Coffee & Career Hour
A genuine & informative podcast on all things career - hosted by two career counselors and friends. From practical strategies to motivational & reflective content, this podcast is here to empower and guide you to find meaningful work, make informed career decisions, and reach your full potential. So, grab a cup of coffee and join in for some career talk.
Coffee & Career Hour
Unlocking the Power of Personal Branding
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Ever wondered how personal branding can impact your career and how to make it work for you? Join us, your local career counselors, as we dive into the fascinating world of personal branding. In this episode, we explore how it's more than just your appearance, but rather the energy you bring to your work and how others perceive you. Your personal brand is highlighted through your daily interactions, professional networking sessions, social media presence, and your portfolio.
Navigating the world of LinkedIn can be anxiety-inducing for many, listen to hear how we guide you through the process of maximizing your online presence. We also discuss the importance of leveraging your identity, strengths, accomplishments, and aspirations to create a powerful personal branding statement.
Don't miss this opportunity to build a strong personal brand that will open doors and propel your career forward. So tune in, and let's get started on transforming your career with the power of personal branding.
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Understanding Personal Branding
Speaker 1Hello , hello everyone , hi everybody , welcome back to your local . I love saying local career counselors . We're your local , isn't ?
Speaker 2that cute , that is cute .
Speaker 1That is cute . Welcome back . It is your local career counselors , arminay and MJ , here Today we're actually very I mean , we're always excited , but we're really excited today because this is a topic we talk about all the time at work and with our clients And it's something , i think , personal in a way . Fun enough right , no pun intended . We're going to talk about personal branding and what that means . But , arminay , when you hear personal branding , let's start this like a counseling session . When you hear personal branding , what do you think ?
Speaker 2Yeah , sure . So personal branding sometimes makes me really nervous And I feel like and what I hear from my students and clients is that it's almost like showing off . It feels inauthentic when . I have to brand myself So I have like a negative or I think most people have a negative connotation to it .
Speaker 1I agree . I think my perception on personal brand has definitely evolved and changed over time . Personal branding has meant different things to me as I've grown as a human being , but also the more comfortable I have become with who I am . So when I think of personal brand , i do think of the image that the world sees . It's almost like what is . It's how you're represented in society . It's how you're presented in the world , especially in your world of work right In your field of interest and the job that you do in your industry . But I think it has its ups and its downs with every person .
Speaker 2And there are different ways that we can demonstrate our personal brand and we'll definitely get into that in this episode . But I think a big part of it is emotional side , once we feel comfortable , and I think what helps people feel comfortable is first knowing what their brand is . So what value do you have to offer ?
Speaker 1to society .
Speaker 2What skills do you have ? What is your personal touch on something that ? no one else can bring , but you .
Speaker 1Yeah , it's parts of you that , like you said right , they're parts of you that nobody else can bring . That's the authentic you . It's the authentic MJ and Arminay , that no one else can really bring The energy , the image , the passion and the dedication towards the work that you do too .
Speaker 2Yeah , definitely . Even if we think about like , both you and I are in the same field , doing the same work , we have our own brands because we do things slightly differently . We have slightly different like little touches to things or phrases we use or energy we have . So it's and our brands are different because of that And that's unique to every single person .
Speaker 1Yeah , you're like Nike and I'm like Adidas .
Speaker 2I love that because I am a .
Speaker 1Nike girl , i am too , but I'll let you have Nike . I get things . No , because yeah , and I use that metaphor to . I use the metaphor to say like we can sell similar items . It can be in the same field but also be very different , right , and people can love both the same .
Speaker 2Exactly . So how are ways that people can demonstrate that ? Let's say , you have your clarity , you kind of know what your value proposition is , you know what skills you have . In what capacity do people demonstrate their personal ?
Speaker 1brand . Yeah , when I'm first introducing the topic to individuals , i usually say like , think about how people first see you , right , when you go into a job interview , for example , or your headshot photo , or a professional photo , right , what is the first ? image First , i think . Image First , i think . Vision Next . I also think about what you look like instead of physically on paper . So for us , as career counselors and career educators and societal educators , we always say how do you want others to see you on paper ? What does that mean , though ? That means your resume , your cover letter , your references document right , and any other supplemental documentation and professional documents you'll have If we go from you paper now , i think technology right . So how are you seeing on social media ?
