I saw two people online debating the topic of branding. It may as well have been about calf roping and branding because neither knew what the other was talking about. We call so many things by a single definition and branding is one of the most confusing. Is it necessary? Yes. Is it not necessary? Yes. When we begin the debate about personal branding, the definition is clear but its value is relative to the situation in which it is applied. We all have a brand whether we want it or not. One of the best definitions that I have heard is that your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. Whether or not you can fix a bad brand is not clear. It is clear that a bad brand can project a much clearer image of a person than a good one. In a job search or a quest for a more significant impact in a career, a bad brand can hold you back more than a good brand can push you ahead. If it is so important, why do we neglect our image when we know people are watching and remembering? These three articles from the archives won’t give any definitive answers about branding, but they will outline the topic in hopes of making individuals think.
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You Can’t Handle the Truth! - How many times a day do you hear someone refer to “the real world†when they are trying to get someone to see an opposing point of view? Of course, everybody’s “real world†is different, so the new-speak translation of this line is really more like “you should really think more like me.†My world is usually a pleasant place to live, but I’ve been looking for this real world according to others and sometimes it is not a very pleasant place. – more –
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Don’t Believe All You Hear About Personal Branding – In previous articles I have advised job seekers to think like a recruiter. Every step of the hiring process takes two parties to make it happen: candidate and company. Anyone looking for a new career opportunity is actually doing the same thing that recruiters or sourcers do when they are looking for someone to hire…only in reverse. There is no official universal rulebook for either side, but both must create a play book and formulate a game plan to bring the search to a successful conclusion. – more –
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Nail Removal – A writer’s muse picks very inopportune times to make her appearance. She never seems to be around when my fingers are on the keyboard and a blank screen stares me in the face. Ideas, topics, details, words, memories all swirl around when I least expect them. My muse also seems to be somewhat of a voyeur in that she often visits me when I am in bed or in the shower. A practical joker, she usually floats in when the Notability app on my iPad and my pocket digital voice recorder are somewhere else. – more –