In a world that’s overflowing with information, it pays to make yourself memorable. Your personal brand statement helps to do just that.
This essential self-marketing tool is basically a pithy statement of your key skills and the value you can bring to any organisation you’re hoping to work for. For example:
Think of your personal brand statement as an elevator pitch for who you are and what you’ve got to offer. It’s ideal if you want to grab the attention of a hiring manager or recruiter sifting through CVs, or simply have a strong one-liner ready when your Skype interviewer says, ‘So tell me about yourself…’
So where can you use your brand statement? How do you go about crafting one? And what are the top tips that will help yours stand out from the crowd?
Your statement can be slotted in anywhere you need to market yourself to a potential employer: at the top of your CV, in a covering email or message, on your LinkedIn page, and so on.
You can also use it to start off an interview, or when meeting and networking with people face-to-face. Of course, in person you don’t want to sound like you’re just parroting a script, but it’s useful to have a snappy summary to draw on, especially if you’re faced with one of those moments where your mind goes blank and you can’t quite think where to begin.
The statement in its simplest form is typically a single sentence in the style of the examples above, but it’s useful to have different-length versions for different contexts. For example:
As you’ll see from these examples, mission statements tend to follow a formula. Typically it goes:
X sums up what you do, ideally with some sort of credential or proof point attached e.g. ‘industry-accredited’ or ‘highly experienced’ or ‘bilingual’.
Y relates to your experience and the sort of value you offer e.g. ‘with 5 years’ experience in negotiating merger & acquisition deals in the retail sector’.
Z is what you’re looking for next, again ideally also framed as a benefit to your potential audience e.g ‘looking to translate my proven business development skills into effective fundraising initiatives in the non-profit sector’.
As with the rest of your CV, it’s a good idea to regularly revisit your statement, and update it as your skills, experience and aspirations change. Likewise, be prepared to tweak it to make it more relevant for different jobs you apply for.
Here’s a few more examples to help inspire you to craft your very own killer brand statement…
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