Reproduced from The Power of Personal Branding for Career Success, with permission from the publisher, The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. 2012. All rights reserved.

Walking down the street and thinking about a cup of coffee, you see Tim Hortons, Starbucks and your local independent coffee shop. Chances are good that you will make up your mind very quickly because you already have a brand preference and your preference will likely be the same a day or even a month later. This type of decision-making is not very surprising, considering the extensive marketing efforts of the two national chains (and, to a lesser degree, the local coffee shop) to attract niche customers, understand their values and build the brand. In fact, all decisions made by each business entity on pricing, product range, dcor and advertising are based on that predetermined brand.

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This book is about using the same brand strategy to advance your career. Your first reaction may be brand? How does my career resemble selling coffee? Of course, your career is much more complex and personal than coffee you are not just a product. However, you are a product in the sense that branding is just as critical a component in marketing yourself as it is in marketing a product. The concept of branding positioning yourself for success is a good lens through which to focus on your career strategy.

Choosing and developing your personal brand will help you get where you want to go. Wherever you are in your career starting out, in the middle or in a senior position the concepts and strategies presented throughout these chapters will help you articulate and achieve your goals. The focus is on strategies for advancing your career but applies equally to realizing other goals, such as volunteer activities or community works.

Lets return to product branding and look at some questions that come to mind when considering its effectiveness. Think about one of your favourite products that has a well-recognized brand:

How is the product differentiated from its competitors?

How well known is the product?

What adjectives come to mind if you were to describe or recommend this product?

Does the brand effectively make use of the attributes of the product?

Excerpt from:
How your personal brand will help or hinder your career