WEBVTT - Me, Myself and My Personal Brand 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:08.600 LinkedIn News. I really don't like when people say I 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:11.840 am an aspiring blank like people put it in their 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:16.520 bios all the time, aspiring copywriter, expiring executive, aspire. Maybe 0:00:16.560 --> 0:00:17.880 you already are the thing. 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:19.479 I say I'm an aspiring pastries. 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.040 You already are because you already used. You are because 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:25.119 think about it. You already go home, and you already cook, 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:27.320 and you already bake, and you already test it out. 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:29.600 The only difference between you and them is that they 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:31.640 have a restaurant. You don't have it yet. 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:36.040 From LinkedIn News and I heard podcasts, this is Let's 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:39.040 Talk Offline, a show about what it takes to thrive 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:42.960 in the early years of your career without sacrificing your values, 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:44.400 sanity or sleep. 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:46.840 I'm Giana Prudenti and I'm. 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:50.639 Jamaie Jackson Gadson. Recently, guys, I've been thinking a lot 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:55.840 about personal branding and more importantly, how everyone has a 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:59.320 personal brand. Yes, even you. I know it's super cringey 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:02.720 and it's kind of uncomfortable, but the reality is there 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:04.880 is something that someone is saying about you in some 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.440 room that you are not in Now. The great thing 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:09.920 is you can learn how to own that perception and 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:13.640 hopefully use it to your advantage. And crafting a personal 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.039 brand or narrative around your career and who you are 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:19.720 can also help lead to different connections, awesome opportunities, and 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.000 hopefully some money in the process. 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:25.479 So a few years ago, I had literally no idea 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.640 what a personal brand even was. I was like, where 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:31.119 do I even be in and what does it even 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:34.560 mean to have a personal brand. Luckily, I've learned a 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.040 thing or two since then, So don't worry. We're going 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:39.520 to break down how to think of yourself as a 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:42.080 brand and how to communicate who you are to the world. 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:54.520 Personal branding the branding of the personals, Gianna. I am 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.520 super excited for today's episode where we're going to be 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.920 talking all about personal branding. But I know some of 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:04.360 the listeners are probably like, what even is a personal 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:08.000 brand and why is it even important? So I know 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:11.400 you can google what a personal brand is, but I 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:14.280 want to share with you my definition. So, a personal 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:18.120 brand is like a unique combination of your skills, your experiences, 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:23.320 your values, and your personality traits that not only defines you, 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:28.080 but it also helps differentiate you from other people. This 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:30.400 is not only how you present yourself to the world, 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:33.600 but also how the world receives you. And I think 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:36.240 it's really important to remember that your personal brand can 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:40.679 encompass both your personal and your professional lives, which obviously 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:44.120 has some differentiation, but there's a lot of similarity. So 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:46.040 why is a personal brand important now? 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:46.320 For me? 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:49.079 I think that once you really have an idea of 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:52.519 what your personal brand is, it helps unlock new opportunities. 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:57.440 I mean this can be both financial opportunities, social opportunities, 0:02:57.520 --> 0:02:59.960 what have you. Because once people kind of know who 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.080 who you are, what you're about, and when you come 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:05.480 into a room what you stand on, they can actually 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.560 start to figure out is an alignment with this person's 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:11.600 brand or not. Jona, what do you think I've. 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.960 Kind of thought about my personal brand like a reputation. 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:16.720 I think that's been like the easiest way for me 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:21.040 to understand what can seem like a very abstract idea. 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:23.839 So it's like what somebody says about you when you're 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:26.799 not in the room, and whatever you're posting, whatever you're 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:30.079 putting out there, that message is building equity in your 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.720 name and being at like everything is online now, it's 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:37.400 literally the message somebody receives when they come across your 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.839 LinkedIn profile, Like when I see Jammay's LinkedIn profile, who 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:43.040 is she? What is her brand? What is her profile 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.480 telling me? So it's really how somebody sees and discusses 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.640 your work. And when you think about your personal brand 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:53.040 kind of like a career story, it becomes your unique 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:57.240 value proposition or your elevator pitch or literally the answer 0:03:57.320 --> 0:03:59.840 to tell me about yourself in an interview, which I 0:03:59.880 --> 0:04:03.160 know we all dread. And here's the thing, Like it 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.200 might sound like I know what I'm talking about, but 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.920 just a year or so ago, the idea of personal 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.000 branding felt so overwhelming to me. I had never really 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:14.960 heard about it, so I didn't know what it meant. 