. Allen Gannett, chief strategy officer at Skyword and author
of The Creative Curve explains it best:” The most effective personal branding
strategy these days is to build a true narrative – single character monologues
are boring in Tinseltown, and even more boring for your personal brand.” No
one wants to hear you shout about your brand into the social media void, so
create a story around your brand that your audience can engage with. Allen
regularly meets and chats with his audience in airports around the world,
further developing his warm and friendly personal brand.
One of the best ways to tell that story is through written content or video.
For Pelpina Trip, social video strategist, this is definitely the case. Her own
video channel on LinkedIn sees some of the highest levels of engagement
across the platform. “The most personal way to communicate online is with
video. Simply use your smartphone to video message your clients, make a
personal connection with prospective clients and connect with co-workers.
After all, you always have your smartphone on you!”
4. Be consistent.
Being consistent is very similar to having a narrow focus—it’s much easier to
get recognized for one topic if you consistently create content and brand voice
around it. “Ensure that your personal brand promise stays consistent, both
online and offline,” explains Fyiona Yong, director and millennial leadership
coach (ICF ACC). She regularly works with millennials in a corporate context
to help them define their more conservative work goals. “You have to
demonstrate consistency across your communication, gravitas, and
https://www.linkedin.com/in/allengannett
http://www.pelpina.com/wp/
https://www.wholistic-cc.com/about/
appearance. Don’t underestimate how tiny inconsistencies can derail personal
brand effectiveness.”
On the opposite, creative side, CyreneQ, a top storyteller on Snapchat,
suggests “something consistent either visually or personality wise. Something
unique that people can associate with your brand and know it’s you. For
example, a sidekick mascot or having a catchphrase you say after every video –
something people can fall in love with.” Her sidekick mascot, Ele, has
garnered millions of views per Snap for brand work, allowing her fun personal
brand to represent big box brands like Walmart and DC. So whether you’re
creating a wild, incredibly out-there fun brand or one that’s a bit more on the
conservative, corporate side, consistency is key.
5. Be ready to fail.
Failure is tough, and all of us generally want to avoid it – that’s human nature.
However, to have a personal brand that rises above the rest, you need to have
a failure. Walt Disney spoke of this often when he reminisced about his failed
first attempts at creating an animation brand. “I think it’s important to have a
good hard failure when you’re young. I learned a lot out of that. Because it
makes you kind of aware of what can happen to you. ” And what can happen is
never as frightening as not trying at all.
When Timothy Hoang, CEO of Stories By Tim, Inc. develops his influencer
clients, he likes to tell them: “You’ll never achieve the best branding until you
fail a couple times while pushing past your comfort zone.” The very best
brands always come from repeated trial and error, mistakes and failures and
not from instant perfection.
6. Create a positive impact.
https://www.instagram.com/storiesbytim
After you’ve developed your personal brand over a period of time, there are
generally two ways to continue to build your brand – hop over others and burn
bridges or steadily grow a community around your brand. Jacob Shwirtz, head
of social partnerships at WeWork, who has worked with many of the top
influencers in the world, including makeup personality, Michelle Phan, gives
us this wisdom.
My quick tip on personal branding is to remember you are your brand, no matter what
your current job is, what project you happen to be working on at any one time or
whatever the priority happens to be today… always keep in mind the impact you leave
on others and remember all we have is our own reputation and that’s our brand , so be
awesome to each other!
Keeping a positive attitude and helping others will only help healthily grow
your brand in the long run.
7. Follow a successful example.
“People interested in personal branding need to start marketing themselves
like the celebrities and influential people that they look up to every day,“
explains Jason Wong, CEO of Wonghaus Ventures. His own personal brand
has gone viral several times, over subjects like ice cream in Japan, inflatable
pool toys and memes, earning him the title of the “Meme King.” His success
often comes from studying trends and popular individuals on different social
media platforms and then implementing them with a twist. Creatively
dissecting social analytics and establishing the next big trend can be within
your grasp too, if you pay attention across all social media platforms and not
simply focus narrowly on one of them.
https://wonghaus.com/
8. Live your brand.
As mentioned before, one of the ways you can make building a personal brand
difficult on yourself is to separate your brand from your personal life. While
certainly doable, it’s easier when initially creating a personal brand to have
your actual lifestyle and brand be one and the same.
