What is personal branding, why does it matter (specifically for young professionals), and how do you even begin to discover your own, let alone maintain one?! We take our stab at answering these questions and more.

2. SESSION 1:
Intro to
personal
branding

3. Okay, first off…

4. What is personal branding?

5. We’re so glad you asked.

6. “Personal branding is the practice
of people marketing themselves
& their careers as brands.”
LAIR, DANIEL J.; SULLIVAN, KATIE; CHENEY, GEORGE (2005)
”
QUOTABLE

7. “[Personal branding is] the marketization
& recasting of the professional self.”
MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION QUARTERLY
”
QUOTABLE

8. But wait, there’s more.

9. PERSONAL BRANDING IS:
a refined content
strategy for your
personal life
1.

10. PERSONAL BRANDING IS: your in-person
& online presence
2.

11. PERSONAL BRANDING IS: a living résumé
3.

12. PERSONAL BRANDING IS: ever-evolving
4.

13. It’s so many things!

14. Why does personal
branding matter?
*on a professional level

15. Fast Company recently dubbed it
“essential to career success.”
”
WISE WORDS

16. 99u says,
“the resume is dead, the bio is king.”
”
WISE WORDS

17. Inc says,
“virtually everyone” needs to care about
personal branding, because “how people see you matters;
it is a fundamental truth of being a human.”
”
WISE WORDS

18. … so what?

19. PERSONAL BRANDING:
sets
you
apart
1.

20. PERSONAL BRANDING: shows,
rather than tells
2.

21. PERSONAL BRANDING:
requires
knowing
yourself
3.

23. Competition is intense these days.

24. “Branding today is as much about consistently delivering
on your promise as it is about differentiation. You have
to position yourself in unique ways in order to stand out
from others. You have to meet all of the subconscious
expectations & go beyond the mundane to truly impress.”
DANIEL BLILEY, PASSPORT PARKING APP
”
QUOTABLE

25. PERSONAL BRANDING:
opens doors
to industry
recognition
4.

26. PERSONAL BRANDING: gives your passion
professional legs
5.

27. Why is a strong personal
brand important to us?
*as marketing professionals

28. What does a strong personal brand say to us?

29. The honest answer:

30. A strong personal brand says:
“I know who I am,
or I’m at
least curious.”
OUR ANSWER:

31. What do we expect?
*What do we look for when we hire?

32. WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?
curiosity,
initiative,
& willingness
to learn
1.

33. An interview is a date.
You’re interviewing the employer as much as
they’re interviewing you. Ask questions, be curious.
There’s a fine line between
confidence & over-confidence.
REMEMBER:

34. WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR? personality
& potential fit
2.

35. Not every company is a perfect fit for you, and vice versa.
REMEMBER:
Brains on Fire is not for everyone.
We are really passionate about hiring people who
not only have the skills, but the personality, to thrive
& be happy here.

36. WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR? previous work
experience
3.

37. Highlight those internships.
REMEMBER:
Volunteer. Get involved in your community.
Show us what you’ve done & how you’ve done it.

38. Let’s be real…

40. We’re gonna stalk you.

41. Now for some
examples.

42. So, how does your résumé look?

43. BAD RÉSUMÉ:

44. BAD RÉSUMÉ:
x

46. Wrong. Try again.

47. GOOD RÉSUMÉ:

49. There ya go. Much better.

50. Now, let’s take a look at that Instagram of yours.

51. BAD INSTAGRAM:
HAM
IS
BAE

52. BAD INSTAGRAM:
HAM
IS
BAE
x

54. Wow. That was bad.

55. We would not hire those people.

56. Let’s give it another try.

57. GOOD INSTAGRAM:

58. GOOD INSTAGRAM:

60. Your personal brand is on point.

61. Now, let’s take a look at that website.

62. BAD WEBSITE:

63. BAD WEBSITE:
x

65. Unacceptable.

66. GOOD WEBSITE:

68. Okay, now you’re lookin’ good.

69. How does personal
branding set students apart?

70. First impressions are everything.
REMEMBER:
Interviews are short.
It’s an opportunity for self-discovery.
A PERSONAL BRAND
SETS YOU APART.

