It used to be that the only individuals who cared about having a brand were celebrities. Then along came Tom Peters and his 1997 article, The Brand Called You, declaring that each one of us has a brand and challenging us to figure it out and promote it. In that article, he said, “…if you’re really smart, you figure out what it takes to create a distinctive role for yourself – you create a message and a strategy to promote the brand called You.” In that article, he also defined a brand as “a promise of value.”
Peters wrote the article and later a book. It became a whole thing. And this was before we even had social media to use to promote our personal brands. But he was right. We’ve always had a personal brand even when the main ways we could express it was through a resume, a cover letter, or how we introduced ourselves to others.
So, really, why does a personal brand even matter… that is, other than everyone is doing it so you must do it too? Why, if a potential employer has your resume and can see your experience, does all this stuff about personal branding matter?
There are two reasons why it matters.
Reason number one is that knowing and being able to articulate your personal brand affects your job search. Even if they don’t ask it directly during an interview, potential employers really do want to know your answers to questions like “Why should I hire YOU?” and “Are YOU the one we need to choose for this role?”
Whether you would like to admit it or not, a job search is a selling process. You’re out there promoting the idea of YOU… of Brand YOU. You possess a blend of skills, education or training credentials, talents and traits, work and life experience, and inner wisdom that makes you unique. It’s YOUR unique promise of value – YOUR personal brand. And, of course, how you market that during your job search is very important. When you know what you bring to the table, you can better communicate how you match up to the opportunity at hand.
Reason number two is that knowing and being able to articulate your personal brand impacts your career goals. Long after you’ve landed the job, you’ll still be promoting Brand YOU as you impress your managers and get new projects and roles within the organization. Is your personal brand moving you forward in your career? If you are using it wisely, it should. However, what if you don’t really know what your brand is – is that keeping you stuck? It might not be the only reason you’re stuck, but it might help explain a lot.
If you are unconscious of your personal brand, your goals will not be controlled by you. Your goals will be dictated by what others need you to be and do for their goals. On the other hand, when you are conscious of your personal brand, you can use it to make decisions – to weigh opportunities and design your present and future course. You can consciously decide if your goals align with their goals.
Essentially, your personal brand is a narrative about you that you get to consciously use, control, and project. When it comes to applying it for your career, you get to control and project that narrative when you introduce yourself to people, as well as on your resume, especially in the summary section at the top of your resume.
Then, once the way you’ve articulated your brand has helped you to land an interview, you’ll get to say more about it, expand on it. You’ll discuss what they need and determine how your unique promise of value will make a difference for them. You’ll use what you know about yourself and your unique promise of value to make the decision to take their offer… or later to take the promotions that come your way.
If you truly want to empower yourself and take control of your career, then you can see why personal branding matters.