MarketingJobWire.com

When you’re not actively looking for a job, job search is the farthest thing from your mind. You’re focused on other things–like, if you don’t get this client thing off your desk today, your boss will set your hair on fire.

I get it. Priorities.

But is that client request really your priority?

We all have a tendency to suffer from “urgentitis”—the accumulation of “important” to-dos with short deadlines that keep us on our heels and away from what’s really important. One great way to get past this kind of reactive thinking is to proactively identify where our real values lie.

For an example:

Urgent thing stealing all of our focus:

Said arson-inducing client deliverable.

Underlying value:

Creating a positive, stable career.

We respond to urgentitis because the urgent to-do impacts our greater values, right now. But in the grand scheme of things, there are often actions we can take to protect and cultivate the underlying value that will be more enjoyable, have a greater long-term impact, and make things easier for us moving forward if we begin to embrace them now.

Branding is one of these.

Personal branding allows us to cultivate meaningful relationships, open opportunities, develop credibility, and make ourselves more valuable in the marketplace. It can help you do more for your employer, and create a waiting list of new potential employers should you need one.

So don’t wait to begin building your brand. Start now by asking yourself the following questions:

1. What do I want people to know about me?
2. What do I deliver for my employer?
3. What am I really excited about?
4. What value do I add?
5. How does all this benefit someone else?

As you get a clearer vision of your personal value proposition – the unique skillset and traits that you bring with you – you’ll naturally find that clarity sneaking into your communications with others. That kind of understanding, about who you are, what you do, what makes you tick, is the foundation of brand.

Hat tip to Harvey Mackay for inspiration.

Kristi Daeda is a career coach, blogger and personal marketing strategist helping professionals nationwide create their own career opportunities. She is the founder of LaunchSummit, a free web-based educational event for job seekers, and blogs on job search, management, leadership, networking and more at Career Adventure.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 3:32 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.