Speaker 1And I'm going to use social media broad because there's so many different platforms where you can brand yourself in a personal way and in a professional way , but those are the main three categories that come to my mind . What are your thoughts ?
Speaker 2Yeah , those are all the avenues in terms of documents or places where people could go and like , learn about you and your brand . But it's also in your interactions with people right In conversations that you have , whether it's like a formal networking session or an informal conversation you meet somebody new . The way you present yourself , the tone that you're using , the energy you're using to talk about the work that you do all of that is part of your brand .
Speaker 1Yeah , i always think when I think of like the I love that you said interactions I think , well , i should stop saying I think . in our job , at work , we always say when we network , right when you network , because that is the focus of our part of personal brand for students . However , when I think of interaction , my brain automatically goes to your like first couple weeks at a new job right .
Speaker 1Or meeting somebody new for the first time , is how do you , how does your behavior , how do your thoughts , how does your work ethic and who you are is demonstrated through that . And I go back and recall my first couple weeks starting at UCLA or starting a different job that I've had too , and how did I show up those first couple weeks or that first month .
Speaker 2Yeah , definitely . It says a lot about you , I mean I remember when we saw you in your first couple weeks , we were like , wow , this girl is amazing . I love that , thank you . So you know . but I think that this reminds me of conversations I've had with people where they'll say like , oh , i'm a different person at work and then I'm a different person when I'm with my friends and family .
Speaker 2Yeah , it shouldn't be like that , though , right , because who you are authentically should come across in the workplace , of course you're not , you know you're not going to maybe dress exactly the same that you would dress on a casual day or like .
Speaker 2Certain things like that obviously are different in a professional setting . But still , your your work ethic . I love that you said that The way you approach things , the way you approach problems , the way you approach people , that stuff is is authentic to how you are , whether you're in a work setting or not . It should be , you should be the same , because otherwise , faking it till you make it is never going to work ?
Speaker 1Yeah , and I want to clarify here that Armin is not saying like not , don't have boundaries right , and your personal and your professional life have boundaries . Boundaries are good , they're part of your personal brand . Right Shows that you can keep things separate as well . However , the same way I would introduce myself to Armin the first day I met her should also be the same or similar way I introduce myself to somebody at the store Yeah , right , why ? Because at the end of the day , maybe their son , daughter or student goes to UCLA , for example , and meets MJ and like oh yeah , I met .
Speaker 1MJ at the supermarket like whatever , so have you . So it's . It's keeping your authentic self and being who you are in all spaces , and not being any person different .
Speaker 2Definitely So . With that said , let's say somebody finds their brand . Let's give our listeners a way to kind of be able to articulate that breath . So what I mean by that is we call this an elevator pitch . Some of you may have heard it about it in the past . If you haven't , totally okay . An elevator pitch is a really great way for you to be able to present yourself and your own brand and the value that you bring to society in a condensed way .
Speaker 1Yeah , It's also sometimes referred to as a personal branding statement or a personal brand statement . They're very , very similar And in this case , both are will be useful for whatever you're looking for to articulate your purpose , what you bring to the workspace and an introduction of you . Tell me , armin , what is an elevator pitch And what is a personal branding statement ?
Speaker 2Yeah , so an elevator pitch is essentially a few sentences , or maybe a paragraph or so . We call it an elevator pitch because it's like the metaphor . Let's say you walk into an elevator and there is the CEO of the company you want to work for is right there , so you have about 30 seconds with them and that elevator to introduce yourself . So , like , what are you going to say in that moment ? Right , that's why it's called an elevator pitch , similar to personal branding statement . Both of these statements include things like who you are , what your skills and accomplishments are , what your goals are . So there's a specific formula .
Speaker 1Yeah , the formula goes the first part is introduction of you . Right , armini just said who are you ? And that could mean a variety of different things . Right , traditionally , when asked like tell me about yourself in an interview , or oh , it's nice to meet you , right , you introduce yourself as like oh , this is my name . I always encourage the individual to kind of take a step back . And if you were to see yourself in third person , what are the things that you point out or that you , that are important to you and that are representation of who you are ?
