Brand YOU

Mar ‘24

By People Sorted

I’ve got some questions for you:

What do people say about you when you’re not in the room?
What do you want them to say?
And what’s the difference between those two answers?

If you’re not looking after brand-YOU, someone else will … with the wrong label.

Establishing credibility is the most powerful way to cut through the noise and show people who you REALLY are!

So, forget the boring profiles because it’s time to unleash brand YOU!

Your personal brand is how you promote yourself. It is the unique combination of skills, experience, and personality that you want the world to see. It is the telling of your story, and how it reflects your conduct, behaviour, spoken and unspoken words, and attitudes.

Beige to Brilliant

Let’s face it—HR can be seen as bland and boooorriiiing, but I’m all about bringing the joy and LOLs. That’s my personal brand—from beige to brilliant.

Through memes and hilarity, I’ve brought my whole colourful-sweary-sparkly self out to play, while still being a credible leader in HR!

And that is exactly what I am!

Your personal brand should follow you everywhere you go. It needs to be an authentic manifestation of who you are and amplify what you believe.

Tim Salau, Mentors & Mentees

How to find YOUR inner-AWESOME

Understanding what you stand for and why is key to building your personal brand and developing trust with potential clients, stakeholders and team members; and I’m here to guide you through it!

It can be difficult to get started, and you’ll need to invest some time, but it will be worth it when your reputation precedes you (in the right way); I’ve got nine questions for you that will help you understand who you are and what you stand for – all without sacrificing your boundaries!

Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.

Malcolm Forbes

1. What makes you, you?

No one can be a better you, than you are! No one can beat it!

What unique mix of skills, values, and experience do you have that is exclusive to you and that makes you stand out amongst your peers?

Can you negotiate new contracts whilst designing a whole new recruitment strategy, or calculate numbers and run people analytics in your head quicker than the head of finance? Or, is it that you can spot connections and simplify HR processes without breaking into a sweat?

Get to know yourself and communicate it so that everyone around you knows what you stand for!

2. What are your values?

What are your values? What attitudes do you hold that drive you forward every day? What beliefs make you who you are? How do your values fit with your company values?

Understanding your values and how they connect to the work you do is super useful because it means you get to be the real ‘you’ whether you’re at work or at home – which takes a whole lot less energy than pretending to be some other version of yourself!

It also means that you can use your values to help with decision-making, handling difficult situations, and thinking through what you want in life, so it’s a win-win!

Check out this awesome Values Tool from Amazing If

3. Who is your squad?

Who do you want to attract to your party? Think interests, dreams and even those funny memes that make you laugh. Craft content that makes them want to be part of what you’re offering!

It’s like selecting your favourite sweets in the pick ‘n mix. Take the ones you love and savour those. Why would you want to exhaust yourself trying to enjoy those you know you don’t like? You wouldn’t; they’d just end up a sticky mess at the bottom of the bag! It’s a waste of time, money, and effort.

4. What does success look like for you?

What is your ultimate career goal? What direction are you pointing in?

Are you wanting to reach for the next promotion, go it alone and start a new business venture, or are you happy where you are because everything is where it should be right now?

Knowing what you want will really help you to find your people and define your goals!

5. Who are your cheerleaders?

Who is on your cheer squad? Who are those people that really see you? Those that have your back and champion all you do?

Find them and surround yourself with them. These people – mentors, friends, your boss, etc. – are rocket fuel… you just need to light the right match!

For me, it’s my EPIC brood of HR enthusiasts – the HR Geek Squad – who fill me up every day with laughter and knowledge and share epic advice. It’s the best thing EVER!

6. What ignites your soul?

What do you absolutely LOVE to do?

It’s time to bring more of that to your work because an engaged you is a magical you!

Trust me, once you harness the sparks of magical energy that come from doing what you love, there’ll be no stopping you!

7. What’s your magical power?

What are you brilliant at? What is it that you do better than anyone else you know?

Your natural talents combined with your experience create your strengths – those things you do that make you stand out from the crowd. By understanding them, you will enjoy your work more because you’ll be doing much more of what you love, and you’ll be happier and more satisfied. You’ll also be much more likely to attract new and exciting opportunities because you know what you want to do – and those around you will know too!

8. How do you speak your truth?

When you communicate with your ‘squad’, about something that gives you the ‘feels’, how do you like to do it? What is meaningful for you?

Do you write a blog or a poem? Do you create a meme or a video? What tone do you use that feels just right?

Me? I love a meme with lots of colour and wit – that’s me! But what’s you? Understand this, and you’ll start connecting to the right people quicker than I can shout “Cards again Human Resources” on a Monday!

9. What’s your legacy?

What mark do you want to leave on the world? What’s your “why”?

Understanding your purpose gives you depth and will help you attract your people. It also gives you direction and allows you to see what to take on vs what to ignore or pass on.

“Authenticity begins with self-awareness”, and by getting vulnerable and digging deep into your soul, you’ll not only become the best version of yourself but also a better leader, manager, mentor and colleague – and that can only be a good thing for your career!

When people feel a sense of belonging and authenticity in the workplace, the organization thrives.

(Better Up)

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Geek Out on additional resources with People Sorted

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