Tim Salau, community builder and founder of Mentors & Mentees, who works
with college students to help them build brands that will get them hired,
believes in this idea as well. “Your personal brand should follow you
everywhere you go. It needs to be an authentic manifestation of who you are
and amplify what you believe.” With this in mind, your personal brand is not
only a reflection of a series of job functions like marketing, finance or creative
but also ideals like giving back, thoughtful leadership or mentorship.
9. Let other people tell your story.
The best PR is by word of mouth. Creating a personal brand in the public
sphere is no exception to this rule. Aaron Orendorff, editor in chief at Shopify
Plus, tells his personal story through lively videos and the occasional bunny
co-host or two and his audience remembers. They’re able to recall the bright
outfits and the animal friends and tie those pieces of the story to their
interpretation of his brand. As he eloquently states: “Personal branding is the
story people tell about you when you’re not in the room.” Jessie Maltin, co-
host of Maltin On Movies works with her father, renowned film critic Leonard
Maltin and has watched him build his career over the past several decades.
“All you have in your life is your name and the reputation you garner.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MentorsMentees/
https://nerdist.com/podcasts/maltin-on-movies/
10. Leave a legacy.
Once you’ve built your personal brand with a reputation and community
behind it, the next step is to think about the legacy that you’ll leave behind.
What are the keywords and actions that you want to be known for? Blake
Jamieson, artist at Blake Jamieson LLC, who paints pop art portraits of
famous tech and sports heroes reminds us that: “Building a personal brand is
much bigger than building a business. The only exit strategy is legacy.”
A personal brand is a lifelong project that constantly evolves and changes.
Even the experts who build or enhance the biggest brands in the business
know that there are no hard-set rules for creating a personal brand. But these
general guidelines help provide first steps, especially if you’re starting a new
brand or rebranding.
Creating the right personal brand will not only help you be known in your field
and consistently land work but it could be the difference between “Who are
you?” and “Thank you for being here” in your career .
Goldie Chan
I’m known as the “Oprah of LinkedIn.” I’m a personal branding expert, digital strategist and creative.
My video channel, #DailyGoldie, won LinkedIn Top Voice and was
…
https://blakejamieson.com/
https://blakejamieson.com/
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fgoldiechan%2F2018%2F11%2F08%2F10-golden-rules-personal-branding%2F&text=%23PersonalBranding%20is%20the%20difference%20between%20%E2%80%9CWho%20are%20you%3F%E2%80%9D%20and%20%E2%80%9CThank%20you%20for%20being%20here%E2%80%9D%20in%20your%20career.
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fgoldiechan%2F2018%2F11%2F08%2F10-golden-rules-personal-branding%2F&text=%23PersonalBranding%20is%20the%20difference%20between%20%E2%80%9CWho%20are%20you%3F%E2%80%9D%20and%20%E2%80%9CThank%20you%20for%20being%20here%E2%80%9D%20in%20your%20career.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/
10 Tips for Building a Personal
Brand & Boost Your Career
January 14, 2019
Northeastern University. (2019, January 14). 10 tips for building a personal brand & boost your
career. https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/tips-for-building-your-personal-
brand/
Apple challenged the world to “Think Different.” Nike encouraged people, regardless of
age, gender, or physical fitness level, to “Just Do It.” Dunkin’ Donuts persuaded busy
professionals that “America Runs on Dunkin’.”
Over the years, these recognizable slogans have morphed into rallying cries—setting
the tone for how each company communicates and identifies itself in the market. In just
a handful of words, these slogans have told a story and influenced how people perceive
the organizations behind them. Together, they represent the power and potential of
branding.
