We're on a fourth episode of the Stress-Less Career Show and I'm super super excited to be back with you for this month’s topic. It's the beginning of February and we are going to focus in on your personal brand, how your personal brand plays into your career and why it is important.
Today, we're going to start with something that I believe personally is the foundation of your personal brand and that is your core values as a person, as an employee - and if you own a business - your core values for your business as well. Now, if you are a solo-preneur, your personal values might actually intertwine with your professional values. However, if you're part of a larger company, you have to think about how your personal values fit into the overall values of your organization.
So how do you determine your core values? My first recommendation is go online and do a quick google search. There are plenty of workbooks you can download and use to determine exactly what your core values are. There are plenty of free ones out there or if you want to pay for one you can too. Either way, start there to begin determining what those core values are.
Once you determine your core values, you're going to be able to move forward and figure out how to use those values in your life. How do my core values play into how I put myself out there on social media? How do they play into how I put myself out there in a cover letter or resume? How do they inform my decisions when I'm interviewing, building a business, interacting with colleagues and different professionals in the field. How do they play into how I should be interacting with the world?
Your core values become a core foundation for how you need to start interacting with the world around you so you can create an authentic brand for yourself. Branding is all about what people think of you and how you are perceived when you're putting a message out there. Your core values are often times how you want to be perceived. You want to know that X Y and Z are part of your community and of you. However, you can't have those things be part of your personal brand if you don't know what those things are.
Take some time to discover what your core values truly are. Next week for Episode 5 of The Stress-Less Career Show, we will be talking about how do you put this all together, take those core values and put them into something more solid in terms of personal branding.
If you feel like you are getting stuck when trying to identify your core values, sign up for a complimentary clarity session with me here. Together, we will discuss where you’re at, where you’re going, what’s getting in the way and start developing a clear path towards work you love!