Speaker 1So , for example , in every elevator pitch I give , or even in my personal brand mission , on my website and on , you know , when you meet MJ for the first time , she's going to tell you I will tell you that I'm a first gen Latina , right , and as a higher education professional , because that is an introduction to me as holistically as who I am , right . So you want your elevator pitch to be authentic and you introduce you next . And the introduction can you can add your current role . You can add maybe , if you're a student , what you're studying or what you recently , what degree you recently obtained . You can talk about some of your aspirations that you have , and so maybe some of the things you're working on . Then your value proposition , right .
Speaker 1So that's the next piece of the puzzle here . What do you bring to the table ? What value are you going to add to this team , to this company , to this organization or to this person and their project ? Right , if you're working on the next new version of chat GPT , right ? For example , hint hint , that was our last episode Tell me about your skills in tech , right , and how it's going to be helpful And what value you're going to bring to this new model or whatever we're making . And third , it's the ask . Right , it's the ask . Or it's that part where you leave this person with a statement at the end , a sentence or something that wants them to keep wanting to know a little bit more ? Right , we say the ask because in networking you're always supposed to have an ask , whether that be contact information , whether that be two more connections that this human being can offer you , whether that be opportunities or an informational interview . So , again , the formula to this all to an elevator pitch is first , an introduction of who you are , your value proposition and your ask .
Speaker 2Excellent . So the whole purpose of an elevator pitch or a personal branding statement is to create a meaningful connection So that person leaving that conversation remembers you and remembers what it is that you bring to the table and basically leaves them wanting more Right . So , with that said , this can happen in a formal networking session or it can happen in informal settings , like we talked about earlier , where you're just meeting people out and when you're out and about , but always kind of having a statement like this , ready to be able to introduce yourself , is always a good idea . I will preface by saying that I highly discourage memorizing the statement .
Speaker 1Yeah , you can so tell .
Speaker 1When somebody has memorized their elevator pitch , it usually sounds , it's so funny , you can just tell . You can tell it's somebody producing the same lines multiple times to the same person or same to the same setting . The other thing I was going to add as well , or I'm going to add , is that this is the reason why Armini and I emphasize authenticity and adding these touches that only you can bring , or adjectives of yourself or identities that you're extremely proud of and that are who you are and live through . The reason why is because , in a more authentic story , you're going to be remembered by the person you are delivering this pitch to or the statement to , and the fact that I introduced myself as a first generation Latina might be , might resonate with someone more than if I just said Hi , my name is MJ , i'm an assistant director at the UCLA Career Center . It's a little different , adds a more personal touch . It shows you that I emphasize my identity and that's something that I'm very proud of . But that's just an MJ special touch , a little bit of glitter for you .
Speaker 2I love that . Well , yeah , and everyone can have their own special touch in terms of how they introduce yourself and what they want the person to remember them . So some questions I would encourage our audience to consider when you're building your personal branding statement or elevator pitch . Things to consider What are aspects of your identity that could be values , intersections , background , anything in your identity that really is important to you Like MJ shares being a first generation Latina . Like I share being a first generation Armenian-American . What why those are important to us ? That's our personal values and we want people to know us by that
Personal Branding and Online Presence
Speaker 2. So think about what are aspects of your identity that you might want people to remember , what accomplishments you might have had in your professional life or in your academic life , it doesn't matter if you're first starting out in your career . There are always accomplishments to look back on .
Speaker 2It could be a project that you did really well in an academic setting or in your previous job , even if it was an entry level job . There are lots of different , like on a small scale , accomplishments that you can use to help build your personal branding statement . So think about your accomplishments , think about your strengths . What natural strengths do you have that come to you naturally , that you don't really have to think about or put effort in doing ?
Speaker 1Yeah . Are you the leader ? Are you the person that brings people together and builds community ? Are you the person that asks a lot of questions for clarity ? That's a strength . Are you the learner who always wants to add more and give a greater sense of intention and purpose to a project ?
Speaker 2What are you known for ?
Speaker 1What are individuals looking to you for and always asking you for help on , or where are you always fitting yourself as a puzzle piece too ?
Speaker 2Yeah , and this plays out in your personal lives too . So don't constrict your strengths in terms of what you experience in academic or work settings . Think about in your personal life , with friends , with family , what are situations where your strengths have come out and what are those strengths . So that could be something to include in your statement . And then , like MJ mentioned , why do people come to you for support ? Is there a pattern you notice for people coming and asking you for support on something You know ? people always come to me . It's so funny .
