A personal brand starts with a personal branding statement. A personal branding statement should be the backbone of your entire brand. It should sum up your intentions, your goals, your strengths, and your passions. It should be purposeful, succinct, and no longer than a few sentences you can comfortably use when introducing yourself to others. Yet, as simple as it sounds, crafting the perfect personal branding statement can be an intimidating task. Career coach Michael S. Seaver recently wrote a great guide simplifying the personal branding statement writing process.
Here are the components that make a great personal branding statement:
1. Begin with a big picture purpose
Everything about your personal branding statement should be purposeful. Specifically, the first portion of your statement should tell of your intentions in a grander scheme. Telling others with confidence what mark you will leave on the world is no easy task and takes some personal reflection. Ask yourself, what can I do and who can I become? How will I better the world around me? This, Seaver explains, should be a permanent and static declaration.
This first segment of your personal branding statement, which is sometimes identified as an intention statement, can be tricky to whittle down to such a definite declaration. However, by simply writing this down you’re already empowering yourself with focus and holding yourself more accountable, according to Empowering Personal Development. Business coach Kim DeYoung also has some great advice on brainstorming and crafting a strong intention statement.
2. Include your short-term aspirations
After dissecting your big picture purpose, take your perspective into the next three to five years, suggests Seaver. This next portion of your personal branding statement should focus on your personal goals for the next few years. These goals should compliment your big picture purpose but hone in on smaller, more tangible goals for your professional success. Ask yourself, what could you do in this time frame that would make you feel accomplished and satisfied? What would be a good representation of your brand? Whether it’s moving up in the workplace, mastering new skills, or finally starting that new project, select goals that are both challenging and achievable.
Planning out short-term goals for yourself that align with your personal branding statement is a good way to gain momentum for the long run.
3. Add your interests
Sometimes personal branding statements can become too impersonal. Your passions and interests can say quite a bit about who you are and what drives you. Ask yourself, what makes you lose track of time? What can you concentrate on and achieve with a great sense of satisfaction? What makes you step up to a challenge?
For example, maybe your interest is running because you like to push yourself to meet race goals and top a personal best. This demonstrates your persistence and determination. Whatever your interests are, reflecting on what about them interests you is another component essential to your personal branding statement, says Seaver.
4. Sum up with your strengths and skills
The final portion of a personal branding statement should highlight exactly who you are what makes you different. Identify your strengths and best qualities. A good way to get an honest perspective on yourself is by asking those around you. Seaver also suggests examining your LinkedIn profile. What are your top endorsed skills? What have others said about you in your recommendations?
A good way to clarify your working habits is through differentiating yourself from others. What role do you play in a group setting – are you the one calling the shots, the one making sure all voices are heard, or the one suggesting an idea outside the box? How do you best work – independently or collaborating with others? What skills have you demonstrated and utilized in past experiences? Knowing and articulating a few key strengths and skills is essential to your personal branding statement.
5. Utilize your personal branding statement
All in all, your personal branding statement should be no longer than three or four sentences. It should be concise and something you can comfortably share when meeting others. Most importantly, it should be an accurate representation of your brand and those around you should know it!
Making your personal branding statement is half the work. Now you have to share it with the world. After all, a personal branding statement is no good if nobody knows about it. Share it with new acquaintances, reiterate your newly refined statement to coworkers, friends, and family, and publish it online to officialize it.
The perfect place to showcase your statement for the world to see is on a Squarespace website. Squarespace websites are easy to set up and they offer great network support. Squarespace will make your brand stand out from the crowd with award-winning design and mobile compatibility. A website that looks professionally crafted will be the perfect compliment for your personal branding statement.
Make sure to check out Josh’s Anatomy of a Personal Branding Statement infographic for more insight and share with us your own personal branding statement. Start the conversation and leave a comment below!