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How To Decide What Is Your Brand AND How To Articulate It
Do you know what your brand is?
Every employee and candidate has one, though many have no idea how to express it. And, as a result, they lose out on jobs, promotions, and career advancement.
I was reminded of this when I read a story about Smith & Wessen over on Ask Uncle Bill.
Smith & Wessen, as the story goes, only made handguns for the longest time. Everybody thought that made other things (rifles, shotguns, etc.), but they were strictly a handgun company.
That is, until a smart guy got hired there and found out what potential customers thought when they thought of Smith & Wessen. He then went into the shotgun business. And the rifle business. And other places people already thought of them.
You should do the same for your career. Read on to see how.
Experience.com provides information on internships and entry level jobs.
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO YOUR CAREER?
“That’s a nice story, Dan,” I can hear you saying to your computer, “but how does this apply to my career?”
My answer is first of all, you shouldn’t talk to your computer. It won’t respond. Really.
Secondly, it applies to your career because you have a brand that you may or may not be expressing. What does your boss think of when he thinks of “you”?
Does he think, “some low-end computer repair guy”? Or does he think, “the go-to guy for any computer and network problem”?
You may want to ask around to see how the people you work with think about you and what you can do.
Frequently, you may find that, like Smith & Wessen, people are thinking about you in an inaccurate way. They may think you have skills that you don’t or see you very differently from the way you see yourself.
If the way they see you is good, even if inaccurate, you can do what Smith & Wessen did: Acquire additional skills to make their impression accurate.
Then start marketing yourself that way. Tell your boss, “Since I’m the ‘go-to guy for any computer or network problem’, I’ll need to attend this class to keep my skills up to date.” Or, “Since I’m doing that job anyway, I wanted to see what it would take to get the official promotion to Super Network King.”
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO YOUR JOB SEARCH?
The great thing about a job search is that you start with a clean slate. You can present your brand as anything you want, as long as you have the ability to back it up.
So, if everyone sees you as the “low end computer maintenance guy”, but you do a whole lot more than that, you can present yourself differently to your next employer.
On your resume and in your interview answers, you can be, “The Go-To Guy For All Computer and Network Problems” and back it up with examples of what you do.
That way, you are setting your brand appropriately to benefit your career right from the start with your new employer.
In other words, you are the one who decides what your brand is. All you have to do is to be able to live up to the brand and tell other people how they should be seeing you.
Enjoy the Search!
Dan
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Daniel R. Sweet
Chief Cook-And-Bottle-Washer / Technical Recruiter
FRACAT.com - Free Resume and Career Toolbox
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielrsweet
Call me on Jaxtr: http://www.jaxtr.com/fracat
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