The Five Ps of Personal Branding

When I work with clients to identify and develop their personal brand, I find that they often have a difficult time understanding personal branding.  I always explain it to them like this, everyone has two sets of strengths; the first set is the things that you need to excel at in order to do your job.  For example, if you are in HR you need to be able to work well with people, be good at conflict resolution, etc.  These are the things that most other HR professionals are going to be good at.   Chances are if you are applying for a position in HR all the other candidates are going to have a similar skill set.  It’s the second set of skills, your personal brand, that is going to set you apart and make you rise to the top.

Through my many conversations with clients, I have come up with a list that I think helps clients to understand, indentify, and realize their personal brand.

 PERSONALITY: 

Your personality is one of the first things that people notice about you and can either work for you or against you.  Take an honest look at yourself and try to define your personality.

 PERCEPTION:

How do others perceive you?  Ask a few trusted colleagues to give you some feedback.  Are there any areas that you could work on?

 PASSION:

What is it that drives you?  Maybe you find your joy helping others or finding a better way to do something.  It may not necessarily be directly related to your job so look at your life as a whole.

PRESENCE:

How do you present yourself?  This is similar to perception but presence is the image that you are projecting, or think you are projecting, and may or may not align with how others see you. 

PRINCIPLES:

What do you stand for?  What are your values and ethics?  Again, this doesn’t have to be related only to your career.  You personal brand is formed from all aspects of your life.

Megan Koehler is a Certified Advanced Resume Writer and branding strategist at ContempoResume.  She enjoys working with clients at all levels to extract their unique value and define their personal brand. www.contemporesume.com, 800-764-8709