Find your authentic personal brand to turbo-charge your career

 

 

In this podcast I talk about personal branding and standing out: even though we might not work in sales, we very often want to "make a sale" in one form or another. For example when you go to a job interview, you're essentially trying to convince the interview panel they should pick you - and so you should give them good reasons to do that.

 

"Why should we choose you?", "Why should we buy from you?": if you are aware that many professional interactions have these questions at heart, then you can work on giving an honest, authentic and irresistible answer!

 

"I don't want to rock the boat", "Don't toot your own horn"...

 

We use those phrases without even thinking of them, but what do they mean? That it's not "polite" to stand out and attract attention to yourself. That it's not good to do anything unusual that might not be what everybody else is doing.

 

This is very sad, because it means we are curtailing our expectations and doing our best to blend in - and in doing so we might actually stifle our own authentic self. 

 

If I had been a doom-and-gloom economist like so many others, I would have negated my own natural, ingrained positivity. Instead, I let that positivity shine because it comes spontaneously to me - and lo and behold, I am now known as "The Positive Economist" and clients seek me out precisely because of that.

 

Are you trying too hard to find your personal brand?

 

When you run a business, you are trying to find your "USP" or Unique Selling Proposition. That's just another way to say "The Reason Why People Should Buy From You Instead Of Somebody Else". And it doesn't mean that you're trying to walk over competitors.

 

It means that you make it easier for people to find you when they need the specific thing that you offer. Personal branding, whether you're a business owner or an employee, doesn't mean you're trying to manipulate how others perceive you.

 

It means you make the following clear: "This is me, this is what I do, and if that is the kind of thing you need, this is where you can find me".

 

Your authentic and true personal brand

 

In the podcast I share a tip that gets a lot of attention whenever I speak about it: before sending out a CV or cover letter, ask somebody who truly loves you to have a thorough look at it. Too often when we're looking for a job we might have had to face a lot of rejection and that erodes our self-confidence.

 

So ask somebody who thinks highly of you to help you rewrite your CV and to help you shine a light on all your wonderful skills and abilities.

 

Positive feedback of that kind is immensely precious. Because we grow immune to our own "superpowers", and we tend to think "Sure doesn't everybody do that?" No, they don't, which is why you should highlight it!

 

In the podcast I mention the TEDx talk I gave in Belfast, on the theme of personal branding and how to boost your career.

 

The Savvy Women Podcast is now on iTunes! Subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode.

 

 

I'd love to hear your feedback by  email or on Twitter

 Sign up for our  Free SavvyWomen Newsletter

If you are not already a subscriber to our free  newsletter, you can subscribe to the Savvy Woman newsletter by clicking here, or to the Positive Economist newsletter by clicking here. Both newsletters share exciting entrepreneurship news and opportunities, as well as our best practical articles on topics like economic trends, investing, networking, motivation, and personal finance.