Create and Promote Your Professional Brand for Career

Advancement

Public Image +Professional Reputation +

Personal Values =PROFESSIONAL BRAND

The One Hire Authority for Talent Acquisition and Strategic Career Designwww.donnleviejrstrategies.com

Donn LeVie Jr.

Donn LeVie Jr. STRATEGIES

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Brand value involves two important components:• Making others aware of the brand in question

• Creating a brand image that generates positive associations

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

How do I create my brand?

How do I get others to become aware of it?

How can I get my brand to generate positive associations with it?

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

For permanent positions, contracting positions, or consulting opportunities, the task is the same:

Create your brand

Promote your brand Generate positive associations between

quantified accomplishments and expertise, and the people with a need for that expertise

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

MatureEmerging

Global changes in demographics, economics, and technology in the coming decade will reverberate through the entire employment chain

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Hiring managers will be seeking candidates who have demonstrated and quantified accomplishments as:

Problem solvers Solutions providers Game changers

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Elements of a Professional Brand Favorability/Likeability Strengths (expertise) Uniqueness of offering

• Attributes • Benefits

• Functional• Experiential• Symbolic

• Attitudes

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Types of Brand Associations

Attributes Benefits Attitudes

Product related

Non-product related Experiential

Symbolic

Functional

Expertise you provide

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Types of Brand Associations

Attributes Benefits Attitudes

Product related

Non-product related Experiential

Symbolic

Functional

Specific brand featuresyou project that hiring

managers value

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Types of Brand Associations

Attributes Benefits Attitudes

Product related

Non-product related Experiential

Symbolic

Functional

Represent your completeprofessionally brandedpackage of expertise,

image, values

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Types of Brand Associations

Attributes Benefits Attitudes

Product related

Non-product related Experiential

Symbolic

Functional How your brandedexpertise fits with the

team, group, orcompany

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Types of Brand Associations

Attributes Benefits Attitudes

Product related

Non-product related Experiential

Symbolic

Functional Relates to the consumer’s

(hiring manager’s) higherorder social and self-esteem needs—even

as it relates to thestanding in theorganization

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

How brand equity is created

Associative models in the brain (networks of nodes and links) store information (logos, jingles, tag lines) for later recall

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Your “brand” is the single conceptual association others create based on your real and perceived professional (and personal) reputation in your specific profession or field

The more often your brand appears to others (i.e., hiring managers), the stronger the recall when considering candidates for hire

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

9 Ways to embed your brand into the “associative models” of a target audience:

Write articles for peer-reviewed journals Give presentations/workshops at meetings and conferences Use social media (LinkedIn, Twitter) to expand your circle of influence

in your industry Write a book on an issue in your profession/field Teach a class at a community college or university Create an attention-getting blog name/catch phrase Create a unique sign-off statement of each blog entry Write a bio that promotes your brand rather

than typical obituary format Assign quantitative value to your accomplishments

wherever possible

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

2012 Microsoft survey of 5,000 people:

• 56% of adults don’t actively think about consequences of online activities

• 14% of adults have experienced negative consequences due to online activities by others

Of those 14%:

• 21% were fired from a job• 16% lost out on getting a job• 16% lost their health insurance• 14% lost out on their college of choice• 15% were turned down for a mortgage

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Create and promote a

strong brand and others

will help build upon it—

that’s what’s called

“building brand equity”

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Positive brand image works in three important ways:

• It helps solidify your position in any job or career opportunity

• It can differentiate your expertise from the competition and move it toward “preferred candidate” status

• It can command a higher salary and encourage hiring managers to seek you out

Maintaining a positive brand image requires frequent and regular attention so that all the elements continue to work together to reinforce positive associations with others

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Are your true personal values reflected in your public image?Does your public image reflect your true personal values?Are you the same person when no one else is watching?

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Create and Promote Your Professional Brand

Donn’s 6 Secrets to Creating a Solid Professional Brand

Develop a sense of project urgency (give it top priority) Develop a sense of project ownership (own it like it’s yours) Develop a strong sense of personal integrity (be the beacon) Develop an attitude of being in business for yourself (because you are) Develop a sincere, selfless desire to help others succeed (because it is

the right thing to do) Develop a sense of the graceful exit when it’s time to leave (no one

likes the lingering smell of burning cubicles after you leave)

© Donn LeVie Jr. Strategies 2011-2015.

Books by Donn LeVie Jr.

Winner of the 2012 Global eBook Award and Winner of the 2012 International Book Award for

Jobs/Careers

Available September 2015

Donn LeVie Jr. has more than 25 years in various hiring manager positions for Fortune 500 companies. He has reviewed over 1,000 cover letters and résumés, involved with hundreds of interviews, and hired countless numbers of technical, marketing, and communications professionals.

Free articles, tip sheets, videos, and podcast interviews at:

www.donnleviejrstrategies.com

Comments? donnlevie@austin.rr.com