Speaker 2This is on my website too , and when I was in college I would always say this I'm like do I have a sign on my forehead that says ask me ?
Speaker 2Because people , just you know , in students I didn't know would randomly just ask me in a class of like maybe 100 people , someone from three rows down would look around and then find me and ask me hey , do you have the notes for the class ? Like I don't even know this person , but it's almost like the energy that I had of like this person could be helpful because I love helping people , right , and I think people picked up on that energy . But I would always joke and be like do I have a sign on my forehead . So think about any patterns that you might have noticed of people asking you for help on something . The other aspect you can consider is what are aspirations for your future , so what are goals that you have that you can fit into that formula . If you want to get into that industry , or if you're really passionate about that particular company that you would love to work for , you can kind of embed that into your story as well .
Speaker 1Yeah , i want to emphasize that because a lot of the time , individuals who have been working in a certain industry and do decide to career pivot right or enter a new role or a different job , they're like how do I relate my unrelated , but I have a lot of experience , but I feel like it's unrelated to this right , and this is where you really want to leverage those transferable skills . How does this relate ? really sell what you have right I don't don't like to use it as like a business tactic of selling , but that's the best way I can describe it how your aspirations can change right , what it is that you're seeking from this different position , and how that will be useful to this team as well . So you are seeking something new , but also remember to back it up with some evidence .
Speaker 2Yeah , excellent . And , last but not least , just thinking about what do I want to be known for . Really , that's the , that's the kind of mark that you're leaving with the person that you're connecting with . What do you want to be known for ? what do you want them to remember about you ?
Speaker 1yeah , if they can sum you up in like three words , what would it be ?
Speaker 2exactly . So let's say you consider those things , you build your elevator pitch you , you feel comfortable with it and you're ready to kind of use that in your interactions with people . What are other spaces where people can MJ ? people can express their brand , express their image , without necessarily like typing out their elevator pitch sure .
Speaker 1So , without necessarily typing out their elevator pitch , where you can really showcase your brand and allow others to be a part of it and and have that is online , your online presence . Right ? it's 2023 . I feel like it's safe to say that everybody has an online presence , right ? somebody , everyone has a digital footprint in this world . Now , too , and it looks very different because we all use different social platforms .
Speaker 1I said social media in the beginning , so I'll stick to that . Different social media platforms differently . There are a few that are , i would say , identified . The society has identified them as more professional and others that can be personal , but also professional as well . The top two I mean you , you and I use them all the time is LinkedIn . Is would be considered professional . A lot of individuals compare it to like Facebook , like a professional Facebook , which is very funny , and we're gonna get into into LinkedIn what that looks like . Right , you want to make sure to have an online presence as well as Instagram , instagram tick tock I'm gonna group these together , where these are more media focused Instagram tick tock and Facebook right , where you can demonstrate your brand , and Twitter as well , where you can talk about your brand and really showcase and reach as many other individuals as possible , but link them back to the same mission and brand of who you are yeah , definitely .
Speaker 2I think it's really important for us to emphasize here that , even if some of those platforms are not considered professional , they are still super critical , especially when your job searching yep , because there's some data out there that over 90% of employers or recruiters will search your social media when they're considering hiring you for a job yeah , you people , okay .
Speaker 1So it's true , we , armin and I , have been on search committees . We Google people , we look them up on LinkedIn I mean , i think that's the first place we always go and if not , you Google their name and a little bit about them and some stuff always tends to come on yeah , yeah , and , and if nothing at all comes up , that's also . That's yeah , that that's yeah . It keeps me curious . I did want to add you said you were referring to the , the three , the three the social media package is what I'll call it , as some individuals may not considered as professional .
Speaker 1You can also make what you want with these platforms , right ? you have the ability to design and create them and really do with them what you want . You can use us as an example . We both have professional Instagrams . We both also have personal Instagrams as well . Right , there's a . I feel like there's a little bit of everything . There's a little bit of room for everybody on each platform definitely 100% .
