Monday July 19th, 2010
Struggling to create a personal brand? Think of yourself as a chocolate bar.

Want to build a big personal brand or just raise your profile among recruiters in your field?  Start by taking a lesson from candy bar brands.

Four basic ingredients.
Almost infinite positioning.

No industry has done a better job of branding a commoditized product than what the North American confectionery industry has done with chocolate bars  (or 'candy bar', if you're in certain parts of the USA).

Fundamentally, 99.9% chocolate bars are exactly the same:  50g of the same four basic ingredients (chocolate, sugar, caramel and peanuts), combined in different ways.

And yet somehow we know that

• OHenry's are for when you're really hungry
• KitKats are for when you just want a break
• MARS bars are a good sporty snack
• Smarties provide hours of amusement
• Hershey bars are somehow as patriotic as a bottle of Coke (for Americans, anyway)

It's time to start thinking of yourself as a chocolate bar

These days, anyone who takes their career seriously and is even moderately ambitious knows they need to have some kind of personal brand, even if it's just something they use to position themselves in the job market or workforce.

So what's stopping them?

Most of the time, it's that they don't really believe they're all that different or special than everyone else. 

"I mean, I'm good at my job and I know I've learned a lot over the years, but I'm not exactly a visionary," they say.  "There are lots of other people doing what I do, and I'm not kidding myself that I'm some kind of genius. So what would my brand be about?"

While that thought is admirable - the people most likely to think they're geniuses (and aren't shy about it) are the ones least likely to be geniuses - it misses the point. 

Branding is all about turning a commodity product into a special, premium or beloved one.

Sure, there may be 6 billion people on the planet, and quite a number of them may be smarter, harder-working, or just plain better-looking than you are.  That doesn't mean you can't stand out from the crowd.

It's just a matter of positioning your professional equivalent of 50g of chocolate, peanuts, sugar and caramel in a way that makes people think:  "Whenever I need to solve a [insert business challenge here], I always think of [insert your name here] because s/he is an expert on [insert solution to previous business challenge here]."

For example:  "Whenever I need to find top talent in the oil and gas industry, I call Bob Smith because he knows the oil and gas talent marketplace better than anyone else."

It's all about how you combine your 50g of basic ingredients

Whenever I'm looking for insights into interviewing, resume writing, or long-term career management for recruiting professionals, Maureen Carroll is the first person I call.

Is she the only person in North America who knows this stuff?  No.  Heck, Googling 'resume expert toronto' gets 2.8 million search returns alone.

But that doesn't mean Maureen doesn't have a terrific USP (Unique Selling Proposition). 

Her recruiting knowledge and experience is her 50g of basic ingredients - in other words, she's not unique.  But her USP lies in the fact that she's the only recruiting professional I know who not only enjoys doing media interviews, but is great at doing them.  She can churn out the kind of pithy soundbites mainstream media producers love, with less than 10 minutes lead time. 

In other words, she's taken her 50g worth of basic ingredients and combined/packaged them in a unique way.  More importantly, that combination is one that solves a business challenge:  "Whenever the media calls me looking for a resume/interviewing expert, I think of Maureen because she not only knows her stuff but comes across really well on radio and on-camera."

You do have a great USP.
You just don't know what it is (yet).

Here's the thing:  If you really are (a) good at what you do; (b) trying to be a little bit smarter today than you were yesterday; (c) looking to be better than just 'average'; and (d) genuinely passionate about your career and your profession, chances are you're already combining your 50g of basic ingredients in some kind of unique way - you just don't realize it.

So ask 5 colleagues for their input:

• Ask your boss why s/he hired you.  What made you stand out from the other applicants?
• Ask your co-workers what they think you're particularly good at
• Ask subordinates/direct reports what they've learned from working for you

...and prepare to be surprised by the answers. 

Once you know whether you're a moment of bliss or a nice light snack, coming up with your personal brand 'angle' will suddenly get a lot easier.  Really.

Tags

brand   media coverage   news   newsfeed   personal branding   USP  

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About the Authors

Paul Dodd
Co-founder and President
Head2Head Canada

Paul has one simple goal: To help companies hire great people - and get the most out of every recruiting dollar they spend. That's why he's recognized as one of the best recruitment-industry thinkers in Canada.

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