Effective Personal Branding and Skills

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Effective Personal Branding and Skills
Competencies Required to be Successful in One's
Professional Career
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• Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.D.
• Visiting Fulbright Scholar
• Belarusian State University
• School of Business and Management of Technology
  MBA Program
• Assistant Professor of Management, Woodbury
  School of Business
• Email jon.westover_at_gmail.com jonathan.westover_at_u
  vu.eduAbout Me about.me/jonathan.h.westover

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Presentation Overview

• What skills and competencies do you need?
• What is personal branding?
• Branding yourself
• Why branding today?
• Getting started 7 steps for building a brand
• Branding yourself through your online presence

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Top 10 Qualities Employers Seek in Job Candidates
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Project Management Competencies
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Project Management Skills
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Top 16 Competencies
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8 Core Beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses

• Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield.
• A company is a community, not a machine.
• Management is service, not control.
• My employees are my peers, not my children.
• Motivation comes from vision, not from fear.
• Change equals growth, not pain.
• Technology offers empowerment, not automation.
• Work should be fun, not mere toil.
• Source http//www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/8-core-b
  eliefs-of-extraordinary-bosses.html

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What Do These Things Have In Common?

• The golden arches, the Nike swoosh, and an apple
  icon?
• These are all examples of brands of McDonalds,
  Nike and Apple computers

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People Can Brand Themselves Too

• Branding is not just for products anymore
• Use branding concepts for yourself.
• In this program you will learn how to establish a
  career brand for yourself.

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Branding Yourself

• Helps to define who you are/what you are about
• (or why an employer should hire you)
• Branding yourself is a way of associating great
  value with a product (the product being you)

• Branding yourself is not about getting an
  employer to choose you over your competition.
• It is about getting the employer to see you as
  the only solution to their problem

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Why Branding Today?

• Trust is essential in the corporate world
• People want to do business with and hire or
  promote people they know and feel good about

• 2. There has been change in what a traditional
  career path looks like
• People today change careers an average of 8 times
  during their lives
• Branding can be consistent throughout the changes
  (ex. Hard work and creativity can flow through to
  different occupations)

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• 3. There is also a change in the way people
  communicate
• Electronic communication doesnt allow
  personality to show
• (compared to face-to-face communication)
• Your first interview might be over the phone or
  your first communication with a potential
  employer could be over e-mail.
• This type of communication could make it
  difficult to express yourself.
• 4. Branding makes you more memorable in the midst
  of the different type of communication.
• If you can get an employer to associate positive
  traits with your application or communication,
  you will likely rise to the top of the applicant
  pool.

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Getting Started 7 Steps to Building your
Personal Brand

1. Self-reflection
2. Continuous Learning
3. Prepare marketing strategy
4. Build relationships
5. Prepare marketing pieces
6. Develop your pitch
7. Follow up

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Step 1 Self-reflection

• Before you start, you need to know what youre
  beginning with.
• Self-reflection will help you identify the tools
  you have and the areas you need to improve.
• Identify and list past accomplishments and
  achievements create a master list of all the
  good things youve done.
• This may include employment, internships,
  volunteer opportunities, leadership positions,
  civic involvement, or courses taken.
• Dont sell yourself short, spend some time
  reflecting on all the activities, and
  achievements youve taken part in
• Continue adding to the list each time you have a
  new experience

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• Identify areas in need of further development
• Once youve created your list of accomplishments,
  you can look for areas in which youre lacking
  experience
• Plan and focus on gaining new experiences
• This can come from many different sources
  internships, volunteering, workshops, etc.
• Next, identify what makes your product unique or
  different
• Whats your best asset? What are you noteworthy
  for? What do you contribute that you are most
  proud of?
• Ask your parents, friends, etc. to find an answer
  to that question
• Once you uncover your edge make sure you write
  it out and play it up as often as possible

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Step 2 Continuous Learning

• It is imperative that you regularly benchmark
  your skills against others and develop a plan to
  keep your skills on the cutting edge
• Continuous learning is essential to build your
  brand.
• Add a Degree (majors/minors) or certificate
• Attend conferences and workshops
• Spend time spent with a mentor

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Step 3 Prepare Marketing Strategy

• Mission statements are the backbone of a company
• By creating a personal mission statement, you
  will have direction for where you want your brand
  to go.
• Mission statements are short, descriptive
  statements of the common objective and focus of
  the organization.
• Keep your mission statement to no more than two
  or three sentences, or about 30 words.

