September 17, 2024 • 39 mins
Do you really need a personal brand if you’re not a public figure? The short answer is yes. Building a professional reputation leads to more opportunities, valuable relationships, and even better pay. In this episode, Gianna and Jamé talk about how to build a personal brand that actually feels like you and how to put that reputation out into the world.
Do you have any burning questions about work? We want to hear them! You can email us your questions at letstalkoffline@linkedin.com.
For more, follow Gianna (http://linkedin.com/in/giannaprudente) and Jamé (http://linkedin.com/in/jamejackson) on LinkedIn and subscribe to Gianna’s weekly newsletter: https://linkedin.com/letstalkoffline.
Credits
Gianna Prudente - Co-host, Early Career Development Editor, LinkedIn
Jamé Jackson - Co-host, Community Manager, LinkedIn
Sabrina Fang - Producer, Western Sound
Maya Pope-Chappell - Director of Content & Audience Development, LinkedIn
Jessi Hempel - Chief Content Officer, LinkedIn
Savannah Wright - Senior Producer, Western Sound
Sarah Dealy - Associate Producer, Western Sound
Alex MacInnis - Engineer, Western Sound
Courtney Coupe - Head of Original Programming, LinkedIn
Dan Roth - Editor in Chief, LinkedIn
Ben Adair - Executive Producer, Western Sound
Katrina Norvell - Executive Producer, iHeartMedia
Nikke Ettore - Executive Producer, iHeartMedia
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
LinkedIn News. I really don't like when people say I
am an aspiring blank like people put it in their
bios all the time, aspiring copywriter, expiring executive, aspire. Maybe
you already are the thing.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I say I'm an aspiring pastries.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
You already are because you already used. You are because
think about it. You already go home, and you already cook,
and you already bake, and you already test it out.
The only difference between you and them is that they
have a restaurant. You don't have it yet.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
From LinkedIn News and I heard podcasts, this is Let's
Talk Offline, a show about what it takes to thrive
in the early years of your career without sacrificing your values,
sanity or sleep.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I'm Giana Prudenti and I'm.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Jamaie Jackson Gadson. Recently, guys, I've been thinking a lot
about personal branding and more importantly, how everyone has a
personal brand. Yes, even you. I know it's super cringey
and it's kind of uncomfortable, but the reality is there
is something that someone is saying about you in some
room that you are not in Now. The great thing
(01:07):
is you can learn how to own that perception and
hopefully use it to your advantage. And crafting a personal
brand or narrative around your career and who you are
can also help lead to different connections, awesome opportunities, and
hopefully some money in the process.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
So a few years ago, I had literally no idea
what a personal brand even was. I was like, where
do I even be in and what does it even
mean to have a personal brand. Luckily, I've learned a
thing or two since then, So don't worry. We're going
to break down how to think of yourself as a
brand and how to communicate who you are to the world.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Personal branding the branding of the personals, Gianna. I am
super excited for today's episode where we're going to be
talking all about personal branding. But I know some of
the listeners are probably like, what even is a personal
brand and why is it even important? So I know
you can google what a personal brand is, but I
(02:11):
want to share with you my definition. So, a personal
brand is like a unique combination of your skills, your experiences,
your values, and your personality traits that not only defines you,
but it also helps differentiate you from other people. This
is not only how you present yourself to the world,
but also how the world receives you. And I think
(02:33):
it's really important to remember that your personal brand can
encompass both your personal and your professional lives, which obviously
has some differentiation, but there's a lot of similarity. So
why is a personal brand important now?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
For me?
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I think that once you really have an idea of
what your personal brand is, it helps unlock new opportunities.
I mean this can be both financial opportunities, social opportunities,
what have you. Because once people kind of know who
who you are, what you're about, and when you come
into a room what you stand on, they can actually
start to figure out is an alignment with this person's
(03:08):
brand or not. Jona, what do you think I've.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Kind of thought about my personal brand like a reputation.
I think that's been like the easiest way for me
to understand what can seem like a very abstract idea.
So it's like what somebody says about you when you're
not in the room, and whatever you're posting, whatever you're
putting out there, that message is building equity in your
name and being at like everything is online now, it's
(03:33):
literally the message somebody receives when they come across your
LinkedIn profile, Like when I see Jammay's LinkedIn profile, who
is she? What is her brand? What is her profile
telling me? So it's really how somebody sees and discusses
your work. And when you think about your personal brand
kind of like a career story, it becomes your unique
value proposition or your elevator pitch or literally the answer
(03:57):
to tell me about yourself in an interview, which I
know we all dread. And here's the thing, Like it
might sound like I know what I'm talking about, but
just a year or so ago, the idea of personal
branding felt so overwhelming to me. I had never really
heard about it, so I didn't know what it meant.
And in my role at LinkedIn, I've been given a
(04:18):
platform to build this brand around my coverage and I've
been able to build a following through consistent posting largely
tied to my work. So all my gen Z coverage
nothing too personal. And a year or so ago, people
started reaching out to me for speaking engagements and they
would say, Gianna, you have a really strong personal brand.
(04:41):
I would love for you to speak on personal branding.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And I was like, hold up.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
What is my brand?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
It was not.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I mean it was, but iden know where it was okay,
So I was like, okay, crap, what is my brand?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
What is it saying? Like what's the message out here?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
And I remember even before that, somebody once asked me
in an interview like Gianna, who are you? And I
was like, oh my god, that's like the hardest, like
the easiest question, but so hard, like I'm a sister,
I'm a friend, like the most robotic, wacky answer. But
I hadn't given any thought to my personal brand, so
I couldn't really articulate that. So people were reaching out
(05:20):
about personal branding opportunities and I said to myself, it's
time to figure this out. So I did a lot
of research, which included a podcast episode that you were
on with my manager Andrew Seaman has get Hired podcasts
where you talked about personal branding. And you truly are
the queen in this space, and you've done such an
incredible job over your career building that in such a
(05:43):
way that sets you apart from other people. So I'm
just like completely in all of that as is, and
I'm so excited to chat with you today about how
you've you know, built that brand early on and how
that shifted throughout your career, because it's something I'm giving
a lot of thought to now, so I would love
to know, like, when did you first think of yourself
as like, Okay, I'm Jimmay a brand.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I love that question, But first, let me take a
step back and say thank you. That means a lot
coming from you. I never really considered myself as a brand,
and I was at the time just creating, just to create,
and I really wanted to write about things that I
was passionate about. I had gone to college, I had
hung up my dream of being an actor at that time.
(06:26):
I look at baby, look at me now, even my
dog is in commercials ha. But so I was working
and I was like, okay, but I really like to write.
I like to research, and at that point I was like, okay,
I'm going to probably do something in the journalism space.
So senior year, I'm applying, applying, applying, and I'm not
getting anything back. By then, I was trying to get
(06:46):
to New York from DC, but I kept hitting this
wall and I started to get really frustrated. And after
having one experience with an editor who said that she
really liked my content, but she already had a black
girl on her team. I felt really ignited to talk
about race. And I was looking at people like Terry
(07:08):
Agans or Robin Gavon or these prominent black women who
were working at these credible outlets like The Wall Street Journal,
the Washington Post, and they were talking about fashion, but
they were talking about it in a way that wasn't
about the clothes. It was about what was happening in
the culture. And I said, I want to do that.
So I started my own blog because I was like, well,
if nobody else is going to give me a chance,
(07:29):
I'm going to do it myself. And so I started
The Blonde Misfit because I'm blonde, because I'm a natural blonde.