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:18.760 And in my role at LinkedIn, I've been given a 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:23.560 platform to build this brand around my coverage and I've 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:27.239 been able to build a following through consistent posting largely 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:29.839 tied to my work. So all my gen Z coverage 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:34.719 nothing too personal. And a year or so ago, people 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:37.760 started reaching out to me for speaking engagements and they 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:41.360 would say, Gianna, you have a really strong personal brand. 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:44.400 I would love for you to speak on personal branding. 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:46.000 And I was like, hold up. 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:49.400 What is my brand? 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:50.599 It was not. 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:53.360 I mean it was, but iden know where it was okay, 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:56.520 So I was like, okay, crap, what is my brand? 0:04:56.520 --> 0:04:58.560 What is it saying? Like what's the message out here? 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:02.080 And I remember even before that, somebody once asked me 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:04.360 in an interview like Gianna, who are you? And I 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.680 was like, oh my god, that's like the hardest, like 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:09.880 the easiest question, but so hard, like I'm a sister, 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.680 I'm a friend, like the most robotic, wacky answer. But 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.200 I hadn't given any thought to my personal brand, so 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:20.200 I couldn't really articulate that. So people were reaching out 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:23.000 about personal branding opportunities and I said to myself, it's 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.200 time to figure this out. So I did a lot 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:29.160 of research, which included a podcast episode that you were 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:32.400 on with my manager Andrew Seaman has get Hired podcasts 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.920 where you talked about personal branding. And you truly are 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:39.000 the queen in this space, and you've done such an 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:43.160 incredible job over your career building that in such a 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:46.599 way that sets you apart from other people. So I'm 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:48.719 just like completely in all of that as is, and 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:52.080 I'm so excited to chat with you today about how 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:54.520 you've you know, built that brand early on and how 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.440 that shifted throughout your career, because it's something I'm giving 0:05:57.480 --> 0:05:59.480 a lot of thought to now, so I would love 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:02.200 to know, like, when did you first think of yourself 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:04.400 as like, Okay, I'm Jimmay a brand. 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:06.599 I love that question, But first, let me take a 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:08.920 step back and say thank you. That means a lot 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:13.440 coming from you. I never really considered myself as a brand, 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:17.640 and I was at the time just creating, just to create, 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:19.600 and I really wanted to write about things that I 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:22.360 was passionate about. I had gone to college, I had 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:25.040 hung up my dream of being an actor at that time. 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.839 I look at baby, look at me now, even my 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:33.960 dog is in commercials ha. But so I was working 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:35.680 and I was like, okay, but I really like to write. 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:37.440 I like to research, and at that point I was like, okay, 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:39.680 I'm going to probably do something in the journalism space. 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.240 So senior year, I'm applying, applying, applying, and I'm not 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.240 getting anything back. By then, I was trying to get 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.280 to New York from DC, but I kept hitting this 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:52.400 wall and I started to get really frustrated. And after 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:56.159 having one experience with an editor who said that she 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.000 really liked my content, but she already had a black 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:03.440 girl on her team. I felt really ignited to talk 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:08.279 about race. And I was looking at people like Terry 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:12.440 Agans or Robin Gavon or these prominent black women who 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:15.760 were working at these credible outlets like The Wall Street Journal, 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:18.480 the Washington Post, and they were talking about fashion, but 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:20.600 they were talking about it in a way that wasn't 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:22.320 about the clothes. It was about what was happening in 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:24.640 the culture. And I said, I want to do that. 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.520 So I started my own blog because I was like, well, 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:29.120 if nobody else is going to give me a chance, 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:31.520 I'm going to do it myself. And so I started 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:34.080 The Blonde Misfit because I'm blonde, because I'm a natural blonde. 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:37.640 You guys don't ask no questions, okay, And so I 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:40.000 was writing essentially about what it felt like to be 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:43.400 a misfit, an outsider looking into an industry that would 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:48.920 not let me in. And that was the initial steps 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:53.520 of building community. Because really, I started the blog thinking 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:55.480 I'm only going to use this until I get my 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:59.080 foot in the door at Conde Nas or Hearst or whatever. 0:07:59.160 --> 0:07:59.280 Like. 