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Career Branding & True Path

Your career brand is one of your most important tools for navigating your career transitions. The knowledge and skills you bring, your personal qualities, your personality type, and most importantly your achievements and successes are all part of defining your brand. What is a career brand? It is simply a clear, concise statement of your profession and the skills and expertise you bring to an employer, customer or business partner.

Here are a few suggestions for the best way to work with True Path
1. Start with Qualities, Values, and 3 Things on the top line
2. Your stories are important. Use 3 Things to get your mind working on your key stories, because there will be more story activities as you go.
3. The more time you spend the more you'll get out of it
4. Don't try to do it all at once. You have a year to work on this, so pace yourself.
5. "Skills" is an outside activity. We have created links to some of our favorite skill assessment sites, but these are separate from the Branding Report you create in True Path.
6. As you progress through True Path, you will be introduced to outside resources to help you develop a research and marketing strategy. Keep an eye out for Key Words and other tools to introduce more web-based resources as you create your brand.
7. Ask for help. Feel free to contact us through any of the many Help and Contact links you'll find on the site.

For perspective, here are 2 quotes from thinkers who are talking about career branding:

"..the main chance is becoming a free agent in an economy of free agents, looking to have the best season you can imagine in your field, looking to do your best work and chalk up a remarkable track record, and looking to establish your own micro equivalent of the Nike swoosh. Because if you do, you'll not only reach out toward every opportunity within arm's (or laptop's) length, you'll not only make a noteworthy contribution to your team's success - you'll also put yourself in a great bargaining position for next season's free-agency market. The good news -- and it is largely good news -- is that everyone has a chance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark."
Tom Peters, from the upcoming book Brand You

"Personal branding is a revolution in the way you manage your career or business. Your personal brand is what is authentic to you, differentiating from your peers and relevant and compelling to those who are making decisions about you. In a phrase, it's your unique promise of value."
William Aruda, of Reach Personal Branding

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From a Workshop Participant:

“I attended your class three days after walking away from my 22-year career with (company name withheld). It was probably too soon. I was pretty wrung out. I didn’t realize how bad. Since then I had a marvelous trip to Europe, as you know, and when I got back I got on a serious fitness and diet program. Now that I get off work around 5:30 and live 25 minutes from home I’m able to keep up a vigorous exercise schedule, and have a life again. I dropped 10 lbs. and 100 points off my cholesterol in 3 months. I feel so much better. I’ve realized the importance and joy in having fun again and not always feeling like I’m under the hammer and don’t have time even for personal essentials. I’m living a balanced life for the first time in years. I told my boss yesterday, a fine young man (compared to me) and a great people person, that I’d like to roll my contract job into a full time position. He said there was a good chance of that.

New Job:
…I enjoy coming here every day. I’ve only been here three months but management really likes me. They have said so on a number of occasions. It feels like one person can still make a difference here. And they treat people like people.”

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Elements of Transition Management

Meaning of Work
Self-Assessment
Resumes & Interviews
Networking & Research
Think Like a Free Agent

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A Mission Statement

• connects us with our Core Values & Beliefs.
• provides a basic framework for evaluating transitions.
• helps to develop our Personal Branding, and connects us to our resume and interview process.

Check out the Covey Mission Builder

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LifeWork Adventure Chart

Introduce this ground-breaking planning tool to your clients today.