You guys don't ask no questions, okay, And so I
was writing essentially about what it felt like to be
a misfit, an outsider looking into an industry that would
not let me in. And that was the initial steps
of building community. Because really, I started the blog thinking
(07:53):
I'm only going to use this until I get my
foot in the door at Conde Nas or Hearst or whatever.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Like.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I had no intention of keeping this blog up. But
what ended up happening was when I finally did get
to New York and I finally did get the job
right working at a fashion magazine. Everybody was like, wait,
you're just going to abandon us. You're not gonna keep
talking to us and telling us like how it is now,
and I was like, you know what, yeah. So then
the blog continue to take shape and I was style
(08:20):
sharing different stories about my life in New York and
making friends. When I first started to get on speaking
panels and it's really beautiful. I will just say that
the beauty of age is wisdom and getting to look
back and seeing over my life. How this started off
because you know, I started off with the blog because
I was a writer. But then what ended up happening
(08:41):
was then as the blog continued to pick up, other
websites wanted to profile me. So now I was getting
my name out there through press features. Then I started
getting invited to people's podcasts, and I was like, wait,
you want to hear me talk? Like I know you
guys probably would not believe this, but I never thought
(09:02):
people wanted to hear me or see me. I was
just behind a computer screen. And then people were like,
oh wait, this girl actually kind of can talk and
she can do some things. And then I started getting
invited to speak on panels, and then I started getting
invited to host panels, and so I just see all
of that to say that that day that I started
my blog, I never would have imagined that it would
(09:23):
turn into what it is today. But as time went on,
I had to learn that, yeah, I want to see
myself as a brand. I want myself to have brand colors,
I want myself to have a mission savement. I saw
myself as a Coca Cola or as a McDonald's, the
same way that you know that arch of McDonald's. I
wanted you to see the logo of my brand or
(09:44):
see the name and be like, oh, yeah, I know
what that is. And I just kind of put myself
in that mentality by just showing up. It was really
kind of fun because I got to capitalize on the
height of the blogging era and really putting myself out
there perfecting it, putting out what I like to call
them minimal viable product and just perfecting over time. So
it really was never a thing where I thought I'm
(10:06):
a brand, but over time I was like, I can
monetize this and I can also build new things. So
this is really why I say your personal brand can
start one way, but over the course of your career,
you're going to constantly evolve and evolve and evolve.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
I think that is something that is really refreshing and reassuring,
because first off, I didn't realize you started the blah
misfit like what ten plus years ago. Yeah, that's where's
coming up this year? Oh ten years that's like insane.
So it's grown so much, but what it started out
as is not what it is today. And you were
just documenting your journey and a lot of people, a
(10:42):
lot of gen Zers I speak to, were like, well,
I don't even know what to post about on LinkedIn
for example, but it literally is just posting your own journey, right,
Like that's unique to you. So you were going through
this time of struggle and you were open and Canada
about it, and it's snowballed into this big, beautiful thing
that throughout that time helped you get opportunities, which I
(11:03):
think is like the biggest thing when it comes to
personal branding is you just got to start somewhere and
you know, leverage your own experience when you do and
then those opportunities will come.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
It's really a long term investment.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
I absolutely agree. And I also think that authenticity is
the name of the game here because I'm not gonna lie.
When I first launched my brand, I was trying to
be the very cookie cutter fashion editor, always on point,
and I realized and it actually was my boyfriend at
the time now husband, who was like, this is weird
because who you are at brunch and who you're putting
(11:36):
out out here in the streets is two different people.
And I was like, but I can't be my most
authentic self out there. He was like, why not. If
they like you, which they do, you have to be
truthful and so yeah, when I first started, I did
not want to open up, but I did not want
to really tell the truth about a lot of things.
I wanted to control the narrative. The minute I started
(11:59):
to make those adjustments and showing people the real me,
that was really when my world opened up. And honestly,
the minute I started being more authentic in being more
of who I am truly, whether you liked it or not,
it really helped me build community and essentially a network
of people who look out for me.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Coming up after the break, we're going to talk about
what it takes to build your personal brand. Spoiler, all
it takes is being you.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
That's next.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
So we're back talking about personal branding one on one,
and as we know, that can be very confusing and
challenging to figure out when.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
You're early in your career.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
There's still a lot I'm figuring out, even though I
spent the past few years, you know, trying to learn
what it takes to build a personal brand. And in
my coverage I speak to a lot of gen zers
who are also struggling with this, So I've compiled a
lot of their questions about how to even begin with
personal branding to asktimate to day is I'm putting you in.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
The hot seat.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Oh god, I'm so excited. Are you ready? I'm We're here?
Maybe we're here.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I want to start off with first figuring out what
you want your personal brand to be.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
How do you go about that? And is there an
exercise we can do totally? So I would say, first
ask yourself what would you like to be known for?
You know, if someone was just looking at a piece
of paper that had one or two sentences about you
and your unique value proposition, what would you want it
to say? So, Like, for the purposes of knowing that
we were going to talk about personal branding today, I
(13:43):
wrote out what my personal mission statement is. I said,
I champion diverse voices and empower black and brown artists
in the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries through authentic storytelling.
My mission is to show people that your dream life
is a life worth fighting for your elevator pitch. So
when it comes to personal branding, you want to figure
(14:05):
out what you want people to know you for. But
how to do that is really key here. So I
listed out three things that I think everyone can do.
So the first thing I wrote is that you should
identify your strengths and your passions. There's this really great
term called your zone of genius, which are things that
you are really really great at that also come easy
(14:25):
to you.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I always think we ought to be operating in our
zone of genius. Right, So if something comes easy to
you and it's natural, and you also happen to be
good at it, maybe that's also where you want to
pursue your career. The next thing I would say is
gathering feedback. Now, this one is where it can get fun.
It can also get kind of weird. But I was like,
(14:46):
if we're gonna get weird, let's get freaky, you know
what I mean? Go to your family, ask me to
see your family, your friends, maybe you're even your manager
or a trusted a person in your life. Right ask
them like, if you had to describe me in three adjectives,
what would they be? Because honestly, you can use those
adjectives to inform your personal vision statement, mission statement, however
(15:08):
you want to label it. You also want to start
asking people what do you see me as an expert
in or where do you see that I can add
value and impact because the reality is these are the
people who are seeing things about you that you don't see.
And honestly, even as scary as that is, the reason
why you want to do that is because you want
to make sure that what people see you as is
how you see yourself and how you want to be seen.
(15:31):
And there sometimes can be a disconnect in those things,
which you want to figure out early on. The last
thing I will quickly say is refine your statement. You
might have to go through a couple of revisions, but
then you can share it with other people. You can
be like, what do you think do you think that
this matches up with who I am and how I'm
showing up. I think that's a great place to start.
And the great thing is this is something that is
industry agnostic. Everybody can do it. You can do it
(15:53):
in your first job, you can do it in your internship,
you can do it when you are the senior CEO.
Everyone should have a personal vision statement that goes back
to their personal brand.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Speaking of industries, I think something that makes people hesitate
when it comes to personal branding is that it feels
exclusive to people who are in creative roles like you
and I. So I'm wondering, what's your advice to people
who work maybe in like finance or healthcare? How should
they think about building a personal brand when they're maybe
not in such a public facing role.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
That is such a great question, because I'm going to
tell you guys a little secret. A lot of people
make the mistake of thinking I am an extrovert. I
am an ambrovert, and I'm gonna say that because I
am extrovertive around people who I know. I obviously am
very extrovertive on social media. It's so much easier for
me to have social relationships than real ones, Like I
(16:42):
kid you not, I talk to the same four people
in my life. And I'm not joking when I say
it's literally for pretty much like it's like, it's pretty
bad I have to actually leave the house to socialize anyway.
But the reason why I say that is because I
think people make also the assumption and that personal branding
is so easy if you're an extrovert, and I totally
(17:03):
get that. But my advice for introverts as well as
people to your point who are in maybe less public
facing roles, is understand that your personal brand exists whether
you want it to or not. What we're discussing here
is you having the power to determine what that brand is.
People are going to talk about you no matter what
I would say. Don't necessarily think that personal branding means
(17:25):
you always have to be external, you have to have
a large social media presence that you have to be
posting all the time. It's really about controlling the narrative,
I would say, and really making sure that again, how
you want to come across is being communicated. So personal
branding still matters, right, You can still if you work
in finance. You can absolutely create content, maybe even sharing
(17:47):
it on LinkedIn about how you do audits or how
you are getting your CPA license, or maybe you've decided
you want to go back for your MBA. Like there
is so much content and just the everyday thing, and
really I would say, we want to see the journey. Yeah,
I don't want to just see a quote unquote overnight success,
because anyone who's been an overnight success is really at
(18:09):
least twenty years in the making. Like, so take the
pressure off of yourself to think that you have to
be this inflated Like I get it. I wear pink
blazers with feathers, I get it. I am a very
like bold, out there person. But you don't have to
be to be successful. You just have to be you
and even just share a little bit of the journey
in the process. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
I think when you think about it as your career story,
it's really how you sell yourself in networking conversations. When
you're reaching out to people, let's say, over LinkedIn, how
do you explain who you are you know, in the
context of your professional life in interviews? How do you
position yourself across your cover letter and resume, Like, what
is the message people are getting when they look at
those materials when they look at your LinkedIn profile. So
(18:50):
I think that's like the way to kind of think
about it if you're not somebody.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Who's like, I'm ready to post right now.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Yeah, totally, And I would definitely add to that that.
