CREATE YOUR BRAND STATEMENT: Pitch Your 2012 Career Goal

Why not have a tag line or brand statement about what your career goal is for 2012?  Saying it brings it alive! You are more likely to achieve it. And, you gain supporters along the way by sharing it. In the world of professional development and career coaching, having a Professional Brand is the latest buzz on the street. The concept is a powerful one and can get you through barriers of
connecting with others to talk about your work or even network into potential new jobs or
new business. The reason it works well is that it's simple, memorable and fits YOU.


Here are some ways to think about it in 5 simple steps:

1. Set your career goal for the year! (if you have more than one, think of a larger "umbrella goal " or take them one at a time. If you don't know where to start, it's probably time to set up a career appointment.)
2. Think of an authentic way to tell someone what your goal is with an "engaging" and "memorable" sentence or two.  Short and memorable is the key.
3. Refine it and this becomes  your 2012 career "brand" statement!
4. Have a couple of stories that exemplify the brand statement and goal in more detail.
5. Get out in your professional world and share it! 

EXAMPLES:
A) Self-employed trainer:
Goal for 2012: To expand training part of business and to increase business throughout the US. This will involve more travel.
Ideas: More travel, more training, knowledge share, leverage expertise; more corporate work, expansion of work
Brand Statement for 2012: Do more traveling and training in 2012!  Bring the latest in career development to more companies and their employees across the US.
Examples: Facilitated a team buildings for US management team.  Helped them develop their own brand statement about the strength of the team and what it delivers. It was prepared for annual sales meeting. T-shirts were made and everyone on the team communicated the same messaging.
Team Tech - We deliver: Customers, Technology, Solutions!

B) Project manager for leading edge enterprise software
Goal for 2012: To build a team that will  design and deliver the most innovative product the company has ever seen. It will position the start-up company for IPO.
Ideas: Leverage previous design success, bring in leading edge developers/contacts in the industry, use ability to enlist key stakeholders to remove barriers and meet one year time frame
Brand Statement for 2012: Lead the team that  delivers the most talked about product of it's kind! This will happen by end of 2012 with team of highly respected developers. Product idea is already in place.
Example: Previous experience leading team that delivered one of first B-to-B enterprise systems during the .boom that made front pages of tech and business news.  Also, led teams that brought 3 start-up products into profitable releases and companies were positioned to go public in all 3 instances.

Enjoy the process! Let me know what assistance you need. And, do share your  results.
Looking  forward to hearing from you ~       Marianne