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• Mission Statements
• End your statement with qualifying words and
  phrases to describe your mission.
• Example My personal career mission is to
  inspire and equip students to reach their
  maximum potential."
• "My personal career mission is . . . "
• Following are some examples
• "My personal career mission is to become a
  world-class aeronautical engineer in the
  commercial aviation industry."
• "My personal career mission is to gain experience
  in the public accounting field toward earning my
  CPA designation."
• "My personal career mission is to master the
  leading software development tools and gain
  greater understanding of e-business application
  development."

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• Mission Statements
• Your personal mission statement should be tightly
  focused toward the first three to five years of
  your career.
• You can give specifics about the job type and/or
  industry, as appropriate.
• This personal career mission statement will form
  the foundation of your career focus.
• A mental concept of your personal career mission
  statement is not enough. You should write it down
  and put it where you can see it every day.

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• Create a personal vision statement
• Your vision statement takes your mission
  statement a bit further by mentioning HOW you
  will complete what you intend to
• (as stated in your mission)
• Make sure you mention specific tactics you will
  practice or methods you will use.

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• Create a personal marketing plan
• Be visible to enhance your profile
• Volunteer
• Be involved
• Talk about your mission and your
  edge/talents/etc.
• Everything you do and choose not to do, can
  communicate the value of your brand
• E-mails you send
• How you conduct yourself in meetings
• Words you say
• How you dress
• Conversations you have
• Etc.

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Step 4 Build Relationships

• network is defined as group of people who
  exchange information, contacts, and experience
  for professional or social purposes.  (The Oxford
  Dictionary)
• Networking tips
• Word of mouth is powerful what are people saying
  about you?
• Keep in good contact with your network
• Always make sure your network knows of any recent
  successes
• Dont forget about potential networking circles
  friends, faculty, programs you are a part of,
  family, organizations
• Search out new professional associations or
  online communities to add to your network
• Find opportunities to weave your personal
  mission/vision statements into conversation with
  your network

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Step 5 Prepare Marketing Pieces

• Your promotional pieces should include
• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Personal References
• Consider how you will incorporate your
  mission/vision into your promotional pieces
• Consider how you will distribute these pieces
• Job search engines
• Distribute to family and friends
• Directly apply to an organization

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Step 6 Develop your pitch

• A formal interview is your opportunity to pitch
  your personal brand
• Tips
• Practice makes perfect (take advantage of the
  Mock Interview program)
• Dress appropriately and professionally
• Prepare (research the company and reflect on your
  skills and abilities)
• Dont be too modest (youre selling your product
  and you dont want to sell yourself short)
• Consider how you will incorporate your personal
  mission/vision statements into the conversation
• Your pitch can also occur in informal settings
• Conversations, e-mails, presentations, etc.

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Step 7 Follow up

• Good follow-up communication will assist in
  creating a positive association with your brand
• Return employers calls immediately
  (establishes trust)
• Respond to all requests (shows responsibility)
• Write a thank you note after interview
  (associates courtesy with your work)
• Write acceptance/decline letter upon accepting a
  job
• Keep in touch with your network

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Professional Web Space
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LinkedIn
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Visualize.me
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About.me Webpage
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Personal YouTube Channel
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Klout
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Peer Index
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Twitter
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QUESTIONS?

• Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.D.
• Visiting Fulbright Scholar
• Belarusian State University
• School of Business and Management of Technology
  MBA Program
• Assistant Professor of Management, Woodbury
  School of Business
• Email jon.westover_at_gmail.com jonathan.westover_at_u
  vu.eduAbout Me about.me/jonathan.h.westover