“Branding is what companies stand for,” says Dr. Sean Gresh, a faculty member
in Northeastern’s Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication
program. “It’s reflected in how that company acts, how it serves people, the value that
the company shares, and how the company projects those values.”
A strong brand stands out in the crowd—and gains more sales, increased awareness,
and better customer experiences as a result.
But branding isn’t just for companies. Professionals each have their own story to tell and
goals, skills, and expertise to share. In today’s increasingly digital world, a personal
brand is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s expected.
What is a Personal Brand?
A personal brand is, in many ways, similar to a corporate brand, Gresh explains. It is
who you are, what you stand for, the values you embrace, and the way in which you
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/program/master-of-science-in-corporate-and-organizational-communication-online-199/
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/program/master-of-science-in-corporate-and-organizational-communication-online-199/
express those values. Just as a company’s brand helps to communicate its value to
customers and stand out from the competition, a personal brand does the same for
individuals, helping to communicate a unique identity and clear value to potential
employers or clients.
Or, as Gresh summarizes: “Personal branding is one’s story.”
That story can play an important role in establishing or boosting your career. In fact, an
overwhelming 85 percent of hiring managers report that a job candidate’s personal
brand influences their hiring decisions. Your personal brand should highlight your
strengths, establish a reputation, build trust, and communicate the unique attributes that
you bring to your current (or desired) industry. Cultivated well, your personal brand will
signal to employers whether or not you’ll be the right fit for an open role.Tips for building
your personal brand
Developing a personal brand might sound challenging, but there are incremental steps
you can take to build credibility in your field. Here are ten tips to help you create an
authentic personal brand—and amplify your career in the process.
Ten Tips for Developing Your Personal
Brand
1. Figure out who you are.
In order to build a personal brand that accurately reflects your personal and professional
identity, you first need to know who you are. Be introspective, and create a list of your
personal strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself:
• In which areas of work do I excel?
• What motivates me?
• What characteristics have others complimented me on?
• Which projects have others had to help me with repeatedly?
• Which roles seem to drain my energy?
• Which projects can I spend hours on without feeling overwhelmed or tired?
If you’re struggling to answer these questions, ask friends, family, and co-workers how
they would describe you. Once you’re more aware of the different facets of your
personality, you can decide how best to brand them.
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/digital-job-hunting-tips/
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/digital-job-hunting-tips/
Keep in mind that many people struggle to choose a specific niche because they don’t
want to limit themselves. Realize that your personal brand, like many corporate brands,
will change as your career grows. The best strategy is to choose a particular area you’d
like to focus on and let it evolve over time.
2. Determine what you want to be known for.
Your personal brand is more than a reflection of who you are today; it’s a roadmap of
where you to go. In addition to understanding your existing skills and competencies,
Gresh suggests assessing your strengths and weaknesses as they relate to whichever
industry or career you want to break into next.
By doing this, you’ll uncover the skills and traits that make you distinct, as well as the
areas where you need to improve or gain new knowledge in order to advance.
Forecasting where you want to be in five or 10 years—and the attributes you want to be
known for—can help you better determine what steps you need to take in order to get
there.
3. Define your audience.
Before you start crafting your personal brand, you also need to determine who you’re
trying to reach. Is it other industry thought leaders? An individual at a particular
company? Recruiters? The sooner you define the audience, the easier it will be to craft
your story, because you’ll better understand the type of story you need to tell (and
where you need to tell it.)
For example, if your goal is to reach hiring managers and recruiters, you might start by
creating or updating your LinkedIn profile. Why? Because 92 percent of recruiters
leverage social media to find high-quality candidates and, of those, 87 percent use
LinkedIn.
On the other hand, if you are a graphic designer trying to impress existing clientele and
attract new customers, you might choose to tell your story via a personal website or
portfolio, where you can better express your wide range of talents.
4. Research your desired industry and follow the
experts.