Speaker 2There are so many people who use Facebook , instagram and and TikTok to promote their brand and to promote their knowledge . Even if you don't necessarily have a side business like you and I am , jay we have our side businesses we have . We are creating those pages on Instagram because we have that intention . But I know a lot of folks who maybe that's not a business , but it's just , it's their major , it's something that they're passionate about . Some people do cooking videos for fun . That's not even at all part of their career . They just like , really enjoy doing that and they've created a brand for themselves .
Speaker 2Actually , i'll even myself I forgot that I do that too , but on my personal Instagram I have my cooking highlights because that's something that I enjoy and it's part of my brand every time I see a friend they're like oh my gosh , i love your cooking videos you know it has nothing to do with my career , but it's still part of my brand because I love doing that , you know so there are different ways where you can still implement your knowledge , your skills , things that are important to you , even in these personal profiles that you have on social media .
Speaker 1Yes , social media is important to use . I know this can be a controversial topic among human beings . However , when used with the purpose in which it's intended and which you make it to be intended , right ? So , for example , you're going to open a LinkedIn . A lot of students not just students , but a lot of human beings have LinkedIn , and the purpose is to connect with individuals . Right , linkedin is a platform .
Speaker 1I'm going to focus a little bit here on . Linkedin is a platform in which you connect with other individuals and you really get to develop relationships with human beings all over the world . Really , right , it's globally known as the most , as the top platform to connect with other individuals in a professional manner , and you can do a little bit of both . Right , it can be a little bit of personal and it can be a little bit of professional . What do I mean by that ? This is where I draw back to one of my favorite terms . I use the term authentically professional all the time . That is exactly what I think of when I think of LinkedIn . If you look at my LinkedIn , you'll see a little bit of MJ and her being a societal educator , because that's what I like to be known for as well , but you also see MJ at work and MJ promoting career confidence into equity of career services as well .
Maximizing LinkedIn, Overcoming Anxiety
Speaker 2Definitely , i use my LinkedIn in that way too . It's very versatile , because I do post things related to my day job And then I will post things related to career rise , because both are interconnected and part of my brand and my identity . I've heard folks talk about having separate LinkedIn profiles for like two different industries . Yeah , i've known folks who maybe work in higher ed but then are also in the fitness world .
Speaker 2Things like that , so people have done that as well . But if they're fairly similar or there are some connections between the two , i think it's definitely okay to keep one profile and have all of those aspects in one profile , because it could be a lot more fruitful to have all of those aspects in one page versus having different profiles .
Speaker 1Yeah , i also think it shows your diversity as a human being , the different parts of who you are and how you're able to kind of switch gears whenever it comes to you And you're known a lot more and you're able to reach a wider variety of humans .
Speaker 2Yeah , definitely . So let's dive deep a little bit into the LinkedIn profile , because what we've seen from our students and clients is that there's a little bit of anxious energy around LinkedIn . I feel like what I'm seeing patterns is like people don't know what to do with LinkedIn . Sometimes they have a profile and it's just there . They're not active . They have their resume on there and that's it .
Speaker 1I've had a student tell me before , like MJ , my LinkedIn is just collecting dust . And I think that's true for a lot . I mean , it was true for me at one point in my life . I'm a lot more active . I should be a lot more active actually But there are points in our lives where profiles kind of collect dust And it's good to show that you're constantly being updated .
Speaker 1And yes , when you talked about the anxiety , I think it goes back to what you were saying in the beginning How a lot of people have the idea of personal branding as boasting about yourself right , As showcasing like the most positive and best parts of who you are and your promotion and this and that and how you got a speaking gig and all of these things right , Where it feels a lot more negative and it feels like we're showing off rather than just being proud of the things that we're doing and showing the world about all of these great skills that we have and things to offer the world .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah . It's really a perspective switch because if you have these accomplishments or you've done something in your work setting that you're super proud of , this is the right , the appropriate place to be able to express that . If not here , then where True , you know , and in the US culture , it is very , very appropriate and also encouraged to highlight what you have to offer .
Speaker 2It might not be so true in other parts of the world , and I know those of us coming from different cultures . we've seen in our cultures and I believe we talked about this in a previous episode too- where it's maybe not as valued right Like being humble and being modest is more valued in many , many cultures across the world . So I think a lot of us bring that with us , You know even if you might have been born or raised here those cultural expectations we still carry with us .
Speaker 1Yeah , i will tell you that it was very uncomfortable in the beginning to get used to using social media to talk about my brand and to almost , like , feel proud of myself .
