Is It Time To Re-Introduce Yourself?
I just finished Reinventing You by Dorie Clark, which I heard about through a sales and marketing class I took on Lynda.com. (If you haven't heard of Lynda.com, you're missing out! It offers tons of free online classes on everything from photoshop to statistics to managing difficult personalities.)
In Reinventing You, Clark takes you through 10 steps to reintroducing your professional self to the world. It includes tips and strategies for finding your focus and creating a unique brand that is true to you. The best part is it includes a Rebranding Assessment at the back of the book for you to fill out.
This is a great resource for anyone contemplating a career change or trying to transition into a new role in their current career.
I thought I'd share an excerpt from my Rebranding Assessment:
Who are you?
My greatest strengths are…
Comfortable outside my comfort zone
Community oriented
Tenacious
Resilient
Optimistic
My greatest weaknesses are…
Charging for my time/valuing my services
Taking on too many projects
Easily distracted
My most marketable skills are…
Motivating people to get outside their comfort zone
Active listener
Anticipating what people need moment to moment.
The most unusual aspects of my background or experience are…
Working with animals
Non-linear job history
Surviving outside the 9-5 track
People often ask me about…
Taking care of goats/horses/donkeys
Public speaking
Where you’re going…
My current professional objective is…
Generate 40k/year from life coaching and be recognized as an expert on Nantucket.
The journals, books, and blogs I can read to learn more about my areas of interest are…
Hidden Brain (Podcast)
How I Built This (Podcast)
Terrible, Thanks for Asking (Podcast)
Immunity to Change (Book)
The skills I’ll need to reach my professional objective (that I don’t presently have) are…
Articulating how I can help each client.
Marketing my services
Blogging/Vlogging regularly.
Possible ways to gain those skills might be…
Joining local networking groups
Taking classes on Lynda
Reading books/Listening to podcasts
Finding a mentor
Your competitive advantage...
My skills that are most relevant in my new arena are…
Listening without judgement
Giving honest feedback
Holding people accountable
Selling my services
What’s unusual about me, compared to people in my new realm…
I bring humor and fun to my work
Mobile, so I can adapt to what the client needs
Already have working relationships with many of my clients
The reason my background or previous experience adds value in my new arena…
Have built trust
Excellent reputation for getting things done
The reason that working in this new realm is actually a continuation of what I’ve done in the past…
Before I was a Girl Friday that solved people’s problems. Now I help them solve their problems.
I show up for people
Support people in uncomfortable situations
Demonstrating your value…
A major project or initiative in my new arena that I could get involved in might be…
Spear head a new Toastmasters Club on the island in partnership with the Rotary Club
Create a workshop series to bring people together that wouldn’t meet otherwise.
The single most important change I can make, or initiative I could undertake, would be…
Take every opportunity to connect (even when I’m not sure it will help)