Build your own brand
WHAT makes successful companies like Microsoft, McDonald's, Disney and Coca-Cola tick? What makes you buy their products without giving a second thought? `Marketing', obviously! To be more specific, it's their brand power. Probably branding can be best defined as a promise - about the product value. It's the blend of tangible and intangible features that makes a brand unique. However, branding is no more an exclusive domain of products.
You can apply branding for career advancement as well. It can represent your reputation and build a name for you.
While branding yourself, you need to showcase the characteristics that set you apart from the rest.
How well you brand yourself depends totally on how passionate you are about it.
So, it pays to take some time out to master a few of the very basic tactics that help you build your career brand.
Identify your building blocks
To begin with, identify your own strengths. Take a good look at the things you love doing; recollect the reasons that trigger your passion for them. The knowledge of such underlying characteristics opens the door to a whole new world.
If you focus on the `what' of the things you love, you end up restricting the end result. For instance, if you like drawing, you might be drawn to one possible path - to be a good artist/designer.
Conversely, focus on `why' of the things expands your horizons, helping you look beyond the obvious. It makes you question, "what other kinds of opportunities slip into these fundamental characteristics?"
Such an approach helps you know that there's much more than just designing in being an artist. You'll realise that the sketching is not enough to come up with the final product; that it evolves from exploration, connecting with people and seeing things in new ways.
Like this, you can even assess the opportunities before you. For instance, you can assess whether or not a particular job is a good fit for you by comparing your underlying characteristics with those of the job.
Promote yourself
Résumé is the good old tool to promote oneself; and you'll have to certainly start with that. List all your key accomplishments, skills and education qualification on your résumé.
But, don't stop at that. Develop two career portfolios - a hard copy and a soft copy (preferably an online one). If you don't have a personal Website yet, now is the time to buy a domain and let the world know what you are.
Ensure you include all the vital brand features - your mission statement, detailed achievements list along with samples of work, awards and honours, testimonials and the like. Lay emphasis on awards and other recognitions that depict you as an expert.
Meanwhile, nothing is more powerful than time-tested word-of-mouth promotion. What your network of contacts - your friends, colleagues, customers/clients, former bosses - say about you adds punch.
Strengthen your brand
Once you develop your brand, continue strengthening and protecting it. Remember, there'll always be competing brands ready to fill any gap you leave open. The more you do to cultivate your career brand, the more successful you will be.
Good luck!
ROOPA HEGDE
Roopahegde.hyd@cnkonline.com
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