Earlier this month I began a movement through my network, on Twitter (#networknov), Facebook and LinkedIn to ignite job seekers and professionals alike to get out and network throughout the month of November.
The monthly is halfway over, Thanksgiving is upon us and it’s time to ask yourself, “How much networking have I done in November?”
Does Aunt Sally really know what you do?
Thanksgiving dinner is filled with family, fun and, if you’re a savvy networker, opportunities. Give your personal branding statement a touch up so that it conveys, in a fun, creative and catchy way, truly what it is you do before dinnertime. Does your personal brand pass the “Tell me more” test? If it doesn’t make you, or others, want to immediately ask “tell me more” then it’s time for a fresh personal brand.
Apply the 15/15 rule
A personal brand and unique value proposition (UVP), as I mention in my book, “Career Sudoku”, have different reasons during your job search. Your personal branding statement is a more elaborate, 30-second pitch (hint: the perfect follow-up to “tell me more”). Your unique value proposition is short, powerful sentence. Keep it to fewer than 15 words and less than 15 seconds. Viola. The 15/15 rule.
Making It real
This month in San Diego I spoke at a conference and challenged the audience to create their own UVPs, using the 15/15 rule, within 2 minutes. They did great! One of the guys came up with this “I help people sleep better at night” as his personal brand UVP. He had the whole room guessing what he does for a living.
He’s a military training officer. (Thanks again, to you, and all our service men and women, for what you do). What a magnificent, catchy personal branding UVP that easily passed the “tell me more” test and took far less than 15 words or 15 seconds to convey.
Disconnect to connect
The best thing he did, and you can do, to connect with your audience, whether it’s Aunt Sally at dinner or a potentially employer at a networking event during your job search, is to disconnect yourself from your work. There was no mention of military, marines, troops, training or anything of the like which is why everyone wanted to find out what he did. Disconnect yourself from your company, your professional and connect yourself to your personality and what you do to create a powerful UVP.