Really it's just about starting with where you are at
right now and understanding that you have something unique to
add to this conversation and that is also part of
your personal brand.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
I want to bring up a question from one of
our listeners. Next this is Dear work Bestie, where we
answer your questions. This week's comes from Morgan and Nevada.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
A question I have as a gen Z professional entering
the workforce is how can you start establishing a reputation
and credibility early in your career as you're building a
personal brand. Especially with social media and the Internet, it's
made it easier to put yourself out there, but it
also feels like there's more to consider when you're trying
to figure out what your personal brand is.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
I love Morgan's question because figuring out what you want
your personal brand to be is only the first step.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
And we talked about that before you then have to
communicate that.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
And you know, we've talked about posting a bit, and
you know how you position yourself in interviews and in networking.
But part of that too is building credibility, Like how
do you get people to actually buy into what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
What's your advice to Morgan.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah, it's one word consistency. I think that what's really
important here is that you build credibility when people see
things over a period of time. For instance, Gianna, you've
talked about baking and how much you love cooking and stuff.
If you said that one time to me and that
was the only time you ever mentioned it, I'm gonna
just be like, yeah, she said it, but like she's
(20:23):
really not serious about it. Now if you keep talking
about it now, I'm like, oh, there's something really here, right,
And in many ways you have to keep kind of
putting it out there. And I think that's what scares people.
People don't like to be marketers of themselves. They don't
like talking about themselves. It's scary, right. We're not comfortable
because we have been taught as a society to downplay
(20:44):
our achievements. This is not the time for that. Even
if it just starts something as simple as you know,
I am a this, and I'm a this, and I'm
a this, I do this. I specialize in that you
have to keep saying it. It's almost like affirmations to yourself.
The more you say it, the more it gets locked
into yourself, and the more that you keep saying it,
the more other people begin to see you as that. Now,
(21:05):
this is where faith without works is dead. You can't
just say something and then not back it up. Okay,
if you're gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the
walk too. That now also comes with showing up every
day authentically as that person you want to be treated
as an executive. You got to show up to work
as an executive. You got to carry yourself like one.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Right.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
For instance, for me, I was saying that I was
an actor before I even started editioning. Why I'm going
to classes, I'm taking my voice classings, I'm working out,
I'm doing the things, I'm doing the work, and guess what,
now I'm doing things like some of it, yes, it's
some of it is what is like delulu, like manifestation,
like but you have to believe it. And I'm so
(21:45):
passionate about it, because I really do think anyone can
change their life at the drop of a hat, the
minute you decide to take a bet on yourself. So
from Morgan, I would definitely say, be so delusionally aggressive
about who you want to be that you show up
every day and you speak life into being that person,
because at some point it's either going to be your
(22:07):
word against everybody else's. But if you've been putting in
the work, if you have the receipts, if you've been
showing up and you've been saying it, everybody else has
no other option but to support your vision for yourself.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
You know, Let's say you're like at a networking event
and you introduce yourself and you basically are sharing your
personal brand, like who you are, what you care about,
you know, your interests, your strengths. Someone's then gonna go
connect with you on LinkedIn and then they're going to see, oh,
you know, does her career experience align with this, does
her boud section align with that? I mean, they're not
literally going there and asking that. Maybe they are, but
(22:41):
I think it's a way for people to kind of,
you know, check what you're saying even if they don't
realize they're doing it consciously. They want to see the
posts that you're putting out there. Does it align with
kind of what you said?
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Absolutely? And that's kind of why. Fun fact, I really
don't like when people say I am an aspiring blank
like people put it in their bio all the time,
aspiring copywriter, expiring executive, aspire. Baby, you already are the
thing I say.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
I'm an aspiring pastry.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
You already are because you already us you are, because
think about it. You already go home and you already cook,
and you already bake, and you already test it out.
The only difference between you and them is that they
have a restaurant. You don't have it yet, thanks to me.
But think about it, because if you keep selling yourself
you're aspiring. You are already sort of putting a mental
(23:28):
glass ceiling on yourself that you haven't arrived yet. But
the minute you tell yourself, actually, I've already arrived. It's
just everybody else hasn't seen it yet. Like, honey, I
already know Lionsgate is gonna come knocking on my door
one day. Okay, I'm already carrying myself in the way
that I want to be. I'm going to stay ready
so I don't have to get ready. And that's just it.
(23:49):
The minute you realize that this is what you do
for your personal brand, the universe conspires in your favor
and I don't believe anything else. That's my delusionalness coming in.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
If we're going to be Jululu, be it for yourself,
I might as well be for yourself. Morgan mentioned social
media making it easier to put yourself out there, and
we talked a bit before. Or You mentioned having a
social media presence, and I remember when I started at LinkedIn,
I was so fearful to even start posting, even though
I was literally getting paid to do that, because I
was like, oh, my friends are going to see this,
(24:20):
what are they going to think? And I talked to
myself out of posting so many times. Luckily, I've really
worked on getting, you know, outside of my comfort zone
over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
But great, thank you.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
But I'm wondering for others who are just getting started.
Do you need to have a strong social media presence
to have a strong personal brand? Are those two things
mutually exclusive?
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Yeah, I would say, I said no. I would say
for certain industries. Obviously it pays to be more front facing, right,
But if you find that you don't necessarily need a
social media presence in order to be marketable, I would
say still do the exercise that we discussed and really
make sure you lock down your vision or your mission statement,
(25:03):
because you can use that when you go into job
interviews and when you're talking through your resume. I always
say social media can be a good tool in your
toolkit if used correctly. So a couple of mistakes that
I see is when people try to be too many places,
too many times, lock one platform down and then expand.
I'm saying this not just because I work here, but
(25:23):
because I genuinely have seen the fruit of the labor
here that LinkedIn I think is a really great place
for people to start out. First of all, we have
so many different formats. You have short form video, we
have LinkedIn live if you want to go long. We
have newsletters. You know, Gianna, you've been running a great
newsletter for years. There are so many different tools we
already have here, and I know, like then the caveat
(25:44):
of that is that people are like, but this is
a professional platform. How am I supposed to show up
baby by sharing your story, just by starting there. If
you have just graduated, like document the jobs maybe you know,
you don't have to call out the names of them,
but the companies and when things that you're learning in
the process that first internship, I bet you you walked
out better than you came in. Those are things that
(26:06):
you can start sharing now. And even though you don't
think that that's part of your brand, it sort of
is because everything is building this holistic idea and image
of you. So there's just so many ways that you
can flip storytelling on social media that I would say,
like to take the ick or the fear out of it.
Just start with what you know. At the end of
(26:27):
the day, as I am going to continue to say,
oh a brand authenticity is the name of the game.
Like you cannot be anyone else but you, and honestly,
no one else deserves that seat.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Okay, So I have.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Been loving everything you're sharing, but I have one last
question for you. You know, you build this personal brand, you
do all the work, you've taken time and energy and
invested into doing it. How do you then leverage that
personal brand to find your next opportunity?
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yes, so I would say that you can leverage a
couple of different ways. And again it goes back to
sort of your industry. This is honestly where industry research
is gonna come. Okay, market research. If you want to
be in a certain industry, you kind of need to
see who the movers and shakers are, what companies you
would want to work for, because it's gonna sort of
give you a vibe check.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
So, like, let's say, for instance, I am a new
grad who wants to work in marketing, and so I start,
you know, googling and finding out different cmos chief marketing
officers for those who don't know, and I'm like, Okay,
I want to aspire to be like this one. I'll
just use Bozma Saint John because she's just who I'm
thinking of off top of mind. You might go on
her Instagram, you might go on her LinkedIn. You start
(27:36):
to see how she's creating content. Now, what did I
say earlier? You are not an aspiring marketer. You already
are a marketer. Okay, So now you're like, all right, she's
posting consistently, she's posting a little of her personal she's
posting her professional wins, I'm going to start doing the same.