As you start mapping out the careers you want, Gresh recommends compiling research
on experts in those roles.
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https://www.jobvite.com/blog/jobvite-news-and-reports/welcome-to-the-2015-recruiter-nation-formerly-known-as-the-social-recruiting-survey/
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“Find out who the thought leaders are in whatever field you’re interested in, and don’t
just follow them,” he says. “Go online and find out if they have blogs, or where they
contribute their thinking. Look for people who are successful and examine what they’re
doing. Imitate them, and then do one better.”
In building a personal brand, your goal is to stand out—but you can’t rise to the top
without taking inventory of who’s already there.
5. Ask for informational interviews.
As you start forming a list of companies you aspire to work for and industry leaders you
admire, consider reaching out to these professionals to ask for an informational
interview.
“They take 20 minutes, but are of high value,” Gresh says. “Don’t be afraid to ask
anyone you’re interested in learning more from. You’d be surprised by how genuine and
generous people are.”
When you meet with these individuals, ask questions that can help you garner new
insights about your desired field, such as:
• How did you break into the industry?
• What steps would you take if you were to make the transition all over again?
• How do you see the industry evolving?
• How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends?
• Are there any professional or trade associations I should join?
According to Gresh, informational interviews come with an added benefit: “You’re
learning about what it takes to get into the profession, but you’re also sharing in the
course of this dialogue a little bit about yourself. What you’re doing is building your
brand.”
Although there might not be a job on the line in one of these interviews, one day there
could be—and you want that employer to think of you when he or she is envisioning the
ideal candidate.
6. Prepare an elevator pitch.
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As you begin to conceptualize your personal brand, spend some time crafting an
elevator pitch—a 30- to 60-second story about who you are. Whether you’re attending a
networking event or an informal party, having an elevator pitch prepared makes it easy
to describe succinctly what you do and where you’re going (or would like to go) in your
career.
“You need to come up with very short, concise things to say—stories to tell—that frame
your attributes in the right light,” says Frank Cutitta, founder of the Center for Global
Branding and a Northeastern University graduate professor who teaches a course on
personal branding.
Keep your elevator pitch brief by focusing on a few key points you want to emphasize.
This could include that you’re looking for a new position, have strengths in a particular
niche, or recently increased the value of your current department or company.
7. Embrace networking.
As you cultivate your ideal personal brand, it’s important to network regularly
(and effectively) to grow your professional circle. Connect with peers and industry
thought-leaders by going to formal and informal networking events.
The more connections you make—and the more value you can provide in your
interactions—the more likely it is your personal brand will be recognized. And,
considering 85 percent of all jobs are filled through networking, regularly attending these
events will help you not only build your brand, but potentially advance your career, too.
At these events, don’t be shy about asking fellow attendees to meet again for an
informational interview or a casual coffee chat. And remember, if you don’t get a chance
to connect at the event, reach out via email or LinkedIn to spark a conversation.
8. Ask for recommendations.
Having current and former colleagues and managers endorse you is one of the easiest
and most effective ways to define your personal brand, allowing others to communicate
your value for you. Just as a business might cultivate customer reviews and testimonials
for use in sales and marketing collateral, you too should cultivate your own reviews in
the form of recommendations.
LinkedIn is a great place to ask for endorsements because these recommendations will
likely catch the eye of future hiring managers. But don’t forget to ask the people
endorsing you to act as an actual reference during your job search, being sure they’re
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankcutitta/
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willing to speak with a potential employer or write a bonafide letter of recommendation if
needed.
Not sure who to ask? Former managers who mentored you closely are ideal, but other
connections can also craft effective recommendations, including professors and leaders
of organizations you belong to.
(To learn more about who to ask—and how—check out this comprehensive post on
how to effectively leverage professional references.)
9. Grow your online presence.
One of the most important aspects of personal branding is making sure your online
presence is engaging to hiring managers, co-workers, and others—even if you’re not on
the job hunt.
