Establishing Your Personal Brand

Do you remember the commercials a few years back asking people whether they were a MAC or PC user? There were personas, character representations, of how each user sounded, looked and acted. It's part of a company's branding strategy, and it's an idea that can be applied to you if you think about yourself as a product. Once you complete your health care training program, you pitch yourself (the product) to the buyer (potential employer).

It's important to note your personal brand doesn't mean changing who you are to fit a mold or being something you're not. It's more about considering how what you know, say and do come together to create a total package that piques someone's interest.

With this in mind, how does your personal brand stack up against the competition?

What is personal branding?

Let's go back to the product comparison. Think about why you buy certain products over others. Is it because of a product's feature? Your connection to their story? Do you like how it performs relative to the competition? Does it make you feel a certain way by owning it (healthier, happier, hipper)?

Personal branding is similar. It's simply the message we send about ourselves to others through how we dress, act, speak and perform.

What sets you apart?

What's your secret sauce? Is it your passion? Your drive? Is it your credentials? Your skills?

Think about what makes you a valuable asset and then find the evidence to support it. Even if it's a soft skill like drive, passion or customer service, there are ways to quantify and measure that. In a health care training program, like the ones offered at Concorde, it may be your GPA, involvement as a Lamplighter or reference from your externship site.

Who have you become based on your life experiences

There's an adage that says, "People don't do business with businesses. They do business with people."

Stories are what connect people to one another. So, what's your story? As it relates to your professional self, what makes you pursue a career in health care? Did you have a defining experience? Or, perhaps you saw a way forward that was better than the life you were living and courageously made a change.

Where you've been says a lot about where you're going.

Do you have a vision of what you want to accomplish after your health care training program?

Speaking of where you're going, what do you want to accomplish in the next year? Three years? Five years? People who have goals have a vision, and people who have vision take action to accomplish their goals.

That's a quality employers like to see. If you're waiting for someone to tell you where to go now that you've completed your health care training program or how to get there, you're wasting valuable time.

How can you help solve the organization's challenges?

Most importantly, how will an organization benefit by having you on their team? The answer to that question begins with a question - researching or asking the hiring manager what the challenges are in the organization.

These five questions combined help define who you are and what you have to offer. This isn't a process to work through alone! Bring in your friends, family, and campus graduate employment team to help.

Together, you can develop a pitch to make sure that when "the buyer" comparison shops, you make it through to check out!