That is how you start building up the portfolio. And
now when you want to go and apply for X,
(27:59):
you know, job or whatever. Usually in a job application
they ask for links, websites, whatever. This is where you
can start sharing out your portfolio. Now, I know someone
out here saying, okay, but you may this is for
the creative folk. What I do and find it is
same thing. If you have cultivated or curated a digital
portfolio of some sort, you can absolutely share that. I
(28:19):
think a lot about how we have so many healthcare
professionals on LinkedIn. We have doctors, we have nurse practitioners,
we have everyone in between, and they are consistently creating
content on LinkedIn about becoming a new grad or going
to med school or whatever the process. That is all
fair game.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I was gonna say, even like what's going on in
the healthcare industry, like news that's impacting your job.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I need you now tell me what to do and
tell people to keep washing their hands, because I think
some people have stopped knowing that. It's really great. Yeah,
but what I'm but essentially what I'm saying is you
can leverage all of that and actually that is a
great way when you are filling up those job applications
for you to say I'm already talking about this. I
(29:00):
am already because again, the reason why your personal brand
is so important is because it differentiates you from other people,
including your competition. You have to show why would I
go out and nowadays getting a job is hard. I
know friends who are out here applying for two three,
four hundred jobs who have been laid off for a year,
year and a half. Whatever it is rough out here,
(29:20):
it is full on hunger games. So what are you
bringing to the table that is different than everybody else?
Your personal brand is that? And if you are already
creating content, why would I not take the bet on you?
At least I know that you can talk about this
versus someone who's just said, Hi, I just got my degree.
I don't have anything behind me. I don't have no receipts,
no samples, no nothing, just vibes. Can I come up
here and drink the macha? No? No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
So true.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
We're gonna take a short break, but stick around because
there's still plenty more to come.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Wow, Tomay, I love everything you shared and I love
just getting to learn more about your own journey and
something I've been curious about since I listened to that podcast.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Episode a year ago.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
So I really appreciate you sharing all of that with me.
And I think I totally need to revisit my mission statement.
I actually did write it before the episode.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I'm not gonna read it, but yeah, it's like not it.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
I need to, you know, think about my identity outside
of my job title, which I still feel tied to
because that's how I started my personal brand. So I'm
going to revise my mission statement just so I can
better articulate, like what I'm passionate about, what I'm interested
in outside of just like being tied to a company
and with a certain job title. And also I'm gonna
(30:54):
ask for feedback. I think that was such a good tip,
because you want to know if your messaging is land right,
Like you could do it for so long and then
somebody's like, oh, that's not really what I thought you
were about. So I think that's a really good piece
of advice, is to ask people closest to you, like,
if you had to describe me in the context of
my professional career, what would you say, and collect that
(31:17):
and you know, pivot revise, do all the things after.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
So those are my two action items.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
I love that I cannot wait to hear your personal
mission statement. But everything you said is so true, and
I think that the minute you detach yourself from a
job and think more about, like what is the holistic
arch of your life, then that will also help inform
you for other roles right and other opportunities down the road.
(31:42):
For me, I really want to emphasize three things. First
of all, remembering that authenticity is key. You are you.
I always like to say you are your superpower. Nobody
else can be you. No one else deserves to be you,
and if you were not you, then who would be?
So you have to be you and you have to
be true. Second, write the vision. Make it plain. It's
(32:04):
that simple. Write it out, put it on pen and paper,
articulate it. Workshop it. It's okay if you have to
go through multiple rounds. I'm gonna give you guys a
little tip. Open up, chat GPT, ask it some questions,
tell it you know, adjectives that you have that people
have given to you. Workshop your vision and if it aligns,
(32:24):
it aligns, and then pivot if you need to. And
then last personally, not least be consistent. One thing I
did not mention earlier that I think consistency also entails
is making sure that you're getting the same person, even
if it's a slightly different variation on every platform. If
you go to my Instagram, you go to my LinkedIn,
you go to my Twitter, you go to my TikTok,
you go to my website, you're gonna see Jamay. It's
(32:45):
going to be a different version of jam because obviously,
you know, I can cut up a little bit more
on some places versus not. But at the end of
the day, you're going to say this is Jammy Jackson,
and I know that for a fact. So your consistency
is also about showing up in the places where you
need to show up and being true to yourself in
the process. So speaking about being true to yourself, Gianna,
(33:07):
I gotta be true to myself. I love cooler cringe.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Ah.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
It is my favorite thing, Emma, because it is such
a fun way for us to figure out what is
cool versus what is cringe. And in this little part
of the show, we like to present something to you all,
and Gianna and I like to discuss if it is
in fact cool or it is cringe. So, Gianna, what
do we have this week?
Speaker 2 (33:31):
This is a spicey on? Oh I love spice dating
your coworkers. Ooh, you've been there, dumb.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Would you like to go first? What do you think
about that? Gianna?
Speaker 3 (33:46):
I think it's cool as long as there's like some
degree of separation between you and the person. So like
direct team is kind of you know, that could get messy.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
That could get really messy. Really message what if someone
got promoted over the other person.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Or just like you break up and then you're like,
let's work on this project together.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
No, I would not work on no project. You're on
your own body.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Yeah, totally great.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
So I think it's okay as long as there's some
you know, maybe they're on a different team or they
work in like a different office. Great, And I feel
like that's good. Like you need healthy separation too, Like
you don't want to be like potentially living with this person,
going to work every day, seeing them every day. And
I think there that's like a healthy level of separation
too that you want. So yeah, I don't know, I've
(34:30):
never experienced this myself.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
I was gonna say, have you ever had to, you.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Know, figure out no office romance. Okay, what about you?
Speaker 1 (34:39):
I kind of want that for you. But now, like
we both worked here, instead of be like, oh my god,
I'd be like, who's Gianna's bow. I have dated a
coworker before, but we were not on the same team.
We didn't have the same job function our entire days were.
It's completely different, and so I think that's sort of
where it was fun. And it was kind of you know,
(35:00):
it was cute. You know, oh, I see you up
in the lunch line boot, you know you want to
take a walk with me to go get coffee and
hold my hand. But wholl that didn't last. I was like,
is this your husband? No, it is not, but it
is okay, y because I'm trying. I want my husband
to work to work with me so we can do
the same things. He's like, absolutely not only can, He's like,
(35:22):
I can take you on doses.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
But I say the same thing. I would say that
it's cool as long as you have boundaries. Obviously, still
keep a professional. Okay, no hanky panky in the office, please,
I do not need to know what y'all been up
to with your weekends, with your nights. I don't stop
getting so close to each other. Stand away what is
Don't be weird, you know, especially at the company holiday party.
(35:48):
Not be weird because I'm gonna call you out. I'm
aa spray you with a spray bottle. You being weird, Yeah,
spray bottle. It's a little too hot up in heare.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
I think when people can start picking up on like
to they have a vibe, that's when you know.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
When other people start getting uncomfortable because they're like, something
itchy is happening here and I don't know what that's about.
Don't do that. Don't make the block hot, essentially, and
that's when it can get into the cringe territory. But again,
I would just say, also, just be mindful. You know,
I've had friends who have dated their bosses. I think
that is an absolute that's a no no. Like I
(36:22):
had one friend who was dealing with her manager's manager
like so she always would be like, he can't say
nothing to me. I'm like, sis, you're playing a dangerous game.
So like I would say, like, aside from like the
fun juiciness of it all, I get it. We're young,
we're hot. Everything is still sitting pretty and whatnot. Like,
I get it, baby, but just be careful about how
you run in these streets because these streets will run
(36:44):
up on you.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Yeah wow.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
But also you're like spending so much time at work,
so I think it's natural for people to find you
know a partner at work. I think you also just
have to be mindful of the policies not to be
like such an arc. But you probably have to disclose
that it is in your employee hand but read your
employee handbook.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Do not get god.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
Are you guys let us know cool or cring dating
or coworkers, and if you have some stories to share,
we want to hear them.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
So I think we both are collectively cool cool ringing cool, Yeah,
cool ringing. We're ordering cringe if you go about it
at the don't be freaky kids out there, So guys,
don't be a freaky kid cooler cringe, but more poorlyan.
I hope you've enjoyed this entire episode. Thank you so
much for listening.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Yes, and make sure you guys are following the newsletter
Let's Talk offline if you're not already. The link is
in the show description and also in my LinkedIn bio.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
Yes and a couple of important announcements. First of all,
if you have a burning question, make sure you send
that to me and gian Okay, we cannot do that
segment without you, guys, so we want to hear it. Okay,
send us your questions. Information on how to do that
is in the show description. And also, do not forget
to rate and review the podcast and follow it to
the you didnim misus any episodes. If you missed the
(38:01):
episode is because you are not listening to your work. Mesties,
Jamai and Gianna follow the show.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
Also shout out to Morgan for your question this week.
That was so fun to have Jamay answer. I know
I learned a lot. All Right, guys, before you go,
remember we've always got your back, so something comes up.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Let's Talk Offline. I'm Giana Prudente.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
And I'm Jammy Jackson Gadson Stay Thriving.
