Man, I’m doing a terrible job of sticking to writing every day, aren’t I? Well, I’ll be going in for the long haul for now on.
In the past week I’ve:
- been nominated for the pepper prize
- am trying to fill out the Hoff awards on behalf of people I want to nominate
- finally got to use the photography imaging equipment in the lib (yay!)
- found out that my proposal was accepted to a conference
- have a midterm to study for (over break!)
- and decided to go on campus to get a ridiculous amount of research done before next week – when the Trustee meetings will take over my life
But, that’s not quite what I wanted to express, those are just some humblebrags about being very busy. I want to talk about personal branding.
As the quintessential liberal arts student, my life is equally split between hyper-planning for every outcome and stumbling upon many different opportunities.
And as someone who is deeply concerned perceptions, appearances, and people’s thoughts – I have no issue with creating a personal brand image-wise. I am usually very careful to make sure that my outfits and demeanor make a good impression, and portray me as a person who is very mindful of their outward appearance.
But something that I – and many others don’t always think about, is how your personal brand is reflected through your image and appearance. It does little good to discuss how deeply your image/brand reflects to others when in the modern world, many of your first contacts with another person will be through your writing. Either emails, applications, or other ways of communication – writing very often will be the first way of determining whether you’re going to make the cut in the opportunity that you’re pursuing.
So what do you do about that?
Here are a few tips if you’re just trying to find your personal brand writing style:
1. Write. As often as possible.
– Just writing in general is a way to gain expertise in your field, learn more about a subject, or just have fun. There are a variety of different writing exercises that one can take, but to understand one’s personal brand, it’s best to look for questions that represent how you view yourself versus how others view you. What do you look for in other people? What qualities do you want to portray to your boss/friend/etc.?
– Keep writing until you can find a list of a few specific things that mean a lot to you. Use that opportunity to figure out exactly what will and won’t work for your personal brand.
2. Format and customize emails
– While its not for everyone, if you’ve ever emailed someone at a for or non-profit company for an internship or job, you’ve noticed that they have a signature that goes like: [Name, Position, Company, Company Address/Website/Number/Add. Info]. And even as students, I think its a great resource for people to start working on perfecting their signatures as soon as possible.
– A basic one can be as simple as [Name, Class Year/College, Majors and Minors], or your can expand it to include your job positions, internships, and other work. The most important idea to keep in mind is whether your current titles and positions represent what you want to get across to others. Customize your signature around a solid theme.
3. Learn a new language
– This one might not be as intuitive, but teach yourself how to express yourself within unfamiliar terms. How difficult is it? Probably very. Push yourself further to explain yourself in even more areas.
4. Work on grammar
– This one should be easy. Do you best to improve your letters and learn how to improve yourself so that you won’t have errors when writing cover letters and resumes.
There are many other things that you can do to improve your writing. The INC article on 31 things to know about yourself is a great start for this. Good luck and happy writing!
