In a tough job market you’ll have to do something to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd. When you’re competing against the odds you have to ask yourself, “How can I stand out when there are so many other candidates looking at the same job?” 

The answer is to “brand yourself.”  This means is you have to discover what makes you unique. 

Let’s assume that you have an outstanding resume and you’re able to schedule an interview — you, and maybe nine or 10 other equally qualified people for the position. 

Because companies have so many candidates to choose from they interview more people so that they can select the “best.” When you’re lucky enough to interview it’s essential that you be ready to sell yourself —let the interviewer know what makes you unique, what added value you can bring to the position, what makes you memorable. Your goal is to leave behind an impression of your “brand.”

By doing some basic preparation, you can determine your uniqueness and where you should focus your attention. 

The first step in this process is to identify your five areas of strength. 

• What is your area of expertise?

• What are your strengths?

• What is your work ethic?

• What would your co-workers or former bosses say about you?

In order to help you through this process use this Branding Exercise. Use whatever application works best for you to do this exercise — paper, pencil, spreadsheet, Word document — the point is to get it down in writing. 

List degrees, special training, certifications, overall years of experience, years in a particular type of position or specialty. 

 

Next, what is your area of expertise? What do you know a great deal about? 

“My expertise is in …in my capacity I handle all …I have worked on $...projects, deals...I am fluent in ...broad range of experiences in ...including analyzing …evaluating …I’m knowledgeable about …I use this knowledge to … I also have a strong sense of….”

These skills can be viewed as transferable — you can take them with you to any job you hold. 

This is how you excel in being the type of person or employee who has what it takes to get the job done. These skills are sometimes referred to as the “soft skills” – but there is nothing soft about these skills when it comes to putting your “brand” together. You want a good clear image of yourself - the whole picture. 

Examples of these skills are your communication and people skills, or your time-management and project-management skills, or your ability to build strong relationships or your ability to influence others. 

This is a good place to think about your work ethic, loyalty, integrity, and overall disposition in the office. Do you get along well with most coworkers?  Think about previous performance appraisals and what was said or written about you? What would your co-workers or ex-bosses say about you? 

Maybe you never miss deadlines, or perhaps you go above and beyond what is asked, or have a great attitude. Sometimes letting the interviewer know that you have a great sense of humor helps lighten the environment — especially during tense situations. 

All these things make you the person that you are – a unique “brand” of a person. 

(Don’t dismiss these traits. Many  people have been fired for negative personal traits rather than for lack of knowledge).

When you have identified your five unique areas, try your hand at writing yourself a statement about yourself using this information. 

By focusing on five areas of strength, you’ll become more focused and feel more confident and in turn become more “remembered.”