71. What makes a strong
personal brand?

72. A STRONG PERSONAL BRAND IS: a clear read on
who you are
1.

73. What are your values?
REMEMBER:
What makes you unique?
What’s your personality like?

74. A STRONG PERSONAL BRAND IS:
a good picture
of who you
want to be
2.

75. What are you interested in?
REMEMBER:
What is your dream job?
Who is your audience?

76. A STRONG PERSONAL BRAND IS: a constant stream
of communication
3.

77. Your personal brand should be consistent.
REMEMBER:
Your online presence must be maintained.
You should take time to develop your personal brand.

78. What a personal brand
should not be:

79. A PERSONAL BRAND
SHOULD NOT BE:
artificially
manufactured
1.

80. A PERSONAL BRAND
SHOULD NOT BE: stagnant
2.

81. A PERSONAL BRAND
SHOULD NOT BE:
based on
monetary gain
3.

82. What a personal
brand should be:

83. A PERSONAL BRAND
SHOULD BE:
a tool for
self-discovery
& exploration
1.

84. A PERSONAL BRAND
SHOULD BE: ever-evolving
2.

85. A PERSONAL BRAND
SHOULD BE: fun
3.

86. Let’s review.
CONCLUSION:

87. telling the story of you, professionally
REVIEW:
both online & offline
curated & consistent
PERSONAL BRANDING IS:

88. It’s a powerful tool for your future career.
REVIEW:
It’s a way to stand out among your peers.
It’s an exercise in self-discovery.
Personal branding should be important to you because:

90. So, now what?
CONCLUSION:

91. It’s time to discover your personal brand.

92. Stay tuned…

93. Q&A

95. SESSION 2:
How to discover
& maintain your
personal brand

96. Welcome back!

97. So, we’ve defined what a personal brand is & why it matters.
INTRODUCTION:

98. Now for the fun stuff…
INTRODUCTION:

99. INTRODUCTION:
…how to discover your own!

100. REVIEW:
First, let’s review.

101. What makes a strong
personal brand?
REVIEW:

102. A STRONG PERSONAL BRAND IS: a clear read on
who you are
1.

103. What are your values?
What makes you unique?
What’s your personality like?
REVIEW:

104. A STRONG PERSONAL BRAND IS:
a good picture
of who you
want to be
2.

105. What are you interested in?
What is your dream job?
Who is your audience?
REVIEW:

106. A STRONG PERSONAL BRAND IS: a constant stream
of communication
3.

107. REVIEW:
Your personal brand should be consistent.
Your online presence must be maintained.
You should take time to develop your personal brand.

108. Okay, let’s get started.

109. What’s a value?
VALUES:

110. “A value is a person’s principle or standard of behavior;
one’s judgment of what is important in life.”
THE DICTIONARY
”
QUOTABLE:

111. What do
you value?
VALUES:

112. ASK YOURSELF THE QUESTION:
What in life is
most important
to me?
VALUES:

113. VALUES:
Look at the list of values and circle all you feel apply to you.
Narrow it down to seven, and then three, in order of priority.
Determine what it means to “achieve” these
values by writing a statement like this:
HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR VALUES:

114. VALUES:
To succeed at ________ means I am _________.
[VALUE]

115. Voila!

117. You’ve determined your core values.

118. Slap those babies on a post-it, and call it a day.

120. What makes
you different?
PASSION:

121. WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT?
pinpoint your
passions &
strengths
PASSION:

122. What’s a passion?

123. “A passion is a strong & barely
controllable emotion.”
THE DICTIONARY
”
QUOTABLE:

124. Passion is a cycle.

125. It looks something like this:

126. doing the work
HUSTLE & BUSTLE
sweet success
JOY & ACCOMPLISHMENT
passion afterglowENERGY & DRIVE
PASSION CYCLE:

128. How do you find
your passion?
PASSION:

129. HOW TO FIND YOUR PASSIONS: get involved &
pay attention
1.

130. HOW TO FIND YOUR PASSIONS: do this passion
activity:
2.

131. PASSION ACTIVITY:
Answer the questions on our worksheet.
Narrow down to your top 5 passions.
Narrow down to 3 in order of priority.

