Personal Branding

1. Personal Branding IACC VISTA May 2014 Webinar | Monique Ellefson

2. What is personal branding? • How to talk about yourself • “elevator speech” • Networking • Resume & cover letters • What to share, what not to • With whom? • Which platforms? • How to present yourself • Professional vs. casual

3. Personal Branding

4. How? • Create presence (on- and off-line) • Self-reflect (learn from successes and mistakes) • Set goals; create a timeline • Network

5. Know Yourself • Values and beliefs • What do you love? • Motivations • What is important to you? • What are your financial needs? • Strengths & skills • What are you good at? • Aspirations • Where do you want to be? • Who do you want to be?

6. Strategies • Personal reflections • Personality: thinking, feeling, sensation • Passion • Professional reflections • Purpose: mission, vision, values • Potential: education, experience, expertise • SWOT analysis • Strengths/weaknesses • Opportunities/threats

7. Weakness vs. Strength • Weakness fixing – wrong assumptions • All behaviors can be learned • The best all achieve success exactly the same way • Weakness fixing leads to success • Strengths building – the right assumptions • Some behaviors can be learned; many are nearly impossible to learn • There is a difference between talent and skill • The best all achieve success in different ways • Remember: Nobody can be the best at everything!

8. Strengths Finder Assessment • Based on positive psychology • Focus on what is good with a person instead of what is wrong or dysfunctional • Not about making your weaknesses a strength! • Focus on talent development to achieve excellence • Strengths Building Equation • Talent * Investment = Strength • Talent – natural way of thinking, feeling, behaving • Investment – time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge base • Strength – ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance

9. Why is this important? • Becoming aware of your strengths builds confidence and provides a basis for achievement • Each of your strengths can be applied in different ways to relationships, learning, academics, leadership, service, and careers • As you develop and apply your strengths, your achievements will increase and you will experience greater and more frequent success

10. Grow Yourself • Evaluate where you are and where you want to be. • Personal growth • Professional growth

11. Show Yourself • Process: discover, create, communicate, maintain • Marketing strategy • Performance: what are you really selling? • Packaging: visual representation • Promotion: on- and off-line • Personal marketing • Social Media: Facebook, Linked In • Business Card • Online Resume/Website

12. Networking • “Friendraising” • Let people know who you are and what you want to do • Networking = planting seeds • Collaborate with others • Have an elevator speech prepared

13. Personal Branding Strategies • Network/Informational Interview • People: who are your customers? • Partners: who can work with you or support you?

14. Barriers to Personal Branding • Being unaware of yourself. • Values, beliefs • Career aspirations • Personal goals • Timeline • Imposter Syndrome • Fear that you are incompetent • Mental/personal barrier • Common in the workplace • Major life changes • Affect your personality, your world views, your values

15. Imposter Syndrome • Cognitive distortion that prevents a person from internalizing any sense of accomplishment • Also referred to as imposter phenomenon or perceived fraudulence • Belief that success is attributed to luck or good timing; thought to be accidental • Mostly prevalent in academic but can apply to any person in any area of life (e.g. work) • Can be characterized by generalized anxiety, depression, no self-confidence, and frustration from the inability to be perfect

16. Imposter Syndrome • Capable people feeling self-doubt • Humility • “fake it ‘til you make it” • Rethink risk taking • Become comfortable with the uncomfortable • Chase growth and seek challenges • Honest self-assessment

17. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome • Work to develop a positive self-image • Write down concerns & evaluate them • Accept praise and thank you’s • Don’t feel guilty about success

18. Now What?! • Strengths Finder (or something similar) • Great to use in interviews • Great to use with other staff members or team members • The more you know about yourself, the better you will be able to brand yourself! • Resume building • Reassess your resume • Have one copy that includes everything you have every done • Depending on what you need it for, customize your resume to fit • Talk about yourself with others! • Ask your supervisor/mentor for feedback • Network • Informational interview

19. Resume

20. Plan! • Plan your approach • Organize content accordingly • Targeted message: if a person remembers one thing, it is… PLAN

21. Questions? Comments?

22. Resources • http://prezi.com/nhkg0-8hcbbn/introduction-to-strengths-finder-20/ • http://prezi.com/lp9i3bzbwf13/impostorimposter-syndrome/ • http://prezi.com/xaxvuhces0jo/personal-branding/ • http://prezi.com/nad8gy8-twwn/personal-branding/