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:02.520 I had no intention of keeping this blog up. But 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.240 what ended up happening was when I finally did get 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:08.320 to New York and I finally did get the job 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:12.080 right working at a fashion magazine. Everybody was like, wait, 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:14.080 you're just going to abandon us. You're not gonna keep 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:15.880 talking to us and telling us like how it is now, 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.640 and I was like, you know what, yeah. So then 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:20.800 the blog continue to take shape and I was style 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:23.640 sharing different stories about my life in New York and 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:26.239 making friends. When I first started to get on speaking 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:30.320 panels and it's really beautiful. I will just say that 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:32.920 the beauty of age is wisdom and getting to look 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:36.240 back and seeing over my life. How this started off 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:38.800 because you know, I started off with the blog because 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.280 I was a writer. But then what ended up happening 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:45.320 was then as the blog continued to pick up, other 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.280 websites wanted to profile me. So now I was getting 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:52.280 my name out there through press features. Then I started 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:56.440 getting invited to people's podcasts, and I was like, wait, 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:58.800 you want to hear me talk? Like I know you 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.120 guys probably would not believe this, but I never thought 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:04.720 people wanted to hear me or see me. I was 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.400 just behind a computer screen. And then people were like, 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:09.680 oh wait, this girl actually kind of can talk and 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:11.880 she can do some things. And then I started getting 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:15.439 invited to speak on panels, and then I started getting 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:17.960 invited to host panels, and so I just see all 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.600 of that to say that that day that I started 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:23.440 my blog, I never would have imagined that it would 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:28.120 turn into what it is today. But as time went on, 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.360 I had to learn that, yeah, I want to see 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:33.680 myself as a brand. I want myself to have brand colors, 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:35.920 I want myself to have a mission savement. I saw 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:39.120 myself as a Coca Cola or as a McDonald's, the 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:41.560 same way that you know that arch of McDonald's. I 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:43.920 wanted you to see the logo of my brand or 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:46.080 see the name and be like, oh, yeah, I know 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.920 what that is. And I just kind of put myself 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.760 in that mentality by just showing up. It was really 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:53.920 kind of fun because I got to capitalize on the 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:57.320 height of the blogging era and really putting myself out 0:09:57.320 --> 0:09:59.760 there perfecting it, putting out what I like to call 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:03.679 them minimal viable product and just perfecting over time. So 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:05.960 it really was never a thing where I thought I'm 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:08.320 a brand, but over time I was like, I can 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.560 monetize this and I can also build new things. So 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:14.439 this is really why I say your personal brand can 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.280 start one way, but over the course of your career, 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.520 you're going to constantly evolve and evolve and evolve. 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:25.319 I think that is something that is really refreshing and reassuring, 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:28.240 because first off, I didn't realize you started the blah 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:31.360 misfit like what ten plus years ago. Yeah, that's where's 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.640 coming up this year? Oh ten years that's like insane. 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.440 So it's grown so much, but what it started out 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:40.360 as is not what it is today. And you were 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:42.840 just documenting your journey and a lot of people, a 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:44.600 lot of gen Zers I speak to, were like, well, 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:46.440 I don't even know what to post about on LinkedIn 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.920 for example, but it literally is just posting your own journey, right, 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:53.640 Like that's unique to you. So you were going through 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:56.600 this time of struggle and you were open and Canada 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.880 about it, and it's snowballed into this big, beautiful thing 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:03.840 that throughout that time helped you get opportunities, which I 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:05.320 think is like the biggest thing when it comes to 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:08.400 personal branding is you just got to start somewhere and 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:11.240 you know, leverage your own experience when you do and 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:12.480 then those opportunities will come. 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:13.760 It's really a long term investment. 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:17.400 I absolutely agree. And I also think that authenticity is 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.560 the name of the game here because I'm not gonna lie. 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:22.839 When I first launched my brand, I was trying to 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:26.920 be the very cookie cutter fashion editor, always on point, 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:30.360 and I realized and it actually was my boyfriend at 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:33.400 the time now husband, who was like, this is weird 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:36.520 because who you are at brunch and who you're putting 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:39.280 out out here in the streets is two different people. 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:41.840 And I was like, but I can't be my most 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:44.480 authentic self out there. He was like, why not. If 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:47.520 they like you, which they do, you have to be 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:51.000 truthful and so yeah, when I first started, I did 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:52.640 not want to open up, but I did not want 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:55.280 to really tell the truth about a lot of things. 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:59.040 I wanted to control the narrative. The minute I started 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.760 to make those adjustments and showing people the real me, 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:05.560 that was really when my world opened up. And honestly, 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.760 the minute I started being more authentic in being more 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:11.440 of who I am truly, whether you liked it or not, 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:15.200 it really helped me build community and essentially a network 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:16.800 of people who look out for me. 