The Personal Brand | Keynote Edition

Lately we've been talking about about the personal branding, and we were writing about something near and dear to us. Allie recently delivered a keynote address to the graduating students of Brock University about, you guessed it, the personal brand.

The talk discussed all kinds of things related to the brand and was guided by the slideshow that I have included in this post. What we hope is that you might click through the slides, but more that you'll stick around to read the questions that these students had for her after the talk was done. 

Check out the big questions tomorrows marketers are asking and the important answers you need to know:

If you had one question to ask someone who is interviewing you, what would it be?

The answer to this question is one that I learned from my husband, who learned it from a business professor at Brock. Ask the interviewer "How would you describe your management style?" We both used this questions as we interviewed for jobs (before we were entrepreneurs) and our interviews were longer and more impactful than the competitions... we got the jobs. 

Get the interviewers talking about themselves, we all like to talk about the topic that we are most familiar with. When they start talking about themselves, you have the opportunity to inject anecdotal remarks that make you relatable and memorable.

If I was going to start a business, what would your best piece of advice be?

Pick an industry in which you have the opportunity to start with low overhead, ideally no required bank-loan and one that enables you to operate globally from the comfort for your home. This is a major one for me because it was only after I had a business that was successful locally that I learned that a global outlook is substantially more profitable and more easily managed operation.

What is the most important tool in a job search?

A personal narrative. Everyone will do their best to write a perfect resume, they might have a great LinkedIn profile in technical terms and perhaps they have taken the step to have a great personal website too. But you have the opportunity to do and be more... start knowing your personal narrative now. Start considering the small things that have shaped your person, that have guided your decision making and consider the "why" behind each move you make. This narrative and your thoughtful consideration of each opportunity you apply for as it relates to that narrative will change everything for you.