Brand Yourself: How to Create an Identity for a Brilliant Career [Paperback]

David Andrusia (Author), Rick Haskins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2000

Branding is the hottest, most talked about phenomenon in the business world today. For in the ultracompetitive twenty-first century, you need more than talent and hard work to get ahead. How do you brand yourself? By forging an identity that will help you make a dazzling impression and become a star in the career of your dreams. Marketing experts David Andrusia and Rick Haskins have consulted on brands for such diverse companies as Disney, Swatch Watch USA, and Revlon. Now they show you step-by-step how to develop, refine, and communicate your own unique brand. Inside you'll learn how to

- Pinpoint your skills, your passions, and the "selling" parts of your personality with the exclusive Brand Assessment Test
- Determine the needs of your target market
- Create a Personal Branding Statement (P.B.S.) that says to your boss or potential employer: "You'd be crazy to go with anyone else."
- Tailor your P.B.S. to the requirements of a specific job, industry, or client
- Incorporate your brand in your résumé, during job interviews, and in cultivating new employers or clients
- Broadcast your brand--and receive the visibility to put you on top!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Brand Yourself compellingly advocates combining today's hottest business concept with the biggest trends in business demographics. Geared toward anyone switching careers, running a small business, or just striving to advance in a current job, the book--by veteran career coaches and marketing consultants David Andrusia and Rick Haskins--argues persuasively that one must carefully create a personal brand and aggressively market it like soup or mouthwash in order to get ahead in these ultracompetitive times. "Branding is such a powerful tool in selling products that it makes perfect sense that we as individuals should brand ourselves," they write, "thereby creating a strong, positive sense of ourselves and our services that is different and better than what our peers have to offer." They begin with an extensive but clearly articulated "career self-evaluation and brand assessment" to facilitate development of a "Personal Branding Statement" that is specifically shaped by your skills and personality traits in addition to marketplace needs. They then focus on "packaging your brand" with the right name, collateral material, and even office space, and "making yourself known" through properly framed written matter and personal contacts. Concluding chapters offer specific suggestions on attaining promotions and changing careers, as well as using the concept in other special circumstances. --Howard Rothman

From Booklist

This book will confirm the suspicions of cynics. Its publicist almost brags, "You need more than talent and hard work to get ahead." Pragmatists will counter, however, that the authors are really only introducing a new vocabulary. Regardless, "personal branding" is currently a hot catch phrase. Andrusia is the author of The Perfect Pitch: How to Sell Yourself for Today's Job Market (1997) as well as several travel guides. Haskins has been a brand manager at Proctor and Gamble and was a marketing vice president at Disney Co. What they offer is fairly standard career advice, but it is steeped in the jargon of Madison Avenue. It is not much of a leap to move from recommending that job hunters "sell themselves" to having job hunters think of themselves as products. Andrusia and Haskins know how to move a product. They make the case for the "need to brand" and offer tips on brand assessment, developing a "personal branding statement," packaging oneself, broadcasting one's brand, jump-starting "stalled" brands, and rebranding. Caveat emptor! David Rouse

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (January 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345423593
• ISBN-13: 978-0345423597
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,097,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of the box thinkers read this !, February 3, 2000

By 

Jeffrey Turner (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brand Yourself: How to Create an Identity for a Brilliant Career (Paperback)

I sat down one Sun afternoon and read the entire book in one setting. It is truly a powerful secret weapon in today's competitive marketplace. The writing was superb, and very witty. I really enjoyed the way that Mr. Haskins didn't make the reader feel inadequate, rather provided empowerment. It was like having a personal coach help you to reinvent yourself and discover abilities and talents that you may have other wise overlooked. I highly recommend it for persons who are in business, or want to shine in a presentation where branding is essential. I eagerly await the next book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthwhile Perspective Presented Well, June 19, 2001

By 

DK Raker (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brand Yourself: How to Create an Identity for a Brilliant Career (Paperback)

A good friend recommended this book to assist me in positioning my company and services in a new market. The authors make an excellent case for applying the techniques of successful product branding to yourself in order to stand out within a competitive field.

The authors present their material in a logical, well-rounded manner. First, they explain branding and give many good examples of successful campaigns. Then, they introduce a series of assessment tests to help you determine your strengths and passions and how these fit in with your personal brand. Finally, they provide examples of marketing yourself within this brand identity, again providing plentiful examples and case studies.

In all, Andrusia and Haskins present useful concepts in an thoroughly readable and accessible book.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cogent Guide Self-marketing, March 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Brand Yourself: How to Create an Identity for a Brilliant Career (Paperback)

This book reminded me of all the good stuff I learned about product management as an undergrad business major and taught me step-by-step how to apply brand marketing to myself in the job marketplace. All the friends to whom I have recommended this book have thanked me heartily. The advice in this readable, friendly volume greatly facilitated my recent transition to a new career. All working people should read it, particularly those who dislike self-promotion.