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the power of the brand. As you think about defining yourself, think about defining yourself as a brand.
You should use this idea of branding as the basis for creating your career plan.
Creating Your Value Proposition
So what of your brand? Do you have one? Is it positive and compelling? More important, is it specific
to you? For example, are you defined by your unique skills and abilities? Are you defined by more
general factors such as attending a well-known business school? If you identify yourself solely as
someone who graduated from an Ivy League institution, that‟s a good start, but it doesn‟t set you apart
from the others who also are Ivy League graduates—you are still part of a broad population. You will
need to portray a brand that is specific to you—that sets you apart from others. What can you offer an
employer that is meaningful, relevant, and significant? Is it a skill, an experience, unique knowledge,
or a network of key contacts? This is critical for you to determine and will help to set you apart in the
face of ever-increasing competition.
For example, just as an advertising agency may use a multimarket multimedia strategy to promote
its product, so must the MBA graduate! In addition, the best advertising firms integrate all the
components of the campaign and brand. MBA graduates who want to make the largest impact will
also seek to integrate all components of their brand.
Take a moment to consider the most effective advertising campaigns. What do they have in
common? First and foremost, they caught your attention. Sometimes the ads are humorous; sometimes
they include a catchy tune or cool celebrity. Capturing attention is valuable only if the ad is able to
present a concise and compelling message that increases your desire to purchase the product. The
leverage comes from the careful integration of the different media and ad versions used.
Let‟s take the example of a 1970s popular game show, Name That Tune. The object of the game
was for contestants to identify a song by being provided with just a few musical notes. The contestant
who was correct in the fewest number of notes was the champion. Imagine if these same concepts
were employed to advertisements (instead of songs) and contestants needed to name the product or
brand. Clearly, only those ads and brands that were most successful would be easily identified. Using
this as an example, the key challenge for MBA students is to develop a concise, compelling,
integrated, and effective personal branding strategy.
The foundation for building and communicating an effective brand message is comprised of the
written resume, verbal resume, cover letter, e-mail communications, and networking. It is important to
acknowledge that MBA graduates are assumed to have basic skills in analytics and communication.
Building off this assumption, the remainder of this chapter focuses on packaging the unique skills,
talents, and experiences that you bring to the table.
Written Resume—the Starting Point