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.040 Coming up after the break, we're going to talk about 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:24.079 what it takes to build your personal brand. Spoiler, all 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:25.080 it takes is being you. 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:39.040 That's next. 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:45.680 So we're back talking about personal branding one on one, 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:49.199 and as we know, that can be very confusing and 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:51.000 challenging to figure out when. 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:52.120 You're early in your career. 0:12:52.480 --> 0:12:54.320 There's still a lot I'm figuring out, even though I 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:56.720 spent the past few years, you know, trying to learn 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.320 what it takes to build a personal brand. And in 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:02.400 my coverage I speak to a lot of gen zers 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:06.560 who are also struggling with this, So I've compiled a 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:09.880 lot of their questions about how to even begin with 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:12.920 personal branding to asktimate to day is I'm putting you in. 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:13.439 The hot seat. 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:17.320 Oh god, I'm so excited. Are you ready? I'm We're here? 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:18.400 Maybe we're here. 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:21.120 I want to start off with first figuring out what 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:22.720 you want your personal brand to be. 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:24.480 How do you go about that? And is there an 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:28.000 exercise we can do totally? So I would say, first 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.560 ask yourself what would you like to be known for? 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.200 You know, if someone was just looking at a piece 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:35.800 of paper that had one or two sentences about you 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:39.040 and your unique value proposition, what would you want it 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:41.760 to say? So, Like, for the purposes of knowing that 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:43.640 we were going to talk about personal branding today, I 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.800 wrote out what my personal mission statement is. I said, 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.760 I champion diverse voices and empower black and brown artists 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:54.560 in the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries through authentic storytelling. 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:57.680 My mission is to show people that your dream life 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:01.480 is a life worth fighting for your elevator pitch. So 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.000 when it comes to personal branding, you want to figure 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:07.120 out what you want people to know you for. But 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:09.560 how to do that is really key here. So I 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.920 listed out three things that I think everyone can do. 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:15.439 So the first thing I wrote is that you should 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:19.080 identify your strengths and your passions. There's this really great 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.760 term called your zone of genius, which are things that 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:25.040 you are really really great at that also come easy 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:25.440 to you. 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:25.840 Right. 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:27.840 I always think we ought to be operating in our 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:30.280 zone of genius. Right, So if something comes easy to 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:32.320 you and it's natural, and you also happen to be 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:34.680 good at it, maybe that's also where you want to 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.160 pursue your career. The next thing I would say is 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:42.560 gathering feedback. Now, this one is where it can get fun. 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.480 It can also get kind of weird. But I was like, 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:48.600 if we're gonna get weird, let's get freaky, you know 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.880 what I mean? Go to your family, ask me to 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:55.920 see your family, your friends, maybe you're even your manager 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.840 or a trusted a person in your life. Right ask 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.840 them like, if you had to describe me in three adjectives, 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:04.720 what would they be? Because honestly, you can use those 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:08.800 adjectives to inform your personal vision statement, mission statement, however 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:11.800 you want to label it. You also want to start 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:14.520 asking people what do you see me as an expert 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:16.440 in or where do you see that I can add 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:18.520 value and impact because the reality is these are the 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:21.359 people who are seeing things about you that you don't see. 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.800 And honestly, even as scary as that is, the reason 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:26.400 why you want to do that is because you want 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:28.760 to make sure that what people see you as is 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:31.160 how you see yourself and how you want to be seen. 0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:33.880 And there sometimes can be a disconnect in those things, 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.440 which you want to figure out early on. The last 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.040 thing I will quickly say is refine your statement. You 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.360 might have to go through a couple of revisions, but 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:42.960 then you can share it with other people. You can 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:44.120 be like, what do you think do you think that 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:46.160 this matches up with who I am and how I'm 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:48.280 showing up. I think that's a great place to start. 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:50.040 And the great thing is this is something that is 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.400 industry agnostic. Everybody can do it. You can do it 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:55.560 in your first job, you can do it in your internship, 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:57.560 you can do it when you are the senior CEO. 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.640 Everyone should have a personal vision statement that goes back 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:01.600 to their personal brand. 