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One Sunday afternoon, Jim (my husband, not his real name) and I ended up watching "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and "Kendra" on E. Personally, I am a fan of what I like to call "high end" reality TV: Top Chef, Amazing Race...you know, the good stuff. Kim Kardashian and her family and Kendra are not my usual TV fare, but their lives sucked me in for an entire afternoon that I will never get back.
The most interesting episode in our mini-marathon of "quality" reality TV was Kim K.'s trip to Vegas for "work", which consisted primarily of having her hair and makeup done professionally, then appearing at a nightclub speaking for a minute and a half, and partying. Then Kim left Vegas the next day and shot a Carl's Jr. commercial where she proceeded to eat junk food while looking sexy. Am I a tad jealous that this is her work life? Um, heck yeah! I loved how earnestly she yelled about needing to have a drama free environment in her hotel suite because she had to be prepared for "work." Mind you I am watching all of this after watching Kendra, yet another "celebrity" who I am barely familar with other than seeing her mug on newsstands. Both of these women got me thinking, "Why are you famous? Why??!!!" More importantly, these ladies made me think about the idea of personal branding.
While I don't really vibe on the whole celebrity thing I will say this: folks in the entertainment industry know how to hustle; and in the words of the ever-articulate Jay-Z, I can't knock their hustle. But seriously, actors, celebutantes, etc. can teach the rest of us a thing or two about handling our careers. They have found a way to package themselves and make themselves marketable to the point where their lives are broadcast to a nationwide for reasons unknown. Whatever career path we decide to follow, we really do need to have some form of personal branding. It doesn't need to take the form of a Carl's Jr. commercial and a reality TV show, but just like Kim, Khloe, Kourtney and Kendra, we need to find ways to market ourselves as we make our way through our careers.
So what is this whole "personal branding" concept? At this point, based on what I've observed, it seems to me that personal branding is being able to articulate and cohesively sell "You" based on combination of your interests and skills. The central question for figuring out your personal brand is: What skills do I bring to the table in a certain topic area or interest category? Are you a great sports writer? Do you love Japanes origami projects and could easily plan a mass folding party? Do you have extensive knowledge of Zulu basketweaving and can speak to large groups about this topic (By the way, I have some fabulous Zulu baskets in my apartment. Love them!)?
Since this is my second go around at career change (we'll sort of), I've had to think about who I am in the work world a few times. I do have a sense of what my skills are. It's the whole interests part that gets me. I've got too many interests! Travel, food, overall lifestyle stuff, sports! Plus I've got this blog! Ack!
One thing I am more confident about is what skills I bring to the table. You should be too. If you're walking down the street or stopped a stoplight for those of you who drive everywhere, and someone asked you what you do well, would you be able to tell them? If you're wondering what your skills are, a very, very simple exercise is to think about past activities you've participated in including when you were a child (those are actually sometimes the most authentic in my book because as kids we're the most free and exploratory. We hold nothing back. Wouldn't that be cool now?). What did you enjoy about those activities? What skills were you using? Singing? Organzing and planning? Analyzing complex issues? Figuring out puzzles? Don't censor yourself either! Everything counts.
Since this is my second go around at career change (we'll sort of), I've had to think about who I am in the work world a few times. I do have a sense of what my skills are. It's the whole interests part that gets me. I've got too many interests! Travel, food, overall lifestyle stuff, sports! Plus I've got this blog! Ack!
One thing I am more confident about is what skills I bring to the table. You should be too. If you're walking down the street or stopped a stoplight for those of you who drive everywhere, and someone asked you what you do well, would you be able to tell them? If you're wondering what your skills are, a very, very simple exercise is to think about past activities you've participated in including when you were a child (those are actually sometimes the most authentic in my book because as kids we're the most free and exploratory. We hold nothing back. Wouldn't that be cool now?). What did you enjoy about those activities? What skills were you using? Singing? Organzing and planning? Analyzing complex issues? Figuring out puzzles? Don't censor yourself either! Everything counts.
Don't worry I might do this little exercise too, even though the idea of it doesn't necessarily sound fun. Is it okay that I like to give advice more than take it? :) I am still learning much of this myself, and personal branding is so much more than what I have said here. It's such a foreign concept to me, and even I wonder if there is application to every career (people who swear by it say so).
Here are some great personal branding resources:
Once you've figure out your "brand" Gary Vaynerchuk's book Crush It is apparently the Bible of putting your brand to work.
Anyway, a big shout out to Kim. I guess :)
Have you thought about your personal brand? Does this sound like a lot of Gobbledeeguck? You can say yes. :)
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1 comment:
What a helpful entry to get us thinking about how best to present ourselves. I've had to re-evaluate recently my career path, and asking the tough questions eventually led to a decision that I am now perfectly at peace with. I'm going to have to flag this entry to come back to it time and again :o)
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