friends with brands
During CHICKS2015, I gave a 30-minute presentation about the importance of personal branding. Nearly 75 students gathered in the room to learn about a concept that is foreign to most people outside of the marketing and communications realm. This was a meaningful moment for me because just a few months ago, I learned this valuable lesson in New York at Most Promising Multicultural Students.
Identifying my personal brand was both a professional and personal "aha" moment. I encouraged the attendees of my conference session to do some soul-searching to find what makes them them. I have attached my PowerPoint presentation for kicks, as well as a list below of my "friends with brands."
These are just a couple of young professionals doin' their thing. It's important for everyone to understand that whether you know it or not, you already have a brand. People already have impressions of you. With the advancement of Internet stalking, employers will know loads about you before they even shake your hand. I believe that a personal website is the landing page for first impressions; if done correctly, it will sum up your achievements, personality, style and tone in a sophisticated way.
If you love to make things look cool like I do, take your personal brand a step further. Visually brand yourself with a color scheme and logo to use across your resume, website, business cards and stationery. Let this part reflect your personality and style. My greatest inspiration comes from Pinterest. Check out some of my boards, and search for your own using key words like branding, design, resume design, business cards.