Your professional branding statement communicates the essence of who you are in the workplace. Branding is a marketing concept and tool. Your brand reflects your professional reputation — what you’re known for (or would like to be known for). When your reputation is a good one, it includes marketable distinctions like positive characteristics and achievements. It's a way to stand out from the teeming masses of competition for the best jobs.
Breaking the concept into manageable pieces, professional branding statements explain:
Your specialty — who you are
Your service — what you do
Your audience — who you do it for
Your best characteristic — what you’re known for
Put all the pieces together, and you end up with something a little like this:
I’m a Computer Technology Manager and Biomedical Engineer keeping the machines running smoothly from desktop to the treatment room. Not for my health, for yours. — Chris Welch
You can use professional branding statements in many ways, including the following:
Incorporated into cover letters, online profiles, and other job search messages
Printed on the back of business cards
Incorporated in elevator speeches (really quick pitches)
Spoken in job interviews (“Tell me about yourself”)
Used in networking connections
An extra benefit of writing a professional branding statement is that doing so wonderfully concentrates your mind in answering the questions, “Who am I and why am I in this workplace?”