Personality and

Professionalism:
Discovering Your Brand

Julie Wiman and Bailey Farr

What is a personal brand?
The ongoing process of creating a prescribed image or impression about an
individual, group or organization and that developing brand in the minds of
others.
What does this actually mean?

Outer: Dress Code, Manner of Speaking, Self-presentation

Inner: Perception of Self, Vision of the Future, Self-identification

Knowing your brand = Knowing who you are

Why does it matter?

★ More than half

employers won’t
hire potential
candidates
without some
sort of online
presence today.
(CareerBuilder)
Step 1: Accept yourself

★ People are attracted to confidence

★ In order to brand yourself, you have to know yourself

★ Build on your natural talents and strengths

Step 2: Define your aspirations

★ Define your goals and objectives

★ Create a mission and vision statement

★ What are your values?

★ What are you passionate about?

Step 3: Do your research

★ Who is someone that you admire and how are they branding themselves?
○ What adjustments would you make?
★ What can you learn from others?
★ What are your biggest competitors doing to brand themselves?
Step 4: Determining your professional image

★ What do you want your brand to convey?

★ Find your niche

★ Your brand should be an enhanced version of you - not someone else

Step 5: Create an action plan

★ Where do you want your brand to be able to take you?

○ Professionally?

○ Personally?

★ Needs to include both the tangible and intangible characteristics of branding

○ Hair, clothes, makeup, behavior, verbal and nonverbal communication, and social media.
Step 6: Manage your brand

★ Consistency is key

★ Continue to reinforce your brand

★ Make sure that your social media identity is reflective of your personality

and characteristics
Be YOU!

★ Branding yourself is not about just making you look professional, it's about

making people see the best version of who you are

Professional Etiquette

★ Introduce yourself with your full name

★ Stand when you are being introduced to someone
★ Prepare a proper exit
★ Pay attention to names
★ Greet everyone
★ Always be on time
★ Proofread emails
★ Practice good hygiene
Standing out at a Job Fair

★ Find out who will be there

★ Be prepared

★ Dress for success (and comfort)

★ Give a memorable goodbye

★ Follow up and take action

Interviewing in an Unusual Location

★ Always be prepared

★ Maintain a professional appearance

★ Do your best to stay focused

★ Practice etiquette, especially in a meal-based interview

Writing a Professional Email

★ Begin with a greeting

★ Thank the recipient
★ State your purpose
★ Add your closing remarks
★ End with a closing
Workwear Inspiration

Times are changing! For a woman

in business, attire doesn’t call for
just dresses or skirts. Wear what
makes you feel comfortable AND
professional. Also remember that
there is no reason to break the
bank when it comes to business
attire- just start with the basics!
Instagram/Twitter/ Facebook

★ 92% of companies are using social media for hiring

○ 66% of companies look at Facebook
○ 54% of companies look at Twitter
★ 3 out of 4 hiring managers and recruiters check candidates’ social
profiles (even if they don’t submit them!)
★ 1 out of 3 employers rejected candidates based on something they
found on their social profile
★ Make sure your comfortable with anyone seeing the content on your
profile- from a friend to a future employer
LinkedIn

★ In 2012, 93% of companies used LinkedIn to find candidates

★ Create a distinctive profile headline
○ Your LinkedIn headline is the first description people will see, so make it count!
○ Good headlines are relevant, confident, and authentic
★ According to a 2016 Linkedin survey, your profile is 21 times more likely to
be viewed if you have a profile photo
○ If you can afford a professional photographer, it is usually the best investment in your
personal brand and self confidence
Personal SWOT Analysis
Purpose: to identify actions you can take to best meet the requirements of the job or promotion you are seeking.

★ Strengths (internal): Examples: strong management skills, proven past successes,

problem-solving and decision making, learning agility, flexibility & adaptability, etc.
★ Weaknesses (internal): Examples: Disorganized, poor listener, uncomfortable speaking in front of
groups, tendency to procrastinate, etc.
★ Before you look at Opportunities, look at Threats to see the potential ability to turn your threat into
an opportunity.
○ Example: Threat: Peer X is much better at presenting in front of groups than me. →
Opportunity: Take a public speaking class, seek out opportunities to to speak in front of
groups to strengthen communication skills.

It is vital to be honest with yourself as you identify the above categories. By

being honest with yourself, you are better able to work on your weaknesses and
threats to turn them into strengths and opportunities!
Elevator Pitch
★ A short and concise description of who you are
and what you’ve accomplished
★ How would you describe yourself?
★ What, exactly, do you do?
★ What are your goals?

“I’m great at sales” versus “I’ve exceeded my sales

goals every quarter for the last two years”
Elevator Pitch
Step 1: define who you are

Step 2: describe what you do

Step 3: identify your ideal clients/customers

Step 4: explain what’s unique and different about you

Step 5: state what you want to happen next

Step 6: create an attention getting hook

Step 7: put it all together

Resources
★ https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2013/04/22/personal-branding-101/#210ae0b4297c
★ https://www.dummies.com/careers/find-a-job/personal-branding/personal-branding-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/
★ https://brandyourself.com/definitive-guide-to-personal-branding
★ https://www.quicksprout.com/the-complete-guide-to-building-your-personal-brand/
★ https://www.fastcompany.com/40558075/recruiters-look-at-this-more-than-your-linkedin
★ https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2013/04/15/how-to-conduct-a-personal-s-w-o-t-analysis/#7187a24e28d8
★ https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2017/03/07/7-linkedin-tips-to-build-your-personal-brand/#6fbd08134058
★ https://university.linkedin.com/content/dam/university/global/en_US/site/pdf/TipSheet_BuildingYourBrand.pdf
★ https://www.businessinsider.com/business-etiquette-you-need-to-know-2013-7#prepare-a-polite-exit-15
★ https://toggl.com/business-etiquette-rules/
★ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-write-an-elevator-pitch-2951690
★ https://skillcrush.com/2015/05/08/elevator-pitch-proud-of/
★ https://www.themuse.com/advice/8-ways-to-stand-out-at-a-career-fair
★ https://www.thebalancecareers.com/tips-for-interviewing-while-dining-2061318
★ https://www.careertoolbelt.com/top-20-weirdest-spots-for-a-job-interview/
★ https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/career-english/write-perfect-professional-email-english-5-steps/
★