Why you should use 3 words to create your Personal Brand
I got an interview question once asking me to think of my personal brand and what three words I would use to describe it. I realized it was a perfect question to ask me at the time as it was near the beginning of my career. To this day I reflect back on these three words and use them to steer my actions at work and anchor me to my long term career goals. Through that experience I realized that reflecting on those 3 adjectives was very useful at any cross-roads in my career. This article will share tips on how to create words to encapsulate your personal brand and orient you towards your future.
These words should not be specific to a job but more about your values and passions in life. This brand is something you want to develop over time and slowly emulate through your achievements. They will be revolved around the image that you show, your reputation and your success. Your brand should be adjectives you aspire to be associated with. This will allow you to continually measure your current career progression and achievements so you can know whether you’re working towards your goals.
Your personal brand should not be something that you’ve already achieved, but rather a story you’re telling. In fact, I find it best when your branding words are long term values and aims you have a long way to get to. They should be descriptions of yourself that you can sculpt into your work and action, allowing you to continuously compare and see if you’re still on the right track.
It’s good to have words that mean a range of things so that you’ll be able to aim for more. What these words revolve around will depend a lot on your personality and motivations. If for example you are money driven, success and monetary goal posts will be important to add within your brand. If you’re driven by recognition, then it might be revolved a lot more on how others view you instead and whether you’re seen as an expert in your field.
Thus the following categories are some suggestions that I have come up with to help you brainstorm three adjectives that you want to measure yourself against as you progress with your career.
Value-oriented adjective:
These will be words that are looking at how you treat and interact with others. These will be related to your core values throughout life. For example, you might highly value fairness and quality in the workplace. Thus a word such as “fair” would be value-oriented.
Attitude-oriented adjective:
This would be related to how you look at and tackle your objectives. Your working style will be determined very highly by these adjectives. You may be highly driven or hard working for example, or you may value balance and want to be able to juggle many things in your life successfully. Perhaps you drive a “winning” attitude to all things you do, that could also be a word you orient your brand around.
Quality-oriented adjective:
Think about how your personality stands out from others and what you bring to the table. Maybe you want to be known for your fabulous fashion sense or your humor. Whatever it is, these adjectives describe personal qualities that you want to show to both friends and strangers alike.
Goal/Objective-oriented adjective:
How do you want to be viewed at the peak of your career? Keep the end in mind with these types of words. For example, you may want to be known as the top neurologist or trusted advisor in your specialization. Or you may be a stay-at-home parent and want to be known for being the best parent. These labels will be highly relevant to your career and end-goals. These will probably take the longest to achieve as there are lot of events that would have to happen to get you there. However, because it takes the longest, you may also feel most fulfilled when you finally get associated this way.
Why is this important?
Having a personal brand is especially important for free-lancers and entrepreneurs who are building up an organization. But even as individuals we need to think about our personal brands. It’s our way of differentiating ourself, building a great reputation and something to become associated with.
So, start coming up with some adjectives to describe yourself and then angle your career in a way that makes sure you embody these words. Remember that the adjectives may be similar or even the same as someone else’s, but they will mean something entirely unique to you.
What three words describe your personal brand? Take a moment to think it through, and then once you’ve got them, write them down and tell someone, your manager, friend or loved one, what these words are. This neighbor will then help hold you accountable for embodying these words in your actions and your long term career. Then before you know it, people will be defining you with the very words you just jotted down.
About the Author: My name is Angie. I’m a consultant in Data and Technology Recruitment. This essay is in no way a factual piece, but merely my thoughts, scribbled down and shared with you.