Speaker 3 (38:26):
Let's Talk Offline is a production of LinkedIn News and
iHeart Podcasts. This show is produced by Western Sound. Our
producer is Sabrina Fang. The show is edited by Savannah Wright.
Our associate producer is Sarah Dilley. Alex mckinnis is our engineer,
and Ben Adair is the executive producer.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
Executive producers at iHeart Podcasts are Katrina Norvel and Nikki Etour.
We got support from LinkedIn's Jesse Temple, Sarah Storm, and
Ayana Angel. Maya Pope Chappelle is Director of Content, Dave
Pond is Head of News Production, Courtney Coop is Head
of Original Programming, and Dan Roth is the editor in
(39:02):
chief of LinkedIn
Speaker 4 (39:09):
M
LinkedIn News. I really don't like when people say I
am an aspiring blank like people put it in their
bios all the time, aspiring copywriter, expiring executive, aspire. Maybe
you already are the thing.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I say I'm an aspiring pastries.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
You already are because you already used. You are because
think about it. You already go home, and you already cook,
and you already bake, and you already test it out.
The only difference between you and them is that they
have a restaurant. You don't have it yet.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
From LinkedIn News and I heard podcasts, this is Let's
Talk Offline, a show about what it takes to thrive
in the early years of your career without sacrificing your values,
sanity or sleep.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I'm Giana Prudenti and I'm.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Jamaie Jackson Gadson. Recently, guys, I've been thinking a lot
about personal branding and more importantly, how everyone has a
personal brand. Yes, even you. I know it's super cringey
and it's kind of uncomfortable, but the reality is there
is something that someone is saying about you in some
room that you are not in Now. The great thing
(01:07):
is you can learn how to own that perception and
hopefully use it to your advantage. And crafting a personal
brand or narrative around your career and who you are
can also help lead to different connections, awesome opportunities, and
hopefully some money in the process.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
So a few years ago, I had literally no idea
what a personal brand even was. I was like, where
do I even be in and what does it even
mean to have a personal brand. Luckily, I've learned a
thing or two since then, So don't worry. We're going
to break down how to think of yourself as a
brand and how to communicate who you are to the world.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Personal branding the branding of the personals, Gianna. I am
super excited for today's episode where we're going to be
talking all about personal branding. But I know some of
the listeners are probably like, what even is a personal
brand and why is it even important? So I know
you can google what a personal brand is, but I
(02:11):
want to share with you my definition. So, a personal
brand is like a unique combination of your skills, your experiences,
your values, and your personality traits that not only defines you,
but it also helps differentiate you from other people. This
is not only how you present yourself to the world,
but also how the world receives you. And I think
(02:33):
it's really important to remember that your personal brand can
encompass both your personal and your professional lives, which obviously
has some differentiation, but there's a lot of similarity. So
why is a personal brand important now?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
For me?
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I think that once you really have an idea of
what your personal brand is, it helps unlock new opportunities.
I mean this can be both financial opportunities, social opportunities,
what have you. Because once people kind of know who
who you are, what you're about, and when you come
into a room what you stand on, they can actually
start to figure out is an alignment with this person's
(03:08):
brand or not. Jona, what do you think I've.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Kind of thought about my personal brand like a reputation.
I think that's been like the easiest way for me
to understand what can seem like a very abstract idea.
So it's like what somebody says about you when you're
not in the room, and whatever you're posting, whatever you're
putting out there, that message is building equity in your
name and being at like everything is online now, it's
(03:33):
literally the message somebody receives when they come across your
LinkedIn profile, Like when I see Jammay's LinkedIn profile, who
is she? What is her brand? What is her profile
telling me? So it's really how somebody sees and discusses
your work. And when you think about your personal brand
kind of like a career story, it becomes your unique
value proposition or your elevator pitch or literally the answer
(03:57):
to tell me about yourself in an interview, which I
know we all dread. And here's the thing, Like it
might sound like I know what I'm talking about, but
just a year or so ago, the idea of personal
branding felt so overwhelming to me. I had never really
heard about it, so I didn't know what it meant.
And in my role at LinkedIn, I've been given a
(04:18):
platform to build this brand around my coverage and I've
been able to build a following through consistent posting largely
tied to my work. So all my gen Z coverage
nothing too personal. And a year or so ago, people
started reaching out to me for speaking engagements and they
would say, Gianna, you have a really strong personal brand.
(04:41):
I would love for you to speak on personal branding.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And I was like, hold up.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
What is my brand?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
It was not.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I mean it was, but iden know where it was okay,
So I was like, okay, crap, what is my brand?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
What is it saying? Like what's the message out here?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
And I remember even before that, somebody once asked me
in an interview like Gianna, who are you? And I
was like, oh my god, that's like the hardest, like
the easiest question, but so hard, like I'm a sister,
I'm a friend, like the most robotic, wacky answer. But
I hadn't given any thought to my personal brand, so
I couldn't really articulate that. So people were reaching out
(05:20):
about personal branding opportunities and I said to myself, it's
time to figure this out. So I did a lot
of research, which included a podcast episode that you were
on with my manager Andrew Seaman has get Hired podcasts
where you talked about personal branding. And you truly are
the queen in this space, and you've done such an
incredible job over your career building that in such a
(05:43):
way that sets you apart from other people. So I'm
just like completely in all of that as is, and
I'm so excited to chat with you today about how
you've you know, built that brand early on and how
that shifted throughout your career, because it's something I'm giving
a lot of thought to now, so I would love
to know, like, when did you first think of yourself
as like, Okay, I'm Jimmay a brand.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I love that question, But first, let me take a
step back and say thank you. That means a lot
coming from you. I never really considered myself as a brand,
and I was at the time just creating, just to create,
and I really wanted to write about things that I
was passionate about. I had gone to college, I had
hung up my dream of being an actor at that time.
(06:26):
I look at baby, look at me now, even my
dog is in commercials ha. But so I was working
and I was like, okay, but I really like to write.
I like to research, and at that point I was like, okay,
I'm going to probably do something in the journalism space.
So senior year, I'm applying, applying, applying, and I'm not
getting anything back. By then, I was trying to get
(06:46):
to New York from DC, but I kept hitting this
wall and I started to get really frustrated. And after
having one experience with an editor who said that she
really liked my content, but she already had a black
girl on her team. I felt really ignited to talk
about race. And I was looking at people like Terry
(07:08):
Agans or Robin Gavon or these prominent black women who
were working at these credible outlets like The Wall Street Journal,
the Washington Post, and they were talking about fashion, but
they were talking about it in a way that wasn't
about the clothes. It was about what was happening in
the culture. And I said, I want to do that.
So I started my own blog because I was like, well,
if nobody else is going to give me a chance,
(07:29):
I'm going to do it myself. And so I started
The Blonde Misfit because I'm blonde, because I'm a natural blonde.
You guys don't ask no questions, okay, And so I
was writing essentially about what it felt like to be
a misfit, an outsider looking into an industry that would
not let me in. And that was the initial steps
of building community. Because really, I started the blog thinking
(07:53):
I'm only going to use this until I get my
foot in the door at Conde Nas or Hearst or whatever.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Like.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I had no intention of keeping this blog up. But
what ended up happening was when I finally did get
to New York and I finally did get the job
right working at a fashion magazine. Everybody was like, wait,
you're just going to abandon us. You're not gonna keep
talking to us and telling us like how it is now,
and I was like, you know what, yeah. So then
the blog continue to take shape and I was style
(08:20):
sharing different stories about my life in New York and
making friends. When I first started to get on speaking
panels and it's really beautiful. I will just say that
the beauty of age is wisdom and getting to look
back and seeing over my life. How this started off
because you know, I started off with the blog because
I was a writer. But then what ended up happening
(08:41):
was then as the blog continued to pick up, other
websites wanted to profile me. So now I was getting
my name out there through press features. Then I started
getting invited to people's podcasts, and I was like, wait,
you want to hear me talk? Like I know you
guys probably would not believe this, but I never thought
(09:02):
people wanted to hear me or see me. I was
just behind a computer screen. And then people were like,
oh wait, this girl actually kind of can talk and
she can do some things. And then I started getting
invited to speak on panels, and then I started getting
invited to host panels, and so I just see all
of that to say that that day that I started
my blog, I never would have imagined that it would
(09:23):
turn into what it is today. But as time went on,
I had to learn that, yeah, I want to see
myself as a brand. I want myself to have brand colors,
I want myself to have a mission savement. I saw
myself as a Coca Cola or as a McDonald's, the
same way that you know that arch of McDonald's. I
wanted you to see the logo of my brand or
(09:44):
see the name and be like, oh, yeah, I know
what that is. And I just kind of put myself
in that mentality by just showing up. It was really
kind of fun because I got to capitalize on the
height of the blogging era and really putting myself out
there perfecting it, putting out what I like to call
them minimal viable product and just perfecting over time. So
it really was never a thing where I thought I'm
(10:06):
a brand, but over time I was like, I can
monetize this and I can also build new things. So
this is really why I say your personal brand can
start one way, but over the course of your career,
you're going to constantly evolve and evolve and evolve.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
I think that is something that is really refreshing and reassuring,
because first off, I didn't realize you started the blah
misfit like what ten plus years ago. Yeah, that's where's
coming up this year? Oh ten years that's like insane.
