1. Developing and Using Your Career
Brand:
Part 1 – Reflection
Angelique Torres
Volunteer at The Career Place and Employer Outreach Specialist
Endicott College
Email: angelique.torres1@gmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/angeliquetorres
Twitter: @Angelique.Torre1
2. Learning Objectives
Understand that developing your brand is a
process that starts at the beginning of your
job search and continues throughout your
career
Have a greater awareness of your career
brand and describe why having one is
important in Part 1 of the Series
Apply techniques to successfully use your
career brand in Part 2 of the Series
3. Steps to Developing Your
Career Brand
Reflection
Personal
Presence
Online
Presence
Your Career Brand
4. Start Off with Confidence and
a Winner’s Mindset
Remind yourself of past successes
Confront your insecurities
Remember that no one is perfect
Be thankful for what you have
Concentrate on strengths, not weaknesses
Embrace yourself and your true potential
Find a confident role model
7. Why Your Brand Matters
William Arruda: Personal Branding and
the Evolution of Work
http://youtu.be/w8rOlAp2CBE
8. Why Your Brand Matters
In a working world of change, your brand is
the only constant.
“In the new world of work – where you are
only as good as your last assignment or
project – your personal brand is the only
accepted currency.”
- William Arruda
Having a brand differentiates you from other
job seekers and helps you market yourself in
your search.
9. Definition: Career Brand
Your “career” brand is a combination of your
reputation as a worker combined with a
promise of your potential and impact on
future employers.
Source: http://www.quintcareers.com/career_branding_tools.html
11. Exercise #1: Who am I?
Write your name on a piece of paper.
Under your name, write down all of the
words that come to mind that describe
you.
After 15 minutes, you will share your list
with the group.
12. Your Brand in a Nutshell:
An Elevator Pitch
“An elevator pitch is [defined as an overview]
designed to just get a conversation started.”
- Chris O’Leary
The nine “C’s” of an elevator pitch:
- Concise - Concrete
- Clear - Customized
- Compelling - Consistent
- Credible - Conversational
- Conceptual
13. An Elevator Pitch: The Basics
• An elevator pitch should be no more than
3-5 sentences long
• As an example, you can use one of the
following models:
- Your past, present, and future
- Your relevant background, why you want the job,
why the organization should hire you
14. Take Home Assignments
Exercise #2: Complete a career branding
questionnaire for yourself
Exercise #3: Draft an elevator pitch, which
you will share in front of the group next week
15. Key Takeaways
Understand that developing your brand
is a process that should take place
before your job search begins
Begin to understand what your career
brand is
Create an elevator pitch that you can
use in your job search
Hello everyone and welcome to Developing and Using Your Career Brand: Part 1 – Reflection. I am your facilitator, Angelique Torres. I am a Masters recipient who after a few years of Recruiting in the private sector and being laid off, decided to make a career change. I am now working within the Career Center at Endicott College and a volunteer with the Career Place. This is the third workshop I have developed and facilitated for the Center. I am also a Senior Board Member of the Career Counselor’s Consortium. What I would like to do now is just going around the room and if everyone can just give me your name, that would be great.
Thank you. Nice to meet all of you and welcome again. This is the first part of a two-part series on Career Branding. The second part will take place next week, same time, same place.
There are three steps to developing your career brand. We will be covering the first step today and the second and third steps will be covered simultaneously next week.
As you walked in today, I asked all of you to identify a major pain or struggle in your search and to jot it down on a piece of paper. Now, if you just copy me, I would like for you to take that piece of paper, and rip it in half. Before we can start talking about Career Branding, you have to start off with confidence and a winner’s mindset. When your job searching, Recruiters can tell whether or not you are a confident person. This includes overcoming your current pains and past struggles. Pete Leibman in his book “I Got My Dream Job and So Can You,” goes over some ways that you can do that.
Now that we have started by building up that confidence and before we start talking about our own career brands, let us first take a look at some examples of consumer brands.
What makes these brands stand out from one another?
Sample Answers: Color, font size, font style, design, use of shapes
What do these brands mean to you?
Sample Answers: IBM stands for reliability and security, Coke stands for energy, evokes emotions, brand recognition
These companies differentiate themselves from others by using a brand and we as individuals can do the same.
Why does having a career brand matter? Let’s take a look at a video from Personal Branding Expert William Arruda which helps us answer that question.
Your brand has to be authentic, which means you have to be genuine and honest, not fake.
Your brand is also based on reputation, and what others say about you. This is why it is important that when you leave an employer, whether by choice or not, that you leave using the utmost level of professionalism. Every interaction you have with others will leave an impression.
Lastly, your brand is also based on perception. We will cover this more in-depth during the second part of this workshop but in a nutshell, perception is the overall presence you share with others.
Now that you have a good background on branding, its importance, and what defines a brand, let’s start reflecting on your own brand with an exercise.
How do you essentially communicate your brand to potential employers in a nutshell? Through an Elevator Pitch.
