Welcome back, everyone! As we wrap up the month of July, we wanted to build on a concept that we introduced to you last week: your professional brand at work. Many of us are consistently thinking about who we hope to become, how we want to be viewed, and the aspects that make up our identities within our roles and company. However, who are you OUTSIDE of the hours of 9-5? How do you spend your free time? What makes you, YOU in your personal life? Keep reading here to find out!

Your Personal Brand…

• Morals and Values: Who you are and what you value are still the building blocks of your personal brand. In the same way that we posed this question in a professional format… is your career your first priority? Building a family? Playing an instrument? Spending time with friends or a significant other? Moving somewhere new? Traveling? Whatever is in your mind will guide your brand, conversations, opinions, and daily discussions. So, writing down a list of values and figuring out what is most important to you is a great place to start.
• Unique Identity: In the same way that each employee possesses a unique skill set that they bring to work to help shape their corporate identity, we each possess unique skills outside of our companies too! Think about it like this, how would your friends describe you? What are your specific strengths that differentiate who you are? What legacy do you want to leave after graduating? After moving? In life overall? Think about the way you’re perceived and those attributes that hold the highest value in your mind…
• Motivations: A super key factor in identifying your personal brand is understanding your greatest motivations. Not only will this drive you toward your career path and goals, but will help you to schedule activities and events that bring you fulfillment and joy. Are you motivated by giving back to your community? What charities resonate with your values? Are you motivated by compensation, work-life balance, or benefits? Or a mix? The blend of your personal motivations, driven by the way you find fulfillment, helps shape the unique way that you create a life for yourself in and outside of work.
• Goals: Your current goals are a fantastic reflection of ‘where’ you’re heading in life; whether this looks like a home base, a location to move to, a career advancement, a relationship next step, or any other monumental moment, this ‘north star’ drives you to succeed and work hard every day! Identifying goals is also a great way to adapt or change your personal brand to fit who you want to be. For example, if you want to be viewed as a talented artist, your goal may be to enroll in a painting class that meets weekly over the next 6 months to cultivate this skill set. If you hope to be viewed as a charitable and generous individual, donating a few hours each week to an intentional charity is an amazing step to dive into. Aligning your goals with the qualities through which you hope to be viewed is a largely success strategy for perfecting your personal brand.

Remember, our personal brands are continuously evolving as we learn more about the world and grow! Checking in with yourself to ensure that you’re on the right track is a valuable skill to execute. It’s never too late to get started – so find a pen, and notebook paper, and start jotting down some answers to the above as soon as TODAY!