CEO of Me, Myself, and I
Wouldn’t it be nice to inform people that you are your own CEO? In a sense, we basically are. It used to be a thing where employees thought about themselves as property, but now according to the author of “Down and Out in the New Economy,” Ilana Gershon, “People now think they own themselves as though they are businesses — bundles of skills, assets, qualities, experiences and relationships, bundles that must be consciously managed and constantly enhanced” (2). It’s a little disheartening when I hear my co-workers and friends say that they are corporate slaves. For me, I see the various jobs that I have worked at as experiences and as a mutual dependence because even though I sacrifice my time and my skills, I am rewarded with the opportunities and security that the job entails.
My studies in Media and Communications have prepared me to start thinking and developing my own brand. In my last post, I researched a few potential job offers that I would be interested in and they seem to relate to Marketing and Public Relations. Three keywords that describe my brand are dynamic, productive, and authentic. What do these three words mean to me?
- Being dynamic is crucial in the media industry because of its continuous growth and all of the advanced technologies that contribute to it. It’s important to me that my brand keeps up with the now and the future. In order to succeed as my own business, I will continue to grow, progress, and keep myself occupied. In the second chapter of Gershon’s book, she states that “By making visible the supposedly fundamental characteristics of the reflexive manager, the personal brand reveals precisely what could appear to be a contradiction: how can someone always be willing and able to transform and yet remain a cohesive self?” (35). Altering and improving my brand based on the trends of media will not only better myself, but at the end of the day I will remain myself.
- Being productive is something that I live for. What a waste it is to not get things done and to not feel accomplished. I believe that the more productive I am, then the more competitive I will be as a business. In marketing and in public relations, there is always something that I can be doing to improve my knowledge and my skills. In public relations, for example, I can be diligently analyzing organizations and proactively trying to convey positive messages of the organization instead of waiting around to fix a disaster that arises. The more proactive I am, the better my quality of work will be. In “Getting from College to Career,” Lindsay Pollak makes a point that “… the worst mistake you can make is not to take any action at all” in regards to learning and developing yourself for a specific career.
- Being authentic is obviously what’s going to set me apart from all other brands. What does it mean to be authentic? There are various definitions and implications, but I mainly view it as being true and honest about what I do, who I am, and what the ideas I live by. Not only will my business be truthful and honest, there will be a strong sense of originality and sincerity.
There is a very fine line between who “I” am” and what my “brand” is. My brand is a reflection of my individuality. All of my various character traits constitute to my brand. I wouldn’t know what my brand is without knowing who I am as an individual. To perfectly sum up the difference, Gershon states, “Finally, managing your personal brand requires that you constantly monitor how you are representing yourself as a desirable employee — there is no division between your work life and your personal life, or you work social media network and your personal social media network…. There is no break from being a business” (59).
With media and communications being the fastest growing major in universities, it’s really important that my brand isn’t the same or even remotely similar to another upcoming media marketing coordinator or public relations.
