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I was recently at a job interview and was asked a very good question – “What is your personal brand?” After recovering from being caught off guard, I said something to the effect of being a hard worker and a nice person. In hindsight, it was lame and not articulated very well, but there were kernels of truth in there. As I left the interview, that question stuck with me, and it seemed a really important one to have an answer to.
As someone who worked in marketing and is currently searching for marketing roles, it is a no-brainer that I should reflect (and should have already reflected) on this. “Brand” is one of those keywords that I definitely throw around in cover letters and interviews. A company’s brand is its identity, how it presents itself to the public, and conversely what the public perception of that company is. A company’s brand can make or break success.
The point is, if I’m going out into the world trying to create new opportunities for myself, I have to define – what am I all about? What can I offer? What values do I live out daily personally and professionally? What do I want to represent to the public?
What I DO should flow from who I AM, not the other way around.
Like any company with a strong and thought-out brand identity, everything you do is determined by these established principles. You have to be consistent in what you deliver and communicate, otherwise people won’t believe you any more.
What I was trying to say back in the interview is that turning in good work that I’m proud to put my name on and being a person others like to work with do matter to me. Words that come to mind for my personal brand are: integrity, reliability, loyalty, efficiency, businesslike yet lighthearted, JOY!
That’s my brand. Those are the values that power my work, what I want to reflect, and how I want to be perceived in all my personal and professional endeavours.
Count on me to bring the goods and the feelgoods.
BOOM! There’s my tagline.