So it's grown so much, but what it started out
as is not what it is today. And you were
just documenting your journey and a lot of people, a
(10:42):
lot of gen Zers I speak to, were like, well,
I don't even know what to post about on LinkedIn
for example, but it literally is just posting your own journey, right,
Like that's unique to you. So you were going through
this time of struggle and you were open and Canada
about it, and it's snowballed into this big, beautiful thing
that throughout that time helped you get opportunities, which I
(11:03):
think is like the biggest thing when it comes to
personal branding is you just got to start somewhere and
you know, leverage your own experience when you do and
then those opportunities will come.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
It's really a long term investment.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
I absolutely agree. And I also think that authenticity is
the name of the game here because I'm not gonna lie.
When I first launched my brand, I was trying to
be the very cookie cutter fashion editor, always on point,
and I realized and it actually was my boyfriend at
the time now husband, who was like, this is weird
because who you are at brunch and who you're putting
(11:36):
out out here in the streets is two different people.
And I was like, but I can't be my most
authentic self out there. He was like, why not. If
they like you, which they do, you have to be
truthful and so yeah, when I first started, I did
not want to open up, but I did not want
to really tell the truth about a lot of things.
I wanted to control the narrative. The minute I started
(11:59):
to make those adjustments and showing people the real me,
that was really when my world opened up. And honestly,
the minute I started being more authentic in being more
of who I am truly, whether you liked it or not,
it really helped me build community and essentially a network
of people who look out for me.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Coming up after the break, we're going to talk about
what it takes to build your personal brand. Spoiler, all
it takes is being you.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
That's next.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
So we're back talking about personal branding one on one,
and as we know, that can be very confusing and
challenging to figure out when.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
You're early in your career.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
There's still a lot I'm figuring out, even though I
spent the past few years, you know, trying to learn
what it takes to build a personal brand. And in
my coverage I speak to a lot of gen zers
who are also struggling with this, So I've compiled a
lot of their questions about how to even begin with
personal branding to asktimate to day is I'm putting you in.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
The hot seat.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Oh god, I'm so excited. Are you ready? I'm We're here?
Maybe we're here.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I want to start off with first figuring out what
you want your personal brand to be.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
How do you go about that? And is there an
exercise we can do totally? So I would say, first
ask yourself what would you like to be known for?
You know, if someone was just looking at a piece
of paper that had one or two sentences about you
and your unique value proposition, what would you want it
to say? So, Like, for the purposes of knowing that
we were going to talk about personal branding today, I
(13:43):
wrote out what my personal mission statement is. I said,
I champion diverse voices and empower black and brown artists
in the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries through authentic storytelling.
My mission is to show people that your dream life
is a life worth fighting for your elevator pitch. So
when it comes to personal branding, you want to figure
(14:05):
out what you want people to know you for. But
how to do that is really key here. So I
listed out three things that I think everyone can do.
So the first thing I wrote is that you should
identify your strengths and your passions. There's this really great
term called your zone of genius, which are things that
you are really really great at that also come easy
(14:25):
to you.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I always think we ought to be operating in our
zone of genius. Right, So if something comes easy to
you and it's natural, and you also happen to be
good at it, maybe that's also where you want to
pursue your career. The next thing I would say is
gathering feedback. Now, this one is where it can get fun.
It can also get kind of weird. But I was like,
(14:46):
if we're gonna get weird, let's get freaky, you know
what I mean? Go to your family, ask me to
see your family, your friends, maybe you're even your manager
or a trusted a person in your life. Right ask
them like, if you had to describe me in three adjectives,
what would they be? Because honestly, you can use those
adjectives to inform your personal vision statement, mission statement, however
(15:08):
you want to label it. You also want to start
asking people what do you see me as an expert
in or where do you see that I can add
value and impact because the reality is these are the
people who are seeing things about you that you don't see.
And honestly, even as scary as that is, the reason
why you want to do that is because you want
to make sure that what people see you as is
how you see yourself and how you want to be seen.
(15:31):
And there sometimes can be a disconnect in those things,
which you want to figure out early on. The last
thing I will quickly say is refine your statement. You
might have to go through a couple of revisions, but
then you can share it with other people. You can
be like, what do you think do you think that
this matches up with who I am and how I'm
showing up. I think that's a great place to start.
And the great thing is this is something that is
industry agnostic. Everybody can do it. You can do it
(15:53):
in your first job, you can do it in your internship,
you can do it when you are the senior CEO.
Everyone should have a personal vision statement that goes back
to their personal brand.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Speaking of industries, I think something that makes people hesitate
when it comes to personal branding is that it feels
exclusive to people who are in creative roles like you
and I. So I'm wondering, what's your advice to people
who work maybe in like finance or healthcare? How should
they think about building a personal brand when they're maybe
not in such a public facing role.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
That is such a great question, because I'm going to
tell you guys a little secret. A lot of people
make the mistake of thinking I am an extrovert. I
am an ambrovert, and I'm gonna say that because I
am extrovertive around people who I know. I obviously am
very extrovertive on social media. It's so much easier for
me to have social relationships than real ones, Like I
(16:42):
kid you not, I talk to the same four people
in my life. And I'm not joking when I say
it's literally for pretty much like it's like, it's pretty
bad I have to actually leave the house to socialize anyway.
But the reason why I say that is because I
think people make also the assumption and that personal branding
is so easy if you're an extrovert, and I totally
(17:03):
get that. But my advice for introverts as well as
people to your point who are in maybe less public
facing roles, is understand that your personal brand exists whether
you want it to or not. What we're discussing here
is you having the power to determine what that brand is.
People are going to talk about you no matter what
I would say. Don't necessarily think that personal branding means
(17:25):
you always have to be external, you have to have
a large social media presence that you have to be
posting all the time. It's really about controlling the narrative,
I would say, and really making sure that again, how
you want to come across is being communicated. So personal
branding still matters, right, You can still if you work
in finance. You can absolutely create content, maybe even sharing
(17:47):
it on LinkedIn about how you do audits or how
you are getting your CPA license, or maybe you've decided
you want to go back for your MBA. Like there
is so much content and just the everyday thing, and
really I would say, we want to see the journey. Yeah,
I don't want to just see a quote unquote overnight success,
because anyone who's been an overnight success is really at
(18:09):
least twenty years in the making. Like, so take the
pressure off of yourself to think that you have to
be this inflated Like I get it. I wear pink
blazers with feathers, I get it. I am a very
like bold, out there person. But you don't have to
be to be successful. You just have to be you
and even just share a little bit of the journey
in the process. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
I think when you think about it as your career story,
it's really how you sell yourself in networking conversations. When
you're reaching out to people, let's say, over LinkedIn, how
do you explain who you are you know, in the
context of your professional life in interviews? How do you
position yourself across your cover letter and resume, Like, what
is the message people are getting when they look at
those materials when they look at your LinkedIn profile. So
(18:50):
I think that's like the way to kind of think
about it if you're not somebody.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Who's like, I'm ready to post right now.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Yeah, totally, And I would definitely add to that that.
Really it's just about starting with where you are at
right now and understanding that you have something unique to
add to this conversation and that is also part of
your personal brand.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
I want to bring up a question from one of
our listeners. Next this is Dear work Bestie, where we
answer your questions. This week's comes from Morgan and Nevada.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
A question I have as a gen Z professional entering
the workforce is how can you start establishing a reputation
and credibility early in your career as you're building a
personal brand. Especially with social media and the Internet, it's
made it easier to put yourself out there, but it
also feels like there's more to consider when you're trying
to figure out what your personal brand is.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
I love Morgan's question because figuring out what you want
your personal brand to be is only the first step.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
And we talked about that before you then have to
communicate that.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
And you know, we've talked about posting a bit, and
you know how you position yourself in interviews and in networking.
