Giving Up Center Stage for Effective Personal Branding

The following is a guest article by Melissa Cooley, one of the most engaging bloggers on the web.  Enjoy the article and check out “The Job Quest” at MelissaCooley.com for wisdom on how to find a job and advance your career.

Personal branding requires much introspection.  You have to think of things such as:

• Who do I want as my target audience?
• What message am I trying to convey to that audience?
• How can I best showcase my talents?
• What do I ultimately want to achieve?
• How can people help me?

And the me-centric list of questions goes on.

In an article entitled Personal Branding Essential, it said, “People working on their personal brand sometimes seem a little snake-oil salesy-like.”

Ugh… Doesn’t that just sound slimy to you?  Like someone actively promoting his/her personal brand  could come across as a used car salesperson trying to sell you a lemon.

“But, wait a minute,” you might say, “I’m working on my personal brand, and I have a lot to offer!  I don’t seem that way, do I?”

Well, hopefully not.  But you might.  Really, it can be easy to do when you spend so much time thinking about yourself.

So how do you do personal branding the right way?

For a good example, let’s look at Bobby McFerrin.  Yes, THAT Bobby McFerrin.

Pamela Wilson wrote about a recent Bobby McFerrin concert that she attended.  The experience was not what she had expected, and was probably unlike any other concert out there.  Here, let me provide you some snapshots of Pamela’s account of the concert to give you an idea of why it was so unique:

“Bobby comes out, sits down, takes a sip of water, and brings the microphone to his mouth. He starts to sing, softly at first, then louder…

“Then he turns that spotlight around…he asks if we know ‘Ave Maria.’ We all laugh…He begins to sing an accompanying melody…The hall fills with the sound of the audience singing ‘Ave Maria.’ It’s beautiful.

“Bobby pulls his chair over to the edge of the spotlight. He says, ‘…I want to ask if there are any dancers in the audience…’  Four people make their way to the stage.  Each one takes a turn dancing in the middle of the spotlight, while Bobby, off to one side, improvises music that they respond to with their bodies.”

Think about this – here is Bobby McFerrin, world-renowned singer.  He steps into the spotlight with no fanfare, and then he drags his seat to the periphery so he can use his wonderful talents to provide backup to the audience members’ performances.  He helps them reach their latent desires to perform and feel proud of their accomplishments.

Wow.

Following Bobby McFerrin’s model is an excellent way to promote your personal brand when you are networking or in an interview:

1.  When talking about your background and skills, do so in a basic, matter-of-fact way. Yes, be prepared to give examples of your work that represent you well, but there’s no need to be a braggart about it.  That just makes you look, well, like a conceited, self-absorbed jerk.

2.  “Turn the spotlight around.” In both networking and interviewing, it’s good for you to engage the other party – find out what’s happening with them, what’s going well, what needs some help, what really matters to them.  Ask questions that will allow you to learn more, and then really listen to what they have to say.

3.  Instead of jumping back to center stage when they have answered your questions, stay on the fringes and demonstrate how you can complement their efforts. Maintain a focus on them and show them how your combined talents can help them reach their goals and possibly shoot even beyond them.

By keeping these three principles in mind when promoting your personal brand, prospective employers and new networking contacts won’t avoid you like they would some shifty salesperson.  In fact, they will be clamoring to help you reach your job search and career goals.

Related Posts

• Personal Branding Through the Eyes of an Introvert
• Fear Factor: How to Face Any Work Situation with Confidence
• 7 Tips for Personal Branding in a Socially Networked World
• 5 Ways Undergrads Can Build a Brand Through Social Media (And You Can Too)

Tagged as: Guest Article