By Meg Guiseppi, CPBS, MRW, CPRW
Gen-Y personal branding expert Dan Schawbel has said:
William Arruda, personal branding guru and founder of Reach Personal Branding, puts it this way:
With many career successes, you may be well aware of your unique value proposition in the job market, but your own assessment of yourself is just one opinion and may not tell your entire brand story. Soliciting feedback from those around you will help you more precisely distinguish your top brand attributes and uncover your authentic personal brand.
What better indicator of your greatest strengths and assets than what those who work with you day to day have to say about you? They’re in a position to know how you use your strengths to make things happen and benefit the company. They’ve seen you in action many times, tackling impossible challenges, re-engineering failing operations, driving bottom line profitability, etc.
An extremely useful practice when developing your personal brand, getting feedback is also a big confidence-booster as you move forward in a job search. Who doesn’t need that?
Here are a few questions I have my executive clients ask the people around them:
■ What do you feel are my greatest strengths that have most benefited the company and others?
■ What was my most important contribution to the company?
■ What things do you know you can always rely on me to deliver?
■ What would you say are my top personal attributes that define how I make things happen?
■ What did you learn from me that helped you do your job better?
As we go over their input, we start seeing consistencies. Often to a person, certain personal attributes and strengths shine through. Combining that information with my client’s own assessment, we’re able to validate and crystallize a personal brand message that differentiates them from their competition and will resonate with their target audience.
I think you’ll find that the people around you will be happy to tell you what a positive impact you’ve had on the company’s success and their own careers. Their feedback will give you a deeper appreciation of what differentiates you from others doing the same work and help you nail your promise of value to your next employer.
You may already have some written recommendations from the people who know your work. Do you have any relevant LinkedIn recommendations? They can be very telling. Also, pay attention to how people introduce you to someone new. Their brief intro probably contains important nuggets.
Extend the value of this exercise:
■ Create a high-impact job search document for your career portfolio – a reference dossier with accolades. More powerful than a typical list of professional references with their contact information, this document includes short quotes from your references.
■ Lead your career biography with a quote from someone who knows your work firsthand – a compelling attention-grabber that immediately generates chemistry.
■ If you haven’t already, ask these people to transform their input into compelling LinkedIn recommendations for you.
For more help in building your executive brand, see my series of blog posts, Best of Personal Branding Strategies, Lessons, and News.
© Copyright Meg Guiseppi, 2009. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
A C-level/Senior Executive Branding, Online Identity, and Job Search Strategist, Meg Guiseppi loves collaborating with forward-focused corporate leaders to define their unique value proposition and strategically position them for job search acceleration. She is one of only a handful of career professionals to hold both the Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist and Master Resume Writer credentials. Meg is also a Certified VisualCV Creator and Certified Professional Resume Writer. For a wealth of insider tips on personal branding and executive job search, visit her Executive Resume Branding Blog/Website. Follow Meg on Twitter.
Gen-Y personal branding expert Dan Schawbel has said:
“You are the chief marketing officer for the brand called you, but what others say about your brand is more impactful than what you say about yourself.”
William Arruda, personal branding guru and founder of Reach Personal Branding, puts it this way:
"Your personal brand resides in the hearts and minds of those around you."
With many career successes, you may be well aware of your unique value proposition in the job market, but your own assessment of yourself is just one opinion and may not tell your entire brand story. Soliciting feedback from those around you will help you more precisely distinguish your top brand attributes and uncover your authentic personal brand.
What better indicator of your greatest strengths and assets than what those who work with you day to day have to say about you? They’re in a position to know how you use your strengths to make things happen and benefit the company. They’ve seen you in action many times, tackling impossible challenges, re-engineering failing operations, driving bottom line profitability, etc.
An extremely useful practice when developing your personal brand, getting feedback is also a big confidence-booster as you move forward in a job search. Who doesn’t need that?
Here are a few questions I have my executive clients ask the people around them:
■ What do you feel are my greatest strengths that have most benefited the company and others?
■ What was my most important contribution to the company?
■ What things do you know you can always rely on me to deliver?
■ What would you say are my top personal attributes that define how I make things happen?
■ What did you learn from me that helped you do your job better?
As we go over their input, we start seeing consistencies. Often to a person, certain personal attributes and strengths shine through. Combining that information with my client’s own assessment, we’re able to validate and crystallize a personal brand message that differentiates them from their competition and will resonate with their target audience.
I think you’ll find that the people around you will be happy to tell you what a positive impact you’ve had on the company’s success and their own careers. Their feedback will give you a deeper appreciation of what differentiates you from others doing the same work and help you nail your promise of value to your next employer.
You may already have some written recommendations from the people who know your work. Do you have any relevant LinkedIn recommendations? They can be very telling. Also, pay attention to how people introduce you to someone new. Their brief intro probably contains important nuggets.
Extend the value of this exercise:
■ Create a high-impact job search document for your career portfolio – a reference dossier with accolades. More powerful than a typical list of professional references with their contact information, this document includes short quotes from your references.
■ Lead your career biography with a quote from someone who knows your work firsthand – a compelling attention-grabber that immediately generates chemistry.
■ If you haven’t already, ask these people to transform their input into compelling LinkedIn recommendations for you.
For more help in building your executive brand, see my series of blog posts, Best of Personal Branding Strategies, Lessons, and News.
© Copyright Meg Guiseppi, 2009. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
A C-level/Senior Executive Branding, Online Identity, and Job Search Strategist, Meg Guiseppi loves collaborating with forward-focused corporate leaders to define their unique value proposition and strategically position them for job search acceleration. She is one of only a handful of career professionals to hold both the Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist and Master Resume Writer credentials. Meg is also a Certified VisualCV Creator and Certified Professional Resume Writer. For a wealth of insider tips on personal branding and executive job search, visit her Executive Resume Branding Blog/Website. Follow Meg on Twitter.
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