Building your Brand.

Over the last ten years, I've worked in a customer-focused industry, hearing the phrase, "building our brand or brand message," but what does it mean to you individually? Why is it important to have your own brand message? Most importantly, how can you benefit from it? I have supported several brands throughout my career. Keywords that remain consistent within each of these companies create, develop, uniqueness, consistency. All companies want to separate themselves from competitors with these terms, but why is it important to you? You've gotten into the position or currently job searching because you can hold an intelligent conversation and support the business direction; that much is constant. Have you lost or never truly defined your brand (yourself) while in the workplace? Ask yourself, does the company, management, or work leave you feeling developed or open to a new opportunity? Do you have a work-life balance? Do they genuinely value employees, diversity, inclusion, and company direction as a whole? Well, now, here we are questioning our entire work direction and existence in our career. "Shouldn't we just be happy that we have jobs?" A 2019 study by software company ResuceTime looked at 185 million hours of working time. Findings listed below

• Workers average just 2 hours and 48 minutes of productive device time a day.

• 21% of working hours are entertainment, news, and social media

• 28% of workers start their day before 8:30 a.m. (and 5% begin before 7 a.m.)

• 26% of work is outside of regular working hours

• We check email and instant messaging, on average, every 6 minutes.

• 40.1% of our day is spent multitasking with communication tools

• The most distracted days of 2018 were November 26 and July 7 (the Mondays after Thanksgiving and the 4th of July)

Going into a new position or understanding early on, you are more than a companies message because you are the brand! Every project push, client focus, and group idea has stoked the multi-million dollar industry's growth to be extremely profitable because of you! Being aware of this will allow you to avoid a problematic workplace, possible issues outside of work, productivity concerns, and burnout; and a "Case of the Mondays!" Here's what you need to know:

1. Invest in building your resume: JT O'Donnell has excellent content and has been in the Human Resouces industry for over thirty years (great TikTok videos). It also offers free support!

2. Develop yourself: Linkedin offers a wide variety of training through many different industries, certification showcased within their networking platform. Google Garage also offers certificates within their network. Paid and free subscriptions are applicable. Always be willing to attempt a new process to assist with your position and company; work smart!

3. Be true to yourself: Work communication is one thing but don't recreate yourself into an ideal employee to land the job. Value and speak to your skill sets; this will speak volumes to your work, colleagues, clients, and employer.

4. Develop your story: Create a memorable and concise description of who you are and what you aim to be within your personal and work life. It will allow recruiters and management alike to understand your direction.

5. Design templates and work standards: You don't need to be fancy; provide the deliverables and be flexible.

6. Be consistent: The essential! Deliver, don't over-promise, and communicate.

No one can replicate who you are; anything else would be a diluted copay if it's building your business brand or starting your new position. These steps can be the foundation of your peace of mind and standards. Remember to research within your industry, compare goals and mission statements when seeking employment, Compare them to your own, follow your intuition better yet, reach out to the existing staff to determine company morale. Following this method will allow you to avoid the workforce's common pitfalls while promoting, cultivating, and loving your brand message.

Be Happy, Healthy, and Safe! - Mr. Stewart