What is a personal brand statement? (And why would I write one?)

Have you ever worried that your IT job application won't stand out from the crowd? If so, don't worry – you're not alone. This is exactly where a personal brand statement comes in.

Here is everything you need to know about what a personal brand or mission statement is and why you should start writing one right away:

What is a personal brand statement?

Your personal brand statement is a short summary of your skills and experience in your field, what drives you, and what makes you different from others like you.

Usually around two or three sentences in length, your statement needs to:

•       Be short

•       Encapsulate who you are

•       Appeal to your target audience (potential employers)

•       Be memorable

This is because your statement will be the hook that the rest of your application (or social media or jobs board profile) hangs from in an employer's mind.

It can also be thought of as your elevator pitch for “you”.

Why is a personal brand statement worth writing?

A strong brand statement can give someone a quick, catchy summary of who you are and why you are the ideal choice for the role, partnership, or event.

A short, snappy statement like this is the ideal thing to feature in lots of places where a prospective employer might investigate your credentials, such as:

•       Job applications and CVs, especially in cover letters and emails

•       Job searches and job boards

•       Social media profiles

It can also be used for networking and building client relationships and your industry profile.

How to write a personal mission statement

If you read enough personal brand statements online (LinkedIn is a great place to find millions of examples), you will see there is a rough but highly effective format:

•       “X with Y looking for Z.”

•       “I am an X with Y with a mission to Z.”

•       “I help X achieve Y using Z.”

How to write a personal brand statement

1) List and prioritise your most valuable attributes

Write down all of your most important skills and experience and any relevant personal abilities and attributes.

Once you have a list, prioritise it with your target audience in mind. Will a new employer care about that particular skill? What will they be looking for?

2) Look at some example statements

Head on over to LinkedIn and look at some brand statements of people in your industry. Ideally, check out some at your level or with similar career goals.

Pick a couple that you like. These can be ideal blueprints for your own statement.

3) Make some cuts to your list

In personal brand statements, space is limited. Go through your list of skills and cross out any that you feel won't make you stand out or won't appeal to your target audience.

4) Write your first draft

Use your examples and skill list to put together a short, snappy couple of sentences that will form your brand statement.

Don't worry about throwing ink at the canvas at this stage. Just try to write something that works.

5) Test and refine

Refine your draft to make it snappier and more effective:

1.     Test the length – three sentences is the absolute maximum. The tighter you can be, the better.

2.     Check for waffle and ambiguity – you really don't have extra space. You want to make a clear statement.

3.     Cut repetition – you want to show off everything you have to offer. Not highlight the same thing multiple times.

4.     Eliminate hyperbole – don't over-sell yourself with questionable adjectives or claims to passion for unlikely things.

5.     Avoid cliches – some phrases are used so much that they lose all meaning. Try to add value with everything you say.

Ideally, you can then test your statement on a friend or family member willing to listen. As with anything IT job application-related, trying it out on a willing audience first is key to spotting errors and typos.

After that, you should have a personal brand statement that is ready to use anywhere you need it.

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