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:05.880 Speaking of industries, I think something that makes people hesitate 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.040 when it comes to personal branding is that it feels 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:10.600 exclusive to people who are in creative roles like you 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.040 and I. So I'm wondering, what's your advice to people 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:16.280 who work maybe in like finance or healthcare? How should 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:19.640 they think about building a personal brand when they're maybe 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:21.240 not in such a public facing role. 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.000 That is such a great question, because I'm going to 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:26.640 tell you guys a little secret. A lot of people 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:29.800 make the mistake of thinking I am an extrovert. I 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.800 am an ambrovert, and I'm gonna say that because I 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:36.840 am extrovertive around people who I know. I obviously am 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.720 very extrovertive on social media. It's so much easier for 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:42.600 me to have social relationships than real ones, Like I 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:44.680 kid you not, I talk to the same four people 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:46.840 in my life. And I'm not joking when I say 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:51.120 it's literally for pretty much like it's like, it's pretty 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:54.880 bad I have to actually leave the house to socialize anyway. 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:57.680 But the reason why I say that is because I 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:01.120 think people make also the assumption and that personal branding 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:03.520 is so easy if you're an extrovert, and I totally 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:07.160 get that. But my advice for introverts as well as 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.439 people to your point who are in maybe less public 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:13.520 facing roles, is understand that your personal brand exists whether 0:17:13.600 --> 0:17:16.680 you want it to or not. What we're discussing here 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.879 is you having the power to determine what that brand is. 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:21.600 People are going to talk about you no matter what 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.040 I would say. Don't necessarily think that personal branding means 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:27.000 you always have to be external, you have to have 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:29.639 a large social media presence that you have to be 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.840 posting all the time. It's really about controlling the narrative, 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:36.920 I would say, and really making sure that again, how 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:41.080 you want to come across is being communicated. So personal 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:44.000 branding still matters, right, You can still if you work 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:47.800 in finance. You can absolutely create content, maybe even sharing 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.680 it on LinkedIn about how you do audits or how 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:54.400 you are getting your CPA license, or maybe you've decided 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.880 you want to go back for your MBA. Like there 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:00.159 is so much content and just the everyday thing, and 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:03.880 really I would say, we want to see the journey. Yeah, 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:06.560 I don't want to just see a quote unquote overnight success, 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:09.199 because anyone who's been an overnight success is really at 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.960 least twenty years in the making. Like, so take the 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:13.960 pressure off of yourself to think that you have to 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:17.000 be this inflated Like I get it. I wear pink 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.520 blazers with feathers, I get it. I am a very 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:22.560 like bold, out there person. But you don't have to 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:24.679 be to be successful. You just have to be you 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:27.320 and even just share a little bit of the journey 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:28.600 in the process. Yeah. 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:31.200 I think when you think about it as your career story, 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:35.479 it's really how you sell yourself in networking conversations. When 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:37.680 you're reaching out to people, let's say, over LinkedIn, how 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:39.960 do you explain who you are you know, in the 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:42.800 context of your professional life in interviews? How do you 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:46.159 position yourself across your cover letter and resume, Like, what 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:48.520 is the message people are getting when they look at 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:50.800 those materials when they look at your LinkedIn profile. So 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:53.120 I think that's like the way to kind of think 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:54.639 about it if you're not somebody. 0:18:54.359 --> 0:18:55.840 Who's like, I'm ready to post right now. 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:58.400 Yeah, totally, And I would definitely add to that that. 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:01.280 Really it's just about starting with where you are at 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:05.080 right now and understanding that you have something unique to 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.960 add to this conversation and that is also part of 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:08.800 your personal brand. 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:10.919 I want to bring up a question from one of 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:13.919 our listeners. Next this is Dear work Bestie, where we 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:19.000 answer your questions. This week's comes from Morgan and Nevada. 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:21.840 A question I have as a gen Z professional entering 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:25.200 the workforce is how can you start establishing a reputation 0:19:25.440 --> 0:19:28.159 and credibility early in your career as you're building a 0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:31.280 personal brand. Especially with social media and the Internet, it's 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:33.600 made it easier to put yourself out there, but it 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:35.720 also feels like there's more to consider when you're trying 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:37.760 to figure out what your personal brand is. 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.600 I love Morgan's question because figuring out what you want 0:19:42.600 --> 0:19:44.720 your personal brand to be is only the first step. 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:47.000 And we talked about that before you then have to 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:47.800