As an executive who is looking to transition to a non-executive career, determining what your personal brand should be can be a daunting process. A good starting point is to reflect and explore the kind of professional you currently are and what you aspire to be.
By reviewing the 8 questions below and answering them honestly, without editing yourself, you should be able to start refining and articulating your personal brand across your CV, covering letters, online profiles and also in person.
1 – What are you currently known for?
From close family, friends and colleagues to acquaintances you’ve met in business meetings or events, you’ll have made a whole host of contacts throughout your career. Consider what people may say about you or describe you as; you may have portrayed yourself in a way that you may not have been aware of. It may even be worth asking a handful of people to say three words that they feel describe you best.
2 – What do you want to be known for?
What you are currently known for may not necessarily be what you want to be known for. As a transitioning professional, you have the potential to remould people’s opinions of you. If, for example, you want to be known as a thought leader then you should release quality content, publish more blogs and write more informative posts across social media. If you want to demonstrate your financial acumen then ensure your relevant career highlights and qualifications are cleverly evidenced on your CV and LinkedIn.
3 – What makes you different or stand out?
Competition can be fierce when looking to secure a board-level position. You need to be able to recognise what differentiates you from other executives also looking to move to a non-executive role. What exceptional challenges have you managed to overcome that others have struggled with? Did you help a business enter a new market? If you can highlight extraordinary achievements that are against the norm then you’re already making yourself more appealing to recruiters and hiring managers.
4 – What kind of problems do you solve?
As a senior leader, you’ll have likely encountered difficult circumstances or overcome obstacles that you didn’t initially predict in the businesses you’ve worked with. It’s the way in which you approach and tackle problems that companies want to hear about, especially as your role as a non-executive is to independently identify ways to resolve issues and problems.
5 – What are your core areas of expertise?
Non-executives are welcomed onto boards to provide an independent perspective on a whole host of topics or issues. In some circumstances, however, hiring managers only want a board representative with specific areas of expertise, often because the business has recognised a skills gap within their board. If you have a strong background in finance then ensure you list it, if you’ve spent the majority of your career in the private sector then showcase this. By portraying your expertise as part of your brand, it will help hiring managers to approach you only with roles that are suited to you.
6 – How have you been successful in the past?
This question will certainly help you to refine your CV. All too often professionals are good at critiquing and praising others, but acknowledging their own successes can be a challenge. Identifying the standout moments in your career can take time, so ensure you allocate some time to relax and reflect on your own achievements. On the other side of the coin, some professionals find it difficult to narrow down their standout successes. Think about it from the perspective of someone who has never met you. If they wanted to hear three ways that you’ve been successful what would they be? They don’t want to hear about your whole career, just a succinct summary. You must also consider the fact that a non-executive CV should not be an exact replica of you executive CV, it needs to be tailored to highlight the key qualities that you can bring as an independant boardroom professional.
7 – If you could name two people as role models who would they be and why?
Role models can be a great way to help you to construct your personal brand. It can be a great help to imitate the standout points of their brand and aspire to reach their level at some point. However, you must ensure you stay authentic. It is all well and good having role models, but simply replicating what they do could make you look disingenuous and leave you with a bad reputation. This is especially true if you fail to portray the same personal brand offline that you have displayed online.
8 – How recognisable do you believe you are?
Think about how recognisable you are as a professional. Did you obtain a good level of visibility and PR your previous roles? Do you already have a strong following across various social media platforms? Considering how recognisable you already are will help you to evaluate how much you can re-invent your brand as a non-executive. If you’ve portrayed one persona for the last five years online, you can’t suddenly change it. You must simply refine it and ensure you profiles and CV reflect the qualities needed in a non-executive role. In addition, if you’re producing content you need to ensure it is complementary and relevant to the roles and industry you wish to enter.
Utilise these answers by ensuring that they are reflected across all of your job search materials and online profiles. For example, when someone accesses your LinkedIn profile they should be able to see your biggest achievements, a list of your specialisms and core areas of expertise, and the kind of problems that you could solve as a Non-Executive Director.
Your personal brand should be evident across all aspects and you should frequently refer back to these answers to ensure your core traits and achievements shine through and that you are impacting the right kinds of people in the right way.
