Building Your Personal Brand: Find Your Voice

“Your personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room. It’s your professional reputation.” 

Dorie Clark

If you’re like me, the idea of “branding” yourself seems a little daunting. But discovering what makes you unique doesn’t have to be a gargantuan task.

To start, I’ll take you through an exercise to help you uncover the seed of your personal brand.

Grab a piece of paper, the notes app on your phone, or whatever is available, and write down the answers to these questions:

What am I good at doing?

What motivates me to get up in the morning?

What do people say I’m good at?

What do I want to be known for?

What impact do I want to have?

(If you’re having trouble answering, talk to a trusted family member, friend, or colleague. Ask them what they see as your strengths.)

Now that you’ve written these things down, let’s take a look at those last two questions: 

What do I want to be known for? 

What impact do I want to have?

With those in mind, how can any of the qualities or activities you listed in the first three questions help you accomplish the answers to the last two questions?

For instance, I want to be known as a force for good in the world, and I want to help people feel a greater purpose in their lives. I’m good at teaching, writing, spreading positivity, and breaking down complex ideas into digestible pieces. I wake up every morning excited to interact with others and create something exciting. 

I would say I’m uniquely good at the items I mentioned above, and what motivates me to get up in the morning is directly in line with the impact I want to have on the world. Knowing this, I can now build my personal brand—what I want to be known for—on these characteristics.

With this framework in mind, brainstorm what your personal brand could be. There is no right or wrong answer. Listen to your instincts and find what feels authentic to you.

For me, my personal brand could be a positive, creative mentor who helps make an impact in peoples’ lives and careers.

Your brand doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. It could just be attributes you want to be known by or the thoughts you want people to have when they think of you.

The work of a personal brand is never completely done. As you evolve, your brand will, too. If this exercise was difficult, take a few days to mull over these questions. Clarity may come at unexpected times.

Of course, if you need more than just this blog post to help you with your brand, our career coaches are more than qualified to guide you on this journey.

Happy discovering!

Sydney