Personal Branding

Personal branding has been very hyped up lately, and for good reason. Many people who feel marginalized by the idea of branding themselves now understand that it is inescapable. We all exist as brands, whether we like it or not. That means you Mr. Postman and you Mr. Lawyer! The first step to branding success is to accept that you’re a brand. Like corporate and product brands, you’re able to use the same marketing strategies to build your brand, get recognized and leverage it to either sell products, get a job or become a celebrity in your niche. There are two main reasons why individuals, like you and me, are labeled as brands.

Why we have brands

• We’re all judged based on impressions. And the first impression usually depicts whether you end up dating a girl or guy or whether you get a job or not. Offline, just about everyone we meet will analyze us and decide whether they want to be friends or not. Sometimes it may be on appearance alone and other times, it could be based on a single conversation. People label us based based on personality, appearance and what we actually do for a living. Online, first impressions work quite differently because our brands are spread out on social networks, blogs and more. The first time someone “meets us” could be after searching for your name on Google or Facebook. Based on the first result for your name on Google, they will make a decision whether they want to talk to you or not. Based on your Facebook picture, you may have another contact or not. In this way, we are attracting and repelling certain types of people, without feeling the pain of rejection (one reason why people like online dating).

• We’re all salespeople. People typically don’t purchase product brands that they haven’t heard of. You won’t get opportunities from those who have never heard of your name and in the same respect, you’ll have trouble securing venture capital if you can’t sell your product (and yourself). At work, we have to sell our ideas to our management, in order to take on new projects and prove ourself. Even with our circle of friends, we are forced to influence them to go see a certain movie or grab a bite to eat. We sell everyday, yet most of us don’t look at ourselves in the mirror and say “I’m in sales.”

What this means for us
A brand is an opportunity to have meaning in your life and to stand out from everyone else around the world. You, yes you, have unique attributes that no one else has. Some of you have discovered what you’re strengths or talents are, while others have either been afraid to reveal them or are still trying to locate them.
The idea of “brand you” (i.e. how we market ourselves to others) is a proven way to position yourself in a niche and become known. The benefits are that people will come to you for your expertise, and the jobs will follow. By investing in your personal brand, you’re able to do more, with less, especially using the power of social media, and succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

Questions you need to ask yourself
Before embarking on your personal branding journey, here are a few questions that will help you learn more about yourself, what you want to do and steer you on the right path to success:

• If you could do one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?


• What was your favorite class in college?


• Who is your rolemodel and what makes him or her so great?


• Describe yourself using 5 attributes (ex. intelligent, vocal, brave)?


• Name 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses that you have.


• How have people labeled me in the past?


• Am I passionate about my current job/career path?

For more detail: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/personal-branding-basics.html

What is my next plan to focus on?

Wednesday 11 Feb 2009. After been waiting for my doct. for 4 months today today today I got it back, this can be a signal to remine me since now on my life have to move on to the new stage.

So what should I do and when I have to start?

Can someone help me on this, maybe not?

Thanks god I will do my best!!!!!!!!! For sure.

First day in my blog

Today is my first day creating this blog to record my experince in London, what do i do everyday!!!

Today Feb 10, 2009 on my third day off from work just stay in my place watching movies, listening music, preparing exam and applying a new jobs both in Thailand and London.

I found this stuff is very usefull for anyone who wanna apply for a job and have to answer this question!!!

What’s Your Greatest Strength?

Most interviewers like to hit you with one of those annoying little interview questions like “What’s your greatest strength?” or “What’s your greatest weakness?” OK. I admit I use them too when I do an interview.

So when you’re in a job interview and you’re asked about your greatest strength, what should you tell them? Is there a “right” answer to the question? You don’t want to sound boastful - and yet you certainly don’t want to come off so humble you look like you don’t believe in yourself.
Luckily, the greatest strength question is one where you can often hit a home run if you just prepare a bit ahead of time. Think about what your new employer would find most interesting about you. There’s no right answer. They just want to see if you know yourself and how well you express yourself.

• Some possible work strengths in no particular order:
• Initiative (willing to take on new things)
• Follow-through (seeing a task through to the end)
• Good manager
• Strong leader
• Good at bringing things in on deadline
• Flexibility
• Determination (as in seeing a project through to the end or in finding a solution to a problem)
• Quick learner
• Problem solver
• Good at seeing the big picture even when dealing with the details
• Good at details, but also know how to see the big picture
• Strong at a given skill required by the job (like Java programming, project management, teaching, writing, web design, customer service, phone manner, math, public speaking, etc.)
• Creativity
• Good people skills
• Good team player
• Ability to help influence change
• Good at finding ways to improve existing business processes
• Good at resolving conflict
  

Or whatever you can think of. The main thing is to have a really good story to tell about how you used that skill to make something good happen for your former employer or - if this is your first job - at school or in a volunteer role. Choose the skill based on both what you think the employer is looking for and your strongest story. (Never hurts to artfully throw in a few extra strengths while telling the story.)