Self-Branding Project

Introduction

The Self-Branding Project was eye-opening. It forced me to reflect on my true strengths and weaknesses. To determine my attributes, I created a list of my strong and weak characteristics. I then collaborated with my family and friends to determine if my list is congruent with their perceptions.

Self-Analysis

My entire life has been a puzzle. I have matured as an athlete as well as an academic. Often I have had to make tough decisions about allocating my time to a sport or a technical subject. Additionally, I have been able to get along well with singularly focused athletes and academics. This convergence between athletics and academics has given me a unique perspective. It’s almost as if I find myself as a translator. I can discuss complex subject matter with individuals without technical backgrounds and explain a sports strategy to a disinterested classmate. One of my competitive advantages is my ability to bridge the gap between the technician and the user. I have a unique ability to reduce complex subjects into a clear and concise format for the end-user. I see that skill as a significant advantage as I move into an aerospace career. Another competitive advantage I possess is my strong leadership skills. I have earned several leadership opportunities. As an elected and appointed president of different organizations on campus, I have honed my leadership skills and dealt with several crises successfully. As part of this analysis, I have discovered that I have to work diligently to improve my scheduling and time management.

External Analysis

I interviewed my immediate family and some close friends to get their perspectives on my strengths and weaknesses. Remarkably, a majority of the comments were similar. The most reoccurring response regarding my strengths was my ability to interact with different personality types easily. The conversation often transitioned to compliments about my leadership capabilities and my ability to be a person of trust. The consensus bore that my best personality trait is my empathy. It was also widely agreed that my procrastination is my greatest weakness.

Congruence

Following the external analysis portion, I amended my table of strengths and weaknesses with a family and friends response column. The following chart illustrates the areas of congruence relating to my strengths and weaknesses. Green boxes indicated congruence of strengths, and red suggests congruent weaknesses. Blue areas display positive attributes without an agreement, and orange indicates non-congruent weaknesses. The analysis results show that there are areas of strength that my interviewees perceive of me that I was unaware I possessed. What is more important is that I need to promote my non-congruent strengths, critical to my brand. I was not surprised that my weaknesses had congruency as this is an area that I have been actively improving.

Feature Benefit

Brand features must offer benefits that the consumer desires. With personal brands, my strengths must be of value to the people with whom I interact. I believe my ability to communicate technical information clearly and concisely while being likable and trustworthy provides a benefit of comfort to my brand users.