With so many different social media tools available today, your online presence will
likely look different depending on the medium you choose. While your story should
match across all platforms, once you know where your targeted audience is most likely
to turn, you can redouble your efforts in telling your best story there.
Additionally, if you want one of your sites or profiles to be exclusively for friends and
family, adjust your privacy settings to ensure that potential employers don’t stumble
upon any information that could potentially harm your chances of landing a job. Here
are some platform-specific tips to help you effectively craft your personal brand
online.
LinkedIn serves as a professional social media tool and is the ultimate site for defining
your brand. The best way to use this network is to participate in groups, make
introductions with people who interest you, and ask for (and give) recommendations.
Some other tips for effectively telling your story through LinkedIn include:
• Focus on key industry skills: Recruiters will often search for keywords that
relate to the role they’re trying to fill, so it’s important to feature industry terms in
your profile—whether in your headline, summary, or job description—and
explicitly state your skills. For example, if you’re pursuing a communications role,
zero in on your area of interest and key qualifications, such as public relations,
social media, or crisis communication.
• Quantify your accomplishments: Saying you’re “results-oriented” isn’t nearly
as effective as your actual results. Quantify your accomplishments when
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possible, whether it’s the number of articles you’ve written, dollars you’ve raised,
or deals you’ve closed.
• Complete your profile: While this might sound obvious, it’s not uncommon for
users to leave sections of their LinkedIn profile blank. Recruiters want to see
what work experience you have, your educational background, and a detailed list
of accomplishments, so make sure you’re showing the full picture. Convince
them you’re the person they should hire.
• Use a professional photo: LinkedIn users with a professional headshot receive
14 times more profile views than those without. Upload a current photo that’s
closely cropped to your face. Remember, you should be the focal point, so avoid
any busy backgrounds—and smile. The more welcoming you look, the more
likely recruiters are to contact you
Leverage this platform to highlight and build upon your industry expertise. Try to
incorporate your personal brand into your Twitter bio by using hashtags to focus on your
niche, following leaders in your field, and retweeting top industry stories. Don’t forget:
what you tweet is still a part of your online image.
Personal website or portfolio
If you’re in a marketing or design field, it’s especially important to have a personal
website or portfolio that provides essential information about who you are and helps
visually highlight your work. You can create your own site using Squarespace, Wix,
or WordPress, among others. Small brands and business owners can also take
advantage of helpful design resources like Canva and Venngage’s logo templates to get
started creating brand-specific content.
10. Remember that your personal brand isn’t just
online.
Your brand is more than just an online persona; it’s how you carry yourself at home, in
the office, and even on your daily commute.
“Your reputation is everything,” Gresh emphasizes. “Those who frustrate or annoy
others—that will come back to haunt them. The more opportunities you have to work
with others, volunteer for projects, and assert yourself as a leader, take them. That’s
part of your brand.”
https://www.squarespace.com/
https://www.wix.com/
https://wordpress.com/
https://www.canva.com/
https://venngage.com/templates/logos
Leadership isn’t reserved for C-suite executives. Strong leaders exist at every level of
the organization.
“Leadership comes from how you behave, how you act, and how you inherently interact
with people,” Gresh says. “That’s real leadership.”
That story you tell, combined with those everyday interactions, ultimately define your
personal brand.
Reinvent Your Personal Brand As You
Grow
As the digital ecosystem changes and your career evolves, so will your personal brand.
Adjust your persona accordingly as you meet different people, find new networking
opportunities, and grow in your career. As long as it reflects your professional life, don’t
hesitate to create a brand that lets you shine.
For more career tips, explore our other Career Advice and Advancement articles, such
as How to Update Your Resumé in Under 60 Minutes and 6 Tips to Help You Change
Careers.
Editor’s note: This blog post was originally published in July 2017. It has been updated
for comprehensiveness and clarity.
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https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/how-to-update-your-resume/
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/how-to-change-careers/
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/how-to-change-careers/
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