But part of that too is building credibility, Like how
do you get people to actually buy into what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
What's your advice to Morgan.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah, it's one word consistency. I think that what's really
important here is that you build credibility when people see
things over a period of time. For instance, Gianna, you've
talked about baking and how much you love cooking and stuff.
If you said that one time to me and that
was the only time you ever mentioned it, I'm gonna
just be like, yeah, she said it, but like she's
(20:23):
really not serious about it. Now if you keep talking
about it now, I'm like, oh, there's something really here, right,
And in many ways you have to keep kind of
putting it out there. And I think that's what scares people.
People don't like to be marketers of themselves. They don't
like talking about themselves. It's scary, right. We're not comfortable
because we have been taught as a society to downplay
(20:44):
our achievements. This is not the time for that. Even
if it just starts something as simple as you know,
I am a this, and I'm a this, and I'm
a this, I do this. I specialize in that you
have to keep saying it. It's almost like affirmations to yourself.
The more you say it, the more it gets locked
into yourself, and the more that you keep saying it,
the more other people begin to see you as that. Now,
(21:05):
this is where faith without works is dead. You can't
just say something and then not back it up. Okay,
if you're gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the
walk too. That now also comes with showing up every
day authentically as that person you want to be treated
as an executive. You got to show up to work
as an executive. You got to carry yourself like one.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Right.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
For instance, for me, I was saying that I was
an actor before I even started editioning. Why I'm going
to classes, I'm taking my voice classings, I'm working out,
I'm doing the things, I'm doing the work, and guess what,
now I'm doing things like some of it, yes, it's
some of it is what is like delulu, like manifestation,
like but you have to believe it. And I'm so
(21:45):
passionate about it, because I really do think anyone can
change their life at the drop of a hat, the
minute you decide to take a bet on yourself. So
from Morgan, I would definitely say, be so delusionally aggressive
about who you want to be that you show up
every day and you speak life into being that person,
because at some point it's either going to be your
(22:07):
word against everybody else's. But if you've been putting in
the work, if you have the receipts, if you've been
showing up and you've been saying it, everybody else has
no other option but to support your vision for yourself.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
You know, Let's say you're like at a networking event
and you introduce yourself and you basically are sharing your
personal brand, like who you are, what you care about,
you know, your interests, your strengths. Someone's then gonna go
connect with you on LinkedIn and then they're going to see, oh,
you know, does her career experience align with this, does
her boud section align with that? I mean, they're not
literally going there and asking that. Maybe they are, but
(22:41):
I think it's a way for people to kind of,
you know, check what you're saying even if they don't
realize they're doing it consciously. They want to see the
posts that you're putting out there. Does it align with
kind of what you said?
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Absolutely? And that's kind of why. Fun fact, I really
don't like when people say I am an aspiring blank
like people put it in their bio all the time,
aspiring copywriter, expiring executive, aspire. Baby, you already are the
thing I say.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
I'm an aspiring pastry.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
You already are because you already us you are, because
think about it. You already go home and you already cook,
and you already bake, and you already test it out.
The only difference between you and them is that they
have a restaurant. You don't have it yet, thanks to me.
But think about it, because if you keep selling yourself
you're aspiring. You are already sort of putting a mental
(23:28):
glass ceiling on yourself that you haven't arrived yet. But
the minute you tell yourself, actually, I've already arrived. It's
just everybody else hasn't seen it yet. Like, honey, I
already know Lionsgate is gonna come knocking on my door
one day. Okay, I'm already carrying myself in the way
that I want to be. I'm going to stay ready
so I don't have to get ready. And that's just it.
(23:49):
The minute you realize that this is what you do
for your personal brand, the universe conspires in your favor
and I don't believe anything else. That's my delusionalness coming in.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
If we're going to be Jululu, be it for yourself,
I might as well be for yourself. Morgan mentioned social
media making it easier to put yourself out there, and
we talked a bit before. Or You mentioned having a
social media presence, and I remember when I started at LinkedIn,
I was so fearful to even start posting, even though
I was literally getting paid to do that, because I
was like, oh, my friends are going to see this,
(24:20):
what are they going to think? And I talked to
myself out of posting so many times. Luckily, I've really
worked on getting, you know, outside of my comfort zone
over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
But great, thank you.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
But I'm wondering for others who are just getting started.
Do you need to have a strong social media presence
to have a strong personal brand? Are those two things
mutually exclusive?
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Yeah, I would say, I said no. I would say
for certain industries. Obviously it pays to be more front facing, right,
But if you find that you don't necessarily need a
social media presence in order to be marketable, I would
say still do the exercise that we discussed and really
make sure you lock down your vision or your mission statement,
(25:03):
because you can use that when you go into job
interviews and when you're talking through your resume. I always
say social media can be a good tool in your
toolkit if used correctly. So a couple of mistakes that
I see is when people try to be too many places,
too many times, lock one platform down and then expand.
I'm saying this not just because I work here, but
(25:23):
because I genuinely have seen the fruit of the labor
here that LinkedIn I think is a really great place
for people to start out. First of all, we have
so many different formats. You have short form video, we
have LinkedIn live if you want to go long. We
have newsletters. You know, Gianna, you've been running a great
newsletter for years. There are so many different tools we
already have here, and I know, like then the caveat
(25:44):
of that is that people are like, but this is
a professional platform. How am I supposed to show up
baby by sharing your story, just by starting there. If
you have just graduated, like document the jobs maybe you know,
you don't have to call out the names of them,
but the companies and when things that you're learning in
the process that first internship, I bet you you walked
out better than you came in. Those are things that
(26:06):
you can start sharing now. And even though you don't
think that that's part of your brand, it sort of
is because everything is building this holistic idea and image
of you. So there's just so many ways that you
can flip storytelling on social media that I would say,
like to take the ick or the fear out of it.
Just start with what you know. At the end of
(26:27):
the day, as I am going to continue to say,
oh a brand authenticity is the name of the game.
Like you cannot be anyone else but you, and honestly,
no one else deserves that seat.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Okay, So I have.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Been loving everything you're sharing, but I have one last
question for you. You know, you build this personal brand, you
do all the work, you've taken time and energy and
invested into doing it. How do you then leverage that
personal brand to find your next opportunity?
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yes, so I would say that you can leverage a
couple of different ways. And again it goes back to
sort of your industry. This is honestly where industry research
is gonna come. Okay, market research. If you want to
be in a certain industry, you kind of need to
see who the movers and shakers are, what companies you
would want to work for, because it's gonna sort of
give you a vibe check.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
So, like, let's say, for instance, I am a new
grad who wants to work in marketing, and so I start,
you know, googling and finding out different cmos chief marketing
officers for those who don't know, and I'm like, Okay,
I want to aspire to be like this one. I'll
just use Bozma Saint John because she's just who I'm
thinking of off top of mind. You might go on
her Instagram, you might go on her LinkedIn. You start
(27:36):
to see how she's creating content. Now, what did I
say earlier? You are not an aspiring marketer. You already
are a marketer. Okay, So now you're like, all right, she's
posting consistently, she's posting a little of her personal she's
posting her professional wins, I'm going to start doing the same.
That is how you start building up the portfolio. And
now when you want to go and apply for X,
(27:59):
you know, job or whatever. Usually in a job application
they ask for links, websites, whatever. This is where you
can start sharing out your portfolio. Now, I know someone
out here saying, okay, but you may this is for
the creative folk. What I do and find it is
same thing. If you have cultivated or curated a digital
portfolio of some sort, you can absolutely share that. I
(28:19):
think a lot about how we have so many healthcare
professionals on LinkedIn. We have doctors, we have nurse practitioners,
we have everyone in between, and they are consistently creating
content on LinkedIn about becoming a new grad or going
to med school or whatever the process. That is all
fair game.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I was gonna say, even like what's going on in
the healthcare industry, like news that's impacting your job.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I need you now tell me what to do and
tell people to keep washing their hands, because I think
some people have stopped knowing that. It's really great. Yeah,
but what I'm but essentially what I'm saying is you
can leverage all of that and actually that is a
great way when you are filling up those job applications
for you to say I'm already talking about this. I
(29:00):
am already because again, the reason why your personal brand
is so important is because it differentiates you from other people,
including your competition. You have to show why would I
go out and nowadays getting a job is hard. I
know friends who are out here applying for two three,
four hundred jobs who have been laid off for a year,
year and a half. Whatever it is rough out here,
(29:20):
it is full on hunger games. So what are you
bringing to the table that is different than everybody else?
