So Tell Me About Yourself: Personal and Professional Branding for LIS Students and Professionals

© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

So Tell Me About Yourself –

Personal and Professional Branding for

LIS Students and Professionals

Scott Brown & Kim Dority

SLA Rocky Mountain Chapter

December 20, 2012

1


What is a brand

and

why should I care?

2


3


4


A professional brand is NOT about…

• Creating a phony “persona”

• Pretending to be someone you’re not

5


It IS about showcasing the best of who you are –

• Strengths in areas you care about

• Shaping others’ assumptions about your ability to contribute, add value

6


You take your brand with you – no matter where you go

7


Why your professional brand

is really important

to your career


Provides stability and continuity in the midst

of workplace, economic chaos


Helps shape how people are willing to let you contribute –

Should they trust your judgment?


Positions you in the path of opportunity…

even when you have no idea

where those opportunities

will be throughout

your career


You have a professional brand whether or not you “own” it….

…you must realize that if you aren’t managing your own professional image, someone else is. People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your

competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace. It is only wise to

add your voice in framing others’ theories about who you are and what you can accomplish.

– Laura Morgan Roberts


Key brand characteristics –

what should a professional brand

say about you?


Competencies –

What do you do –

or are you learning to do –

really well?


Standards –

What are your expectations of how you

deliver those competencies?

What level of performance should others expect from you?


Style –

How do you communicate and

interact with others?

Not just first impressions, but your ongoing relations with classmates, co-workers, bosses, customers, etc.


How do you start building

or continue to build your

professional brand…

while in college – and beyond?


Think of all your interactions and connecting points….

• Co-workers

• Faculty

• Administration

• Advisers

• Mentors

• Guest speakers

• Fellow association/committee members

• Classmates

Then consider the impact of…


• Your language

• Your clothing

• Your contributions as a student, co-worker, volunteer

• Your public communication, especially online

• Your attitude


Pop quiz:

What’s

your brand?


What core values do you want

people to associate

with you?


What passions do you want

to go public with?


What talents and skills

do you want others

to think of when they think of you?


What if you’re just

starting out in

your career?


Easy to work with,

plays well with others


Strong team participant,

whether as leader

or team member


Enthusiastic and energetic –

Someone who contributes

positive energy to the

work environment


Someone whose judgment

can be trusted


Reliable –

• Meets deadlines

• Willing to help others

• Handles pressure well

• Shows up ready to engage, physically and mentally


Confident enough in your

own skills and knowledge to

understand and respect

the value of others’


Key take-away…

The quality of the opportunities you get correlates directly to the work you’ve done building your personal brand.

Strong brand builders get great mentors and solid networks, and those tools, in turn, build stronger brands.

In a world where there are no more corporate ladders to land on, your brand is the platform your career will stand on.

- Penelope Trunk, author/career columnist


Bottom line:

Who do you want the world – especially potential employers –

to know you as?


Social tools give you another means of building your brand in

the world

33


Social Media and Branding 101

Using social media to build

professional visibility

34


Branding with social tools

• Visibility, awareness, access

Layers of presence and visibility

Multiple access points to you

• Reinforce YOUR brand

Demonstrate your expertise, knowledge, personality

• Enhance opportunities and “serendipity”

Attract potential employers, colleagues, and clients to you

35


Owning your brand – and your future

• What are your passions?

• What are your skills?

• What do you want to learn?

• What do you really want?

• Where do you want to grow?

36


And so…

How can you demonstrate your passions and your expertise?

• LinkedIn?

• Blog?

• Tweet?

37


Which is best for you?

LinkedIn

• “Resume or CV on steroids”

• Connection is key

Blogs

• Professional online journal

• Content is key

Twitter

• Personal news feed

• Connection, content and speed are key

38


What would you share?

• Articles, books, reports, items of interest (not just your stuff)

• Resources

• Services

• Interests

• Promote others’ events, content

• Interesting stuff

• Fun stuff

Most importantly: Add your perspective – this is what makes you stand out

39


Owning your brand – and your future

MAKING yourself relevant

by SHOWING UP

and DEMONSTRATING your

PASSION, VALUE, and EXPERTISE

40


Resources The 10Ks of Personal Branding. Kaplan Mobray, iUniverse, 2009.

Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand. William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson, Wiley, 2007.

Get Slightly Famous. Steven Van Yoder, Bay Tree Publishing, 2007.

Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success. Dan Schwabel, Kaplan, 2009.

Managing Brand You: 7 Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self. Jerry S. Wilson, AMACOM, 2008.

Self-Promotion for Introverts: The Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead / Nancy Ancowitz, McGraw-Hill, 2009.

You Are a Brand! How Smart People Brand Themselves. Catherine Kaputa, Davies-Black, 2006.


What are your next three steps?

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#1: Evaluate your current brand #2: #3:


Questions?

43


Thank you!

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Please don’t hesitate to contact us!

[email protected]

[email protected]

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