12. Putting it Together! Creating Your Identity Profile

The answers to the worksheets you’ve been completing so far are compiled here so that you can synthesize them into a one-or-two-sentence “brand statement” defining your personal brand for yourself. This brand statement is your own private description of yourself—you don’t need to share it with anyone, just use it to guide your decisions.

Your characteristics—and the modules you’ve completed so far—are like pieces of a quilt; each is important, but it is just a part of a greater whole.

Only after you assemble the larger product is its true beauty revealed. Your quilt pieces—the building blocks of your brand—are the characteristics you’ve been exploring in these modules. Together they make up a unique and amazing individual—you.

You’ve been saving your information as you complete each module, right? Well, this is where we put them all together; your captured information will help you build your personal brand. Pull out (or open up) the answers to your completed modules so that you can write the most relevant ones in the table below. When you have your thoughts in one place, you will see your patterns begin to emerge. Looking at this material all together will allow you to see the words that best describe you, and then to synthesize those concepts and phrases into you authentic personal identity.

You probably won’t use everything that you have gathered in the table below, but that’s the point—to pick and choose.

Once you have all the pieces together, you can easily extract the elements that best convey your essence. The personal brand statement you end up with will be your description of your essential self–a description you can keep to yourself if you’d prefer to do so, so don’t craft a statement to please or impress an employer, admissions officer, or anyone else. If your ultimate plan/goal/essence is that you want to make lots of money really fast so that you can spend the rest of your life surfing, this is the place to articulate that, even if you think others wouldn’t like your answer. (We’ll look at creating a description of yourself to share with others in the module We’ll Be Right Back After a Message from Our Sponsor–How to Build a Personal Commercial.)

Dream big and be honest; you’re creating a blueprint for your life here–it’s your truth that matters.

Identity Profile

Model 12 | Identity Profile

Values: The emotional currency of life, values are the core principles and standards that determine your attitudes, choices, and actions.

Interests: These are the things that intrigue you and motivate you to devote energy to them. They determine how you want to spend your time.

Mission: This statement will clarify what you are all about and what you want to do in life.

Vision: Your ideal version of how you will use your mission, your vision involves describing what you see as possible in the world. 

Personality Characteristics: The words people use to describe you, these terms identify the face you show to the world.

Strengths: These are the things you are good at, patterns of interests and abilities that consistently produce a positive outcome in a specific task.

Educational Accomplishments:

What you’ve done and learned, and where you learned it are rational brand attributes that you can use to describe yourself and when applying for jobs.

What degree will you receive?

Did you do a highlighted project or Senior Thesis?

Have you earned any certifications?

Did you receive a credential in a specialty area?

Do you have initials you can use to highlight your accomplishment, such as EMT or MS?

Are there internships you can get to support your academic interests?

Are you current in your chosen area of study?

Work Experience:

Where you’ve worked and in what positions, and the skills you’ve acquired there all add up to solid brand attributes.

What positions did you hold?

Where did you work? Is the company that you worked for one that offers a reputation that supports your credibility?

What were your key work projects through paid work, a volunteer job, or an internship?

Freak Factor:  The unique qualities that makes you different and unusual are your own personal freak factor.

Same:  Being able to highlight what makes you different from your peers is a key to defining your personal brand.

Different:  Being able to highlight what makes you different from your peers is a key to defining your personal brand.

Goals

These are what you want to achieve, and where you want to end up in life.

Education

Volunteer/Campus Groups

Friends/Family

Health

Finances

Fun

Career

Putting it Together:

Use the elements above to create a statement of your personal brand in a sentence or two. One example might be, “I am an avid marathoner, a dedicated world traveler, and economist who looks at the world through a humanitarian lens. I plan to devote my professional life to small scale loans that will empower other women to reach their own personal best.”

Identity & Personal Branding

Thanks for joining MyPath101!

Educational Accomplishments:

Work Experience:

Goals

Putting it Together: