Resource Guide: Marketing You

Transcription

1 Resource Guide: Marketing You Page 1

2 Marketing You Table of Contents Branding Yourself Who Are You? What Do You Want? How Do Others See You? Who Is Your Market? Using Your Brand Links Page 2

3 Marketing You You may have a terrific education, plenty of relevant experience, an enthusiastic work ethic, and all the assets that would make you a model employee. However, your talents will go unnoticed if you cannot market yourself. Think of yourself as a product or brand, even the best products won t sell unless marketed effectively. When searching for a new job, the way you present yourself to potential employers or to other individuals in your field, your résumé, cover letter, and interview are all part of your marketing effort. You need to brand yourself; tell people who you are, what you do, and what it is you want. Once you can define this in a central message, you can start getting the message out into the world. This will help you make a positive first impression and make sure people remember you. Branding Yourself Personal branding is not all that different from branding a product or a company. A brand is the sum of a product s name, history, reputation, packaging, and advertisement campaign. It is carefully constructed to reflect how the company wants their product to be perceived by consumers. Brands are easy to remember, usually have positive connotations, and often evoke a type of feeling. When you see their logo you automatically associate it with an emotion or identity. There are certain brands you trust, and certain brands you feel better about using. There is a reason why people choose name brands over store bought brands in the grocery store or why some people prefer designer label clothing. A person s brand can evoke the same kind of feelings as a company s brand. We each have a personal brand whether we know it or not. Our brand is based on how others perceive us. How we are perceived is largely based on the message we project; whether this message is in our words, body language, clothing, etc. It is important the message you put forward properly reflects how you wish others to perceive and remember you. Page 3

4 Think about someone you know professionally and answer the following questions about this person: How would you describe your relationship? Why do you think this person s name came to mind, out of the hundreds of people you know professionally? What feelings come to mind when you think about this person? How would you describe this person? To what extent do you trust this person, both in terms of his/her character and his/her professional competence? You have just described someone else s personal brand. Notice that: you weren t asked to pick someone you necessarily respect or like. Regardless of who you picked, it is likely that person has a strong brand. Page 4

5 Who Are You? The first step to properly marketing yourself is to know who you are. Before you start looking for a job, writing a résumé or cover letter, and before you ever go on an interview you should take some time to assess yourself. Analyze your own personal qualities and abilities; understand your habits, and how you work. Think about the jobs you ve had and what you accomplished in those positions. This will help you determine what fields of work you should pursue as well as what environment you thrive in. It will also help you when you start to word your résumé or answer questions in an interview. Questions to Ask Yourself o What are my greatest strengths? o Am I competitive? o Am I a leader or a follower? o Do I prefer to work independently or in a team? o Am I outspoken? o Do I work well under pressure? o Do I work better being highly managed or just given a direction to follow? o Do I work quickly, or am I methodical? o What makes me different from everyone else? What Do You Want? Now that you know who you are, ask yourself what it is you want. What kind of job do you want? Think about the industry or field you wish to work in and the type of environment you want to work in. Questions to Ask Yourself o What do I hope to be doing in 5 years? In 10 years? o If I had my choice of any job, what would this job entail? o Am I willing to start from the bottom and work my way up? o Do I want to be able to advance quickly? o What are my short-term goals? What are my long-term goals? Why? Page 5

6 o What kind of job is likely to help me achieve my goals? o What do I really want out of life? How Do Others See You? Being aware of how you come across to others is an important part of developing your brand. We show who we are and what we re capable of through our actions and behaviors. So it is important to model how we present ourselves to others in a fashion that fits with our desired personal brand. Think about how you want people to describe you, the first thing you want to come to their mind when they think of you. What words do you want them to use? There are many ways which you can influence the way people perceive you. What you wear to work, to meet others in your industry, to interviews, makes an enormous difference in projecting your personal brand, particularly when you first meet someone. You want to make a good first impression and ensure that your brand is coming across to others. How you interact, the way you dress, the way you maintain your workstation, the way you speak all send a message about who you are and can all be developed to represent your brand. Who Is Your Market? It is important to understand the audience you wish to market yourself to. You need to determine who your target market is, the types of companies in your desired industry and the type of people you wish to network with. Your Market o Who are they? o What do they do? o What do they need and want? o What do you have to offer them? By understanding your market s needs and where you fit in, you will be able to design your brand to stand out to your audience. You will be better prepared engage your audience and make real connections when interviewing for a job or networking. Page 6

7 Using Your Brand By being aware of who you are and what you want, you can develop your brand to reflect how you wish to be perceived by others. This will also help you narrow your search to job opportunities that are compatible with your interests, goals, and abilities. You will be better prepared to properly convey what it is you have to offer, helping you stand out on paper and in person by showcasing your unique value. This is not limited to looking for a new job having a clear branding identity can also help you stand out in your current position. Once you understand who you are as a brand it is time to sell your brand to the world. Links Rutger s Self-Assessment The Brand Called You Marking Yourself in Today s Economy Page 7