Speaker 1I know that if you follow me and you see the things that I post , you're like what ? But yeah , sometimes I still feel a little uncomfortable and I'm like , oh , i know some of my family or my friends are going to see this Like , how does it make me feel ? I think that's more of a counselor reflection question , but there is that uncomfortability with showing off and there is that perspective and how you see different things . Right , are you going to use it to grow and to show the world your skills , or are you going to see it more as a negative , where it's going to feel heavier on you ?
Speaker 2Yeah , 100% . I remember when I started the Career Rise Instagram , i would not show my face on there . I was like no people are going to think who are you to like talk about these things ? You know , they don't know me , they don't know my qualifications , and I just kind of started posting career tips And then it took me . You know , I had to learn the hard way that people want to connect with you And I think this is the biggest , most important part of any social media platform is people want to connect with the person behind the screen .
Speaker 2Yeah , so it's not even about it , about like the words that you're posting , it's about the energy and the emotion that you portray and whatever you're posting . So to learn the hard way to show my face and to show what value I have to offer , so people can know what brand I have , and that's for me . It's going to help grow my business , but it doesn't matter if it's a business oriented or not . It's if they connect with you . They are going to then remember your brand .
Speaker 1Very true , yes , and I think that's something I will give myself a pat on the back . That's something you complimented me on in the beginning , when I started Career . Confidence was that you notice immediately how people were drawn to the page or drawn to my story , because I was very open and honest with who I was as the human first , yes , and then shared a little bit more about my career education piece .
Speaker 2Yes , i think you did that very well .
Speaker 1We're trying . Every day is worth of trying .
Speaker 2So , with that said , i encourage you all listening out there , regardless of what stage you're at in your career , regardless of which social media we're talking about here , start thinking about . Once you have clarity on the brand that you want to portray , start thinking about different ways .
Speaker 2And if you could start small like I did , you know you don't have to create reels showing your entire , like brand right away , but start small , like I did , if that's going to help you with the baby steps , just to kind of get comfortable with posting a little bit of your accomplishments , a little bit of your knowledge and your skills .
Speaker 2I have someone that I follow on my personal social media accounts that I know from high school and I think they do this really well too . They're in the insurance field and they have absolutely no problem sharing their knowledge and their accomplishments in the insurance field and actually they've grown quite a bit over the past few years in their industry . You can just tell how passionate this person is about the field that they work in , and obviously posting has , i'm sure , helped them get clients and things like that , but that's also helped them grow in their career , because recently they had posted that they were ranked like number one or something like that in their industry in terms of how many people they were able to do . So I thought that was excellent and I know quite a few people who do that . So when you're really excited about something , you actually also want to share it . It's not even about you , don't really overthink it . You're like I love this topic , i'm going to talk about it .
Speaker 1Yeah , And I think a lot of people have a little bit of anxiety in how to share that because it's like , well , I don't want to start a completely new Instagram for this thing And I'm not like I don't know if that's what I want to do or I don't want to make a whole , separate LinkedIn profile or create a whole LinkedIn .
Speaker 1That's based off of this one thing And I think it's sprinkling it here and there . You have the opportunity to choose how you use what social media . So if you want to stick to LinkedIn , which for you might feel safe for me that felt very , very safe in the beginning and I acknowledge that And I still have those feelings sometimes or LinkedIn is the safest place to post something like that , whether it's something small , something small . I can't even think of something small right now , but oh , for example , creating a conference proposal right .
Speaker 1And I get to share a little bit about my thoughts and things like that and make a small post on LinkedIn . You get to really choose what you want to use and make it your own right Because , again , it's your brand . Your personal brand is a true reflection of who you are , not of the work that I mean . Yes , it's a part of the work that you do , but who does the work ?
Speaker 2you , exactly , exactly One of our student employees at UCLA . We offered them a promotion for next year and they did such a great job sharing about that promotion on their .
Speaker 2LinkedIn And you could see the excitement in their posts . It was . I highly doubt that anyone reading was thinking that he was not being humble or modest or anything , because it was . It was so authentic about how he actually learned and he's so appreciative of everything he's learned in this position and that he's so excited to have a more leadership role next year . So when it's done with an authentic tone , it's going to come across beautifully and it's actually going to help promote your brand of like , what you know and what value you bring to society . Yeah , so , with that said , let's talk a little bit about the LinkedIn profile . We'll touch base on it just a little bit today and then , in a episode next time , we will get deeper into the LinkedIn profile . Sounds good , yeah . So what are some parts of the LinkedIn profile that we can kind of have our audience start thinking about today and then we will get deeper into those next time ?
