What's Your Personal Brand

In my last blog I discussed how to conduct a personal S.W.O.T. analysis, an exercise businesses use to assess themselves and competitors to formulate strategies. This week's topic is about another process companies use that you can apply to yourself and your career...branding. Developing a personal brand is similar to product branding.

I recently attended an event in which someone discussed the important of personal brand. Personal brand, she said, is important as you continue to climb the corporate ladder. But, what if you're not where you want to be? Blogs are a great way to increase your visibility and build your personal brand empire.

I don't know about you, but I love to attend conferences. There are many reasons why but here is my top three: Personal Brand Networking Personal Brand Conferences are not only excellent opportunities to learn, but also to build your personal brand. Last week, I had the opportunity to present with Veronica Steele how higher...

The boy never thought he'd be able to communicate with others. He developed a stutter that was so severe, he chose not to speak at all. As a matter of fact, he remained functionally mute for eight years--until a high school English teacher took notice of the boy's gift for poetry.

In a rapidly changing work environment, creating and nurturing your own personal brand is more important than ever. (Photo: Thinkstock) Story Highlights Determine your strengths and weaknesses Leverage your experience and try out new possibilities Craft a narrative and create content that illustrates your expertise What's your personal brand?

This week, I helped one of my coworkers who is a self proclaimed introvert with his LinkedIn profile. As we began to talk, I realized some of our conversation would make a great post on how introverts can tell their personal brand story using LinkedIn.

Gini Dietrich I love Mexican food. If I could eat it every day, I would. I used to try to limit it to once a month, but I decided a couple of years ago, I exercise enough, I can eat it once a week.

Anna Rydne Gollum, also known as Sméagol, obsessed with the ring in the Lord of the Rings, is most often thought of as a small slimy creature, mostly evoking disgust among those he's in contact with. Looking a bit closer, however, Gollum is not an entirely one-dimensional character.

In the workforce, having a successful career can often be about personal branding and forging connections with others in the industry. But these things can be tough for introverts, who are naturally prone to desire time alone, prefer personal reflection and thought, and are often very shy.

Not long ago, Dave Cutler faced a nerve-wracking experience too many others can relate to: he got laid off. Rather than get spooked, though, he set his sights on starting a new chapter in his career - namely in social media.

Take all the rules with a grain of salt. I ' ve seen not only with my own blog, but with some of the most notable blogs in the world, that sometimes the rules don ' t apply. I focus on providing great content and let everything else take care of itself.

The catch cry of personal branding experts is "authenticity!" But sometimes it can be hard to know how much information is too much - when authenticity gets a little too true-to-life - in your personal branding efforts.

Composing the story of your personal brand is much like the story of a product or service's brand - the goal is to reach your audience on an emotional level. In my opinion, the pros of the digital age greatly outweigh the cons, but the simplicity of creating your own brand online calls for a lot of untrustworthy and lackadaisical sources.

I'm learning to belly dance. Okay, that's totally overstating it. I'm wiggling to music in what is labeled a belly dancing class. I've found that I enjoy the constant movement, manipulating my limbs and taking any excuse I can to be silly. But more fun than the belly dancing is the instructor.

Let me guess, you're an honest person. You know what you're talking about. And your clients, your friends, and your colleagues trust your advice. But online things seem different. How can you demonstrate that you're competent, credible, and trustworthy? Gaining trust online may seem difficult. But it doesn't need to be.

Why Is Storytelling Important? It's A Necessary Business Skill. Do it well and you'll surpass your competition. Tom Peters makes a memorable point about storytelling's importance especially during senior executive presentations: MBAs -- Become Better Storytellers. John Byrne published What Business Really Thinks of the MBA in his Poets & Quants Website.

Social media is everywhere - and since there's no escaping, you might as well learn to leverage it best for your personal brand! Now more than ever, employers are using social media to not only screen applicants, but hunt for potential candidates.

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