Personal branding involves developing a unique set of attributes that differentiate yourself from others. It tells a story about your skills, experiences and goals to help employers easily understand who you are. In today's dynamic job market where people change careers frequently, having a strong personal brand makes you stand out from the crowd and allows employers to quickly decide that hiring you is the right choice. Developing a personal brand involves taking inventory of your skills, setting goals, crafting an elevator pitch, and continuously learning and networking to evolve your brand over time.

1. It re a lly is a ll a bout you :
Introduction to P e rs ona l
Bra nding
Sarah Welstead

2. Age nda
 What is personal branding, anyway?
 Why it’s important
 Why you should care
 Building a personal brand

3. Wha t is ‘ pe rs ona l bra nding ’ ,
a nywa y?

4. Think of yours e lf a s a chocola te
ba r
 All chocolate bars are just 50g of sugar, cocoa and
additives, put together in different ways - even the price
is the same
 If they’re all the same, how do we know which one to
choose?
 The answer is branding: it helps us differentiate
between ‘a nice light snack’, ‘giving ourselves a break’,
or ‘eating the red ones last’

5. Ma king choice s
Think of brands as:
Shortcuts to making the right decision

6. A ‘ pe rs ona l bra nd ’ works the
s a me wa y
 A personal brand is a unique set of attributes or
characteristics that differentiate you from others
 These characteristics can be ‘functional’ (like having a
particular degree or proficiency in typing) or ‘perceived’
(like being a go-getter or thought leader)
 Remember, ‘unique’ means that there aren’t lots more
like you!

7. Why is a pe rs ona l bra nd importa nt?

8. It’ s a s hortcut a nd a
‘ s tory’
 Like a chocolate-bar brand, a personal brand is really
just a shortcut - it allows employers to make a decision
about you, quickly
 You can also think of it as a ‘story’ that gives you a
context

9. In the olde n da ys ...
 Most people had one ‘career’ with one employer - and
you moved up within the same company or office
 You didn’t have to ‘sell yourself’ because you only had
one interview
 You could pretty much count on working 9-to-5, 50 weeks
per year, in the same city, until you retired at 65
 You had a ‘mentor’ within the company who helped you
map out and achieve your career goals

10. The s e da ys ...
 During their working lifetime, most people will have 2+ careers
and work for 5+ companies – sometimes in different countries
 On average, today’s under-30 workers will take an ‘extended
absence’ once every 7 years
 You are expected to ‘manage’ your own career and growth
 Competition for jobs is fiercer than ever

11. An importa nt dis tinction
 In the ‘olden days’, they used to say that “What you
know is less important than who you know”
 These days, it might be more important to add “What
you say is less important than how you say it”

12. Whe re ‘ pe rs ona l bra nding ’
come s in
Essentially, personal branding delivers benefits in 3
ways:
 Making sure you stand out from the crowd
 Personal brands are ‘shortcuts’ to help employers
see hiring you as ‘the right decision’
 Allow you to tie your experience, education and
interests together in a coherent package

13. Why you s hould ca re

14. Thre e re a s ons :
 More than ever, you are in control of your own career -
and life goals
 Everyone is busy - employers don’t have time to ‘figure
you out’
 You’ll get better jobs, faster

15. You a re your own me ntor
 There is no longer one ‘correct path’ to workplace
success – you can define your own
 However, this means that you can’t just ‘follow’
someone who’s gone before you
 A personal brand can help by carving out a unique,
definable career path for you

16. Ma ke it e a s y to ‘ ge t you ’
 A personal brand can help explain career transitions or
seemingly disparate choices: “My BA is in Latin but my
practical experience is in studying bugs – my goal is to
become the world authority in bug taxonomy.”
 No one has time to puzzle over your resume or your
personality

17. Be tte r jobs , fa s te r
 It’s a truism that if you know what you want to do, it’ll be
easier to find those jobs
 When other people have a good understanding of what
you’re looking for, they can ‘plug you in’ more
appropriately
 You spend less time interviewing for the jobs you don’t
want, and more time on the ones you do

18. You a re your own s a le s force
 Think of your resume as an ‘ad’ for you, and your
interview as a ‘sales pitch’
 The best salespeople don’t just tell you what they’re
selling – they also tell you why you should care, and
how it’s going to help you
 Remember, if you don’t believe in your product, how
can anyone else?

19. Building a pe rs ona l bra nd

20. 5 ba s ic s te ps
1. Take inventory
2. Map out your goals (in writing!)
3. Create a ‘story’, a brand
4. Ongoing learning: on and off the job
5. Ongoing networking: on and off the job

21. S te p 1: Ta ke inve ntory
 Look at your skills, education, experience
 If you have them, take a look at performance reviews, even as far
back as 10 years – is there a pattern?
 Do they tell a story? Is there a story you’d like them to tell?
 Get feedback from friends, family, colleagues: What do they think
are your biggest strengths, weaknesses and traits? (And make
them give you honest answers!)
 Don’t forget to examine ‘soft skills’

22. S te p 2: Ma p out your goa ls
 Where do you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years
(and don’t give yourself the ‘interview’ response)
 Write it down!

23. S te p 3: Cre a te a s tory/bra nd
 So you’ve got a degree in geography and you’ve spent
7 years working in fashion design – what’s the
connection?
 Create what salespeople call the ‘elevator speech’: a
1- or 2-sentence ‘blurb’ that you can use to sell
someone on you during the time it takes to ride to the
10th floor
 You must believe in it!

24. S te p 4: Ongoing le a rning
 If your ‘story’ is that you want to be the world authority
on taxonomy, you’ve got to keep ‘up to date’
 There is no such thing as the ‘end’ of learning
 Brands evolve – look at KFC!

25. S te p 5: Ongoing ne tworking
 When all you did was move up in the same company,
the only people you had to know were your colleagues
 These days, you never know who’s going to be where,
who they’re going to know, or when they’ll be in a
position to offer you the ‘perfect’ job (or tell you about
an opportunity)
 As your own ‘salesperson’, you need to get out there
and tell people about yourself

26. S umma ry
 Think of a personal brand as a ‘story’ or ‘shortcut’ to
explaining your career
 In a world where everyone has less time, shortcuts can
make the difference between getting a job and not
getting it
 You are your own mentor and salesforce – you control
your own career

27. Que s tions