Motivated to S.W.O.T. my Brand…

As blogging is a significant part of your personal brand, we have the following guest post by Karen P. Katz, a Credentialed Career Manager at the Career Acceleration Network. Karen blogs at Career Acceleration Notes and can also be found at the Career Management Alliance Blog.

The 2007 Career Masters Conference (CMI), recently held in Louisville, KY, has set off a flurry of activity in the world of career professionals.  The flurry is about personal branding, a concept that Tom Peters fleshed-out in a Fast Company article nearly10 years ago. Career professionals are adding value to their work with job seekers and those in career transition by working with clients to identify their personal brand.

Those who attended this gathering are entrepreneurs, writers, and coaches whose mission is to help others realize their goals through employment and business.  As with most tools, we don’t invent them, but rather adapt them to suit our needs and abilities.  Before embarking on the path to personal branding, borrow a familiar strategic planning tool:  perform a S.W.O.T. analysis on yourself, and if relevant, on your business:

Identify the “S” (strengths). What are your personal strengths? What are some of your notable accomplishments?  To what do you attribute your success thus far? 

Identify the “W” (weaknesses). Are there aspects of your personal style that negatively affect your work performance and business outcomes? With honest self-reflection, can you identify the personal gremlins that may be a barrier to your success?

Identify the “O” (opportunities). What opportunities exist for you? What is the state of the art in your area of expertise?  How will upcoming changes in your field affect your career?  Explore opportunities through connections with a mentor, work in a related field, through building and nurturing a network

Identify the “T” (threats). What are the external barriers to the achievement of your goals?  Consider the state of the economy, technological changes, work-life balance pressures and others.

Once you’ve completed an internal S.W.O.T. analysis, consider looking to your environment for feedback. Assessment tools such as the 360°Reach are designed to give you insight into the perceptions of others. 

Once you are clear about the Brand called YOU, Inc., you can employ the S.W.O.T. analysis to your target organizations.  The intersection of your brand and a company you’ve vetted through S.W.O.T. is likely to be a good fit.

Thanks Karen. I WILL S.W.O.T. my Brand, and even might get motivated to post it!