Your personal brand is that? And if you are already
creating content, why would I not take the bet on you?
At least I know that you can talk about this
versus someone who's just said, Hi, I just got my degree.
I don't have anything behind me. I don't have no receipts,
no samples, no nothing, just vibes. Can I come up
here and drink the macha? No? No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
So true.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
We're gonna take a short break, but stick around because
there's still plenty more to come.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Wow, Tomay, I love everything you shared and I love
just getting to learn more about your own journey and
something I've been curious about since I listened to that podcast.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Episode a year ago.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
So I really appreciate you sharing all of that with me.
And I think I totally need to revisit my mission statement.
I actually did write it before the episode.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I'm not gonna read it, but yeah, it's like not it.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
I need to, you know, think about my identity outside
of my job title, which I still feel tied to
because that's how I started my personal brand. So I'm
going to revise my mission statement just so I can
better articulate, like what I'm passionate about, what I'm interested
in outside of just like being tied to a company
and with a certain job title. And also I'm gonna
(30:54):
ask for feedback. I think that was such a good tip,
because you want to know if your messaging is land right,
Like you could do it for so long and then
somebody's like, oh, that's not really what I thought you
were about. So I think that's a really good piece
of advice, is to ask people closest to you, like,
if you had to describe me in the context of
my professional career, what would you say, and collect that
(31:17):
and you know, pivot revise, do all the things after.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
So those are my two action items.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
I love that I cannot wait to hear your personal
mission statement. But everything you said is so true, and
I think that the minute you detach yourself from a
job and think more about, like what is the holistic
arch of your life, then that will also help inform
you for other roles right and other opportunities down the road.
(31:42):
For me, I really want to emphasize three things. First
of all, remembering that authenticity is key. You are you.
I always like to say you are your superpower. Nobody
else can be you. No one else deserves to be you,
and if you were not you, then who would be?
So you have to be you and you have to
be true. Second, write the vision. Make it plain. It's
(32:04):
that simple. Write it out, put it on pen and paper,
articulate it. Workshop it. It's okay if you have to
go through multiple rounds. I'm gonna give you guys a
little tip. Open up, chat GPT, ask it some questions,
tell it you know, adjectives that you have that people
have given to you. Workshop your vision and if it aligns,
(32:24):
it aligns, and then pivot if you need to. And
then last personally, not least be consistent. One thing I
did not mention earlier that I think consistency also entails
is making sure that you're getting the same person, even
if it's a slightly different variation on every platform. If
you go to my Instagram, you go to my LinkedIn,
you go to my Twitter, you go to my TikTok,
you go to my website, you're gonna see Jamay. It's
(32:45):
going to be a different version of jam because obviously,
you know, I can cut up a little bit more
on some places versus not. But at the end of
the day, you're going to say this is Jammy Jackson,
and I know that for a fact. So your consistency
is also about showing up in the places where you
need to show up and being true to yourself in
the process. So speaking about being true to yourself, Gianna,
(33:07):
I gotta be true to myself. I love cooler cringe.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Ah.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
It is my favorite thing, Emma, because it is such
a fun way for us to figure out what is
cool versus what is cringe. And in this little part
of the show, we like to present something to you all,
and Gianna and I like to discuss if it is
in fact cool or it is cringe. So, Gianna, what
do we have this week?
Speaker 2 (33:31):
This is a spicey on? Oh I love spice dating
your coworkers. Ooh, you've been there, dumb.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Would you like to go first? What do you think
about that? Gianna?
Speaker 3 (33:46):
I think it's cool as long as there's like some
degree of separation between you and the person. So like
direct team is kind of you know, that could get messy.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
That could get really messy. Really message what if someone
got promoted over the other person.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Or just like you break up and then you're like,
let's work on this project together.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
No, I would not work on no project. You're on
your own body.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Yeah, totally great.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
So I think it's okay as long as there's some
you know, maybe they're on a different team or they
work in like a different office. Great, And I feel
like that's good. Like you need healthy separation too, Like
you don't want to be like potentially living with this person,
going to work every day, seeing them every day. And
I think there that's like a healthy level of separation
too that you want. So yeah, I don't know, I've
(34:30):
never experienced this myself.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
I was gonna say, have you ever had to, you.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Know, figure out no office romance. Okay, what about you?
Speaker 1 (34:39):
I kind of want that for you. But now, like
we both worked here, instead of be like, oh my god,
I'd be like, who's Gianna's bow. I have dated a
coworker before, but we were not on the same team.
We didn't have the same job function our entire days were.
It's completely different, and so I think that's sort of
where it was fun. And it was kind of you know,
(35:00):
it was cute. You know, oh, I see you up
in the lunch line boot, you know you want to
take a walk with me to go get coffee and
hold my hand. But wholl that didn't last. I was like,
is this your husband? No, it is not, but it
is okay, y because I'm trying. I want my husband
to work to work with me so we can do
the same things. He's like, absolutely not only can, He's like,
(35:22):
I can take you on doses.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
But I say the same thing. I would say that
it's cool as long as you have boundaries. Obviously, still
keep a professional. Okay, no hanky panky in the office, please,
I do not need to know what y'all been up
to with your weekends, with your nights. I don't stop
getting so close to each other. Stand away what is
Don't be weird, you know, especially at the company holiday party.
(35:48):
Not be weird because I'm gonna call you out. I'm
aa spray you with a spray bottle. You being weird, Yeah,
spray bottle. It's a little too hot up in heare.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
I think when people can start picking up on like
to they have a vibe, that's when you know.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
When other people start getting uncomfortable because they're like, something
itchy is happening here and I don't know what that's about.
Don't do that. Don't make the block hot, essentially, and
that's when it can get into the cringe territory. But again,
I would just say, also, just be mindful. You know,
I've had friends who have dated their bosses. I think
that is an absolute that's a no no. Like I
(36:22):
had one friend who was dealing with her manager's manager
like so she always would be like, he can't say
nothing to me. I'm like, sis, you're playing a dangerous game.
So like I would say, like, aside from like the
fun juiciness of it all, I get it. We're young,
we're hot. Everything is still sitting pretty and whatnot. Like,
I get it, baby, but just be careful about how
you run in these streets because these streets will run
(36:44):
up on you.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Yeah wow.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
But also you're like spending so much time at work,
so I think it's natural for people to find you
know a partner at work. I think you also just
have to be mindful of the policies not to be
like such an arc. But you probably have to disclose
that it is in your employee hand but read your
employee handbook.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Do not get god.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
Are you guys let us know cool or cring dating
or coworkers, and if you have some stories to share,
we want to hear them.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
So I think we both are collectively cool cool ringing cool, Yeah,
cool ringing. We're ordering cringe if you go about it
at the don't be freaky kids out there, So guys,
don't be a freaky kid cooler cringe, but more poorlyan.
I hope you've enjoyed this entire episode. Thank you so
much for listening.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Yes, and make sure you guys are following the newsletter
Let's Talk offline if you're not already. The link is
in the show description and also in my LinkedIn bio.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
Yes and a couple of important announcements. First of all,
if you have a burning question, make sure you send
that to me and gian Okay, we cannot do that
segment without you, guys, so we want to hear it. Okay,
send us your questions. Information on how to do that
is in the show description. And also, do not forget
to rate and review the podcast and follow it to
the you didnim misus any episodes. If you missed the
(38:01):
episode is because you are not listening to your work. Mesties,
Jamai and Gianna follow the show.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
Also shout out to Morgan for your question this week.
That was so fun to have Jamay answer. I know
I learned a lot. All Right, guys, before you go,
remember we've always got your back, so something comes up.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Let's Talk Offline. I'm Giana Prudente.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
And I'm Jammy Jackson Gadson Stay Thriving.
Speaker 3 (38:26):
Let's Talk Offline is a production of LinkedIn News and
iHeart Podcasts. This show is produced by Western Sound. Our
producer is Sabrina Fang. The show is edited by Savannah Wright.
Our associate producer is Sarah Dilley. Alex mckinnis is our engineer,
and Ben Adair is the executive producer.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
Executive producers at iHeart Podcasts are Katrina Norvel and Nikki Etour.
We got support from LinkedIn's Jesse Temple, Sarah Storm, and
Ayana Angel. Maya Pope Chappelle is Director of Content, Dave
Pond is Head of News Production, Courtney Coop is Head
of Original Programming, and Dan Roth is the editor in
(39:02):
chief of LinkedIn
Speaker 4 (39:09):
M
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com