Speaker 1Sure
Building Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
Speaker 1. So when I think of LinkedIn , and even myself just going on it , what are the things that catch my attention ? One is making sure you have a photo , and I use the word photo and I'm going to use it broadly , because everybody has a different definition and has different means to take a professional headshot . My first professional headshot and I'm going to share this very humildemente , very humbled to say this was on the floor of my bedroom , against a small piece of white space . I have white walls , so I had to sit on the floor . My phone was propped up against a gigantic tower of books And I remember and I just I had on like sweats , but I changed my shirt and I had glasses at the time and I remember putting that together . So again , that can be from getting a headshot like MJ sitting on the floor of our bedroom , or you can have a friend take it . All of our phones are not capable of amazing photos , so you can have a friend take it in front of like a plane wall or a building , or maybe you do and you can't have access to having a professional headshot .
Speaker 1So first for me it's like the photo and next is like the headline , so right underneath the profile well , actually there's something else too , but I'll say in a second is what it says to describe who you are . So , automatically , when you create a LinkedIn , it kind of generates based off of what the information you feed . It like a header for you , a LinkedIn headline , right . And it'll say something like so , for example , when I was an undergrad and I created my LinkedIn , it said student student at Mount St Mary's University , psychology right . And I'm like , oh , that cringe .
Speaker 1I cringe when I think of that . Now it says higher education , professional right . It says career counselor , it says Latina , it says first gen , it describes who I am . And the third thing so photo right Headline . The third thing that really catches my attention funny enough you're going to think I'm really weird is the background image is like what you see behind , because it tells me a lot about the person , right . So I know LinkedIn has a great section where you can really pick as a whole ton of different ones , but it also shows me like how you want to portray yourself . Mine is like a photo of a desk , so for me it's like clean , it's crisp and it has my name in my , i think , my hand , my Instagram handle . But some people may have like I know a lot of our students do like the UCLA background right .
Speaker 1Like of the buildings and it looks beautiful , And some people do like the sky , some people do . they create their own on Canva . So those are the three things that kind of stick out to me .
Speaker 2Oh , i love those . And Canva , yes , has actually a LinkedIn banner template that you can use and create your own . And you're right , that is also one of the things I noticed . First , because I do think it says a lot about the person .
Speaker 2I feel like every once in a while I'll go in and update mine to kind of reflect where I'm at and how I'm feeling in that time in my life , and so the one I have right now has like books and , and it's like very academic , business-oriented , but it's colorful , so it's bright and it's fun , because I feel like I want to portray the fun side of me while also portraying that I have the business and the academic and entrepreneurial side of me as well . With that said , besides the headline and the photo and the banner , another thing that really catches my attention is the personal about me section . I always , when I'm looking at somebody's LinkedIn , that is one of the first things I read , because it tells me a lot about their writing style , their tone , how they're speaking to their audience , says a lot about that person .
Speaker 1Yeah , that was not me . I promise . I did look up your LinkedIn . I was like what I was like ? I haven't seen you change it . I'm looking at it right now . Are you stalking me right now ? I totally am stalking you because I was like what are you talking about ? The last time I think I saw I think you had a similar image to mine where it was like something like a desk .
Speaker 2Yeah , i think I had to go to the camp . It was green , yes , it was green And then I felt like the green wasn't representing my energy anymore .
Speaker 1The green was very serious Yeah .
Speaker 2So I changed to the fun side , maybe because summer is coming up .
Speaker 1I don't know , maybe , but I did check your LinkedIn because I was like wait , hold on . What are you talking about ? What books ?
Speaker 2There were no books left , did you ?
Speaker 1see it .
Speaker 2Yeah , but the about me section is super important because it's almost like your personal branding statement a little bit longer than that statement , but it is your personal branding paragraph because it's that overview of what you want people to know about . You write off the bat and it's your tone .
Speaker 1Yeah , and everyone does this really differently . I've read about me sections that are written completely in third person and they're written like a biography .