132. Congratulations!

133. You’ve started to identify some of your passions.

134. Now get out there and keep workin’ on them.

135. What’s your
personality like?
PERSONALITY:

137. Wait, what do you mean?

138. Here’s what we mean:

139. “Personality traits are the individual
differences in characteristic patterns
of thinking, feeling & behaving.”
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
”
QUOTABLE:

141. Why does that even matter?

143. If you’re selling yourself, you need to know what you’re selling.

144. That’s why.

145. It’s quiz time, baby.

147. Ask your loved
ones what makes
you different.
PERSONALITY:

148. PERSONALITY ACTIVITY:
Jot down the top 3-5 people who know you best.
Ask them what “your thing” is.
No, it’s not weird. Just do it—you’ll be surprised with the results.

149. Take inventory
of your results.
PERSONALITY:

150. RESULTS:
values + passions + personality + personal opinion
Note the overlaps.
You should have a better picture of who
you are now than when you started.

151. Define your vision.

152. Get an idea of who
you want to be &
where you want to go.
VISION:

153. Answer these questions:

154. QUESTIONS:
What to you want to accomplish in your career?
What do you want to be known for?
What is your dream job?

155. Develop a
personal statement.
DEVELOP:

157. What’s a personal statement?

158. “A personal statement communicates your vision and point of
differentiation so that you get noticed by the right people.”
LAURA & MOE
”
QUOTABLE:

159. QUESTIONS:
Using your other worksheets, fill in 1 - 6 on
the Personal Statement worksheet
Use our handy fill-in-the-blank to guide the
structure of your statement
Hash it out and expand it in your own voice

160. Here’s an example:

161. I am a Social Media Strategist.
Fueled for my passion for photography, I strive to bring an independent, creative
energy to my work.
I have evidenced my commitment to the power of photography by my work with
VisitGreenvilleSC, where I launched and implemented the #yeahTHATgreenville
UGC campaign on social media, which has grown to 175k user-generated images on
Instagram alone.
Through my experiences, I bring a uniquely visual perspective to social media
marketing.

162. Put it in practice.
PRACTICE:

163. TAKE IT ONLINE:
update
your
résumé
1.

164. TAKE IT ONLINE: create a personal
brand hub
2.

165. BRAND HUB:
a brief bio & photo of yourself
links to your social profiles
your newly-updated résumé
a custom URL

167. Socialize it.

168. Clean
it up.
SOCIALIZE:

169. CLEAN IT UP: clean up all social
media profiles
1.

171. Do not share anything you wouldn’t want your grandma to see.

172. CLEAN IT UP: streamline your
usernames
2.

173. Create a professional
email address.
SOCIALIZE:

174. Now for the story of…

175. xoxogarvingirl@hotmail.com

178. Update your LinkedIn.
SOCIALIZE:

179. WHY LINKEDIN MATTERS: It’s an expectation.
1.

180. WHY LINKEDIN MATTERS: It’s an opportunity
to network.
2.

181. WHY LINKEDIN MATTERS: It’s an opportunity
to find a job.
3.

182. Curate your content.
CURATE:

183. All of the content you share online
should reflect your personal brand.
CURATE:

184. *bonus points if you have a marked aesthetic
CURATE:

185. GOOD INSTAGRAM:

186. Cultivate community.
CULTIVATE:

187. CULTIVATE COMMUNITY: find your people
1.

188. FIND YOUR PEOPLE:
Use social media to find stalkable industry leaders.
Google is your friend.
Take note of similarities in what they’re sharing.

189. CULTIVATE COMMUNITY: interact with
your people
2.

190. CULTIVATE:

191. It’s not weird.
CULTIVATE:

192. It’s the point of social media.
CULTIVATE:

193. Maintain & repeat.
MAINTAIN & REPEAT:

194. TOOLS MAKE IT EASIER TO:
find
great
content
1.

196. TOOLS MAKE IT EASIER TO:
share
great
content
2.
*consistently

198. It takes so much time.

200. TOOLS MAKE IT EASIER TO:
create
better
content
3.

203. Whew!

204. Knowing yourself is the
foundation of it all.
CONCLUSION:

206. CONCLUSION:
Find us online if you have any questions.

207. CONCLUSION:
moe@brainsonfire.com
@moe_ _rice
@moe_ _rice
laura@brainsonfire.com
@laura_garvin
@laura_c_garvin

208. Thanks!