Get Hired: Create Personal Branding Phrases That Stick

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A FREE presentation that elaborates on this article, sponsored by the Career Networking Center on Thursday, May 6, 2021

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Registration for Get Hired: Create Branding Phrases That Stick

• Presentation will cover:
• 3-step process to create savvy career branding statements
• Examples of what works and what does not
• Live reviews and collaboration; your words + real-time feedback

Stick The Landing During Your Job Search

You’re a contender. Your background and desire for the job is a perfect fit.

Yet how do you get to the interview table and stick the landing with an offer in hand and people who can’t wait to work with you?

Jaden did everything right. He checked all the job description boxes. His certifications and skills updates were fresh. He answered all the tough questions and saved smart questions for the interviewer when the conversation ended.

However, the job was offered to another candidate.

While there are a multiple variables influencing decisions in the hiring process, one thing is true,

“It is not always the most qualified candidate who gets hired. It is the one who is remembered.”

—Marti Konstant

Let’s review how to stay top of mind to get to the front of the hiring line AND when hiring decisions are made.

Check The Memorable Box

Unforgettable. Top of mind. Memorable. 

In addition to checking the boxes to meet the specifications for a role, reach for the inventive spaces outside the box that capture attention in the world of information overload. You might not have the notable quotables from the history books like Mark Twain, Mahatma Gandhi, and Maya Angelou, however, you can create phrases that stick.

Like an effective advertising or branding campaign, you will benefit from awareness, repetition, and the creation of phrases that connect with your audience.

According to Carmen Simon, a cognitive neuroscientist, she confirmed that securing a spot in another person’s memory happens after you capture attention. Once you’ve captured their attention, people remember familiar and relevant experiences.  Your words must speak to their issues.

And 90% of what people hear is forgotten in 48 hours as shown in the Forgetting Curve.  Whoa! That is a lot of memory loss.

The challenge for you. Decide on the 10% you want influencers and hiring managers to remember with their recall button.

Josaih Hultgren, cognitive coach, summarized Dr. Carmen’s work with the following insights:

“The more your thinking matches the audience’s thinking, the easier it is to hold their attention. Make your messages as familiar as possible and sprinkle in novelty and surprise.”

—Josaih Hultgren, learnings from Carmen Simon

It took me a moment to grasp the brain science that welcomes words with different goals. One phrase helps you identify what you know and the other appeals to your sense of awe and curiosity.  

The goal of a memorable branding phrase is to achieve familiarity with a slight accent of surprise. Both conditions resonate with the individual memory bank.

Job Search: Avoid Teflon Phrases; Create Sticky Memorable Phrases

Teflon, non-stick statements are not committed to memory because they blend into the background. They have been used so often in the workplace and cease to be heard or remembered by listeners.

Here are a few of the most common Teflon phrases used in cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, resumes, and in conversation.

You might feel these are positive attributes, yet they are not memorable.

Non-Stick Teflon Statements

Another type of Teflon sentence construction is too often used in conversations, in marketing materials, and as a response to “what do you do?” People combine industry terminology, typically non-specific, with other phrases attempting to communicate their value.

The result? The concepts vanish as soon as they hit the air waves.

Here are three examples:

• "I leverage technology to improve operational efficiencies and drive digital transformation to improve the customer experience."
• "I consistently deliver results through a highly focused and collaborative approach to achieving broad success."
• "I help companies maintain their competitive advantage."

Rather than succumb to trite and hard to remember general statements, make it stick with a phrase that Olivia Pope from the series Scandal might say,

"I am a fixer. I solve problems in high-stress situations that other people walk away from."

Specifics stick. Consider context and proof points. When I researched shoulder surgeons, I was concerned about the outcome. My surgeon might have said something like this:

“I have extensive experience.”

OR what he offered with impressive confidence,

“I expect your full recovery. I have completed over 9,000 shoulder surgeries.”

Ready to design your own phrases and sentences? Follow the steps highlighted here.

Craft Your Career Branding Phrases With a 3-D Framework

Start with your career branding toolkit and focus on the messaging platform.

The 3- step process features a 3-D approach: Discover, Define, and Deliver.

1️⃣ DISCOVER Your Career Map

To uncover high-value and memorable words and phrases, start with discovery where you outline your work experience and create a career map. Identify your power skills and technical skills. What have you accomplished? What roles have you held?”

Most important, ask yourself “What makes your heart sing? and “What is your zone of genius?”

If you experienced a state of flow through certain tasks and jobs, gather these experiences in a branding worksheet. Notice and document the patterns and behavior that may have originated in your childhood and in certain roles.

2️⃣ DEFINE Your Work Scenarios

The definition phase helps you uncover words and phrases that can be used to create memorable distinctive statements.

Isolate experience stories to illustrate your strengths and what makes you happy. Uncover your superpower by understanding what you are the go-to person for in your past or current jobs. What are you better at than others and what do you like doing?

Your superpower and strong points will bubble to the surface by defining scenarios that describe what you did and how you accomplished it. What was your standout contribution? Create a story to capture these moments.

3️⃣ DELIVER Your Brand Phrases

Combine your brand values like curiosity, empathy, and creativity, with your superpower and work scenarios. Because the stories reflect your unique experiences, you stay away from terminology that fades into the background and communicate words that help you stand out.

When you create career brand phrases remember:

• Specifics stick. When you make an experience claim, what did you do? Increases, percentages, sales, or pipeline deals?
• Never sell a product; sell results. What happened? For example, how did your leadership skills contribute to and shape culture?
• People remember best what they heard first and last. Start with a powerful statement and close with a short memorable phrase. Your branding phrase is your punctuation mark!

Here are a few examples of branding statements that will help you finish strong and stay top of mind when hiring decisions are made.

👉🏽 “People rely on me whenever the stakes are high, and a decision must be made.”

👉🏽 “I am the go-to person when a customer issue is threatening to derail a long-standing account.”

👉🏽 “When a program requires a specific delivery date, they always put me in charge.”

Get Hired; Be Memorable

The knack for being remembered is dependent on you, your words, and when you share your memorable expressions. Stay focused on beginnings and endings in your career conversations.

Create career brand phrases that stick. Use in conversation, networking, on your LinkedIn profile and for your interview.

What is one character trait you can use to build a strong branding statement for your interview toolkit?

Virtual Speaking, Coaching, Training, and Workshops

Ask me about agility, adaptability, and personal branding workshops that will help you, your teams, and your organization rebound in a time of a change and disruption. Available for teams, managers, and senior leaders.

I also coach individuals about the Agility Framework for Job Seekers, new in 2021, covering topics like the X-Factor in Job Search.

We've adapted our content for virtual platforms. Looking for a keynote, workshop, or training on the topics of agility, change management, personal branding, or future of work for your organization? Send an email: marti@konstantchange.com and we will schedule a call. Check out topic ideas for speaking and training. 

Contact me for: discovery call, single coaching sessions, job search agility masterclass

©Konstant Change, 2021