Speaker 2I've written .
Speaker 1I've read a personal about me that are written in first person and where people tell their story .
Speaker 2Right .
Speaker 1And why they got into a certain field , or I'll read things of like in a futuristic tone where they want to be and where they are right now . And it's funny because individuals do it in a very specific way , right . So sometimes they'll be very specific into what they're looking for . And I always encourage individuals to leave your about me section very broad if you're calling , if you're having like some kind of call to action . The reason why is because if any employer recruiter comes across while you're job searching , they'll say like , oh , this person is seeking certain certain roles , like a specific role or specific title or specific industry where it closes off many opportunities . I don't know if that made a lot of sense , but I always encourage individuals when creating their about me is to share who they are , right , and I always encourage individuals , like the somewhat of a response , to tell me about who you are and why this is important to you . Why is what you do important to you and why is what you want to do important to how it's going to impact society .
Speaker 2Yes , i second that that keeping it a little bit more broad is is generally better , and this goes for your entire LinkedIn profile , including your past experiences . We're going to get to this next time when we actually dive deep into LinkedIn and how to like do all the different sections on LinkedIn . I encourage both of us encourage having a more broad tone overall because it keeps the reader more curious and maybe wondering if you would be open to different types of positions or if you have different types of skill sets , versus pigeonholing yourself if you got too specific .
Speaker 1Yeah , i absolutely agree . You definitely don't want to do that . You don't want to steer your audience away . You want it to be very inviting and very welcoming and warm .
Speaker 2Yeah , so , with that said , linkedin is one of the main tools that you can use to brand yourself and to demonstrate your brand to the world , but , like we talked about earlier , it is not the only platform . You can use other social media accounts . It could be , and it should be , in your day to day interactions with people and in your resume in your cover letter in your interviews and so on and so forth .
Speaker 2It's really how you present yourself to the world . So with that , we encourage you all to think about what your personal brand is and the prompts that we shared in today's episode . You can use those to help you build your personal brand . And next time we will be talking about the LinkedIn profile and getting deep into how to actually do each of the sections on LinkedIn .
Speaker 1Yeah , and if you find us on LinkedIn , go ahead and connect with us , send us a message . Let us know that you heard our podcast this episode and that you want to connect with us . We'd be more than happy to share that connection .
Speaker 2Yes , we would love to get connection requests from you all .
Speaker 1Yeah , so see you on LinkedIn . Bye guys .
Speaker 2If you've been following me , then you may already know that I have a platform , career Rise , which is dedicated to helping people in their career development process .
Speaker 2I believe that each person has the ability to grow , evolve and make informed decisions , but sometimes our internal compass gets blurry when we take in messages from society , culture and other aspects of the world . So my goal is to help you clarify your goals , make a plan and learn practical tools and strategies to find a fulfilling career . On my website , you'll notice that I offer one-on-one meetings with clients to discuss any of the following topics Career decision-making , job search , interview prep or graduate school applications . I also have a resume building course which I'll link in the show notes below . This course is recorded videos of me explaining every aspect of a resume , almost as if you're working with me in a live meeting . Another main part of my platform is a free subscription service to access resources and a monthly newsletter on all things career . If you're currently job searching , i've listed targeted websites on my homepage for you to browse and hopefully find your next opportunity . I'll see you on my website .
Career Confidence Instagram Launch
Speaker 1Hi everybody and thank you for listening to today's episode .
Speaker 1I want to share with you that I recently launched an Instagram platform called Career Confidence , with the intention and purpose of empowering , inspiring and promoting confidence in all aspects of our lives , especially in our career journeys , specifically with the lens of career as a career counselor . Confidence is not something that is prepackaged , but developed and strengthened through our experiences and can look and feel different for each individual . As a fellow career counselor , educator and higher education professional , along with all being first gen , my personal promise is to create a positive impact so we can build and grow our career confidence . I'm excited to continue sharing my narrative , as I do on here with you , but also on Instagram now , as a first generation Latina professional , and how I continue forming and growing into my career confidence . I'm hopeful that this platform will serve as a source of authenticity , inspiration and as a resource in all career related topics . Stay tuned , not only to learn more about my story and dedicated work , but join me as I grow and transform in the counseling and higher education space . See you on Instagram .