3 Parts to Successful Career Transition: Part 3 - Professional Brand

As we move through change, there are three parts or areas of focus that lead to successful career transitions. They’re listed here in sequence, but in reality they can overlap or happen out of order. They are: Self Awareness, Exploring Options, and Professional Brand. I discuss each one separately in this and previous posts.

Let’s focus on part three, Professional Brand. How can we present our best, authentic self to our professional community? I will offer a few key points for communicating with potential employers, colleagues, and/or clients. They include: powerful story telling, consistency, and authenticity.

We are memorable when we tell a story. Whether writing a resume, updating a LinkedIn profile, or responding to interview questions, it’s important to tell a powerful story that includes our strengths, experiences, and our ability to contribute.

To do that, review your strengths from Part 1 and your accomplishments from the past months, years or decades. What themes emerge? Are you the problem-solver? the innovator? the communicator? Which themes relate to your current career goal? Identify the ways you can make a contribution, even if you are entering a new field. With this in mind, write a short story (a paragraph or two) for each of your accomplishments highlighting the strengths you bring to the new role and the results you’ve achieved in the past. Turn these stories into bullet points for your resume and LinkedIn profile, and use them in your responses to interview questions. Strengths-based stories with a focus on results are powerful. They make it easy for others to see your value.

Whatever platforms you use to communicate, be sure to send a consistent, professional message. For example: your resume and LinkedIn profile tell the same story. Your social media posts reflect your highlighted strengths. Your interview responses expand upon what you’ve written in application materials. All of your materials (digital, 2D) are identifiable as yours. You don’t have to have a logo, though it’s helpful to use the same font and format for everything you type.

Finally, be authentic. Be sure everything you communicate is an accurate reflection of you at your best. Never inflate your experience, and equally important, avoid understating it. If you share your true self in your professional brand, you’ll be offered opportunities that are a good match with your strengths, your values, and what you hope to contribute.

Best wishes for a successful career transition!