The first time I heard the term "Personal Branding" my mind immediately jumped to thinking of how my husband refers to the particular pungency of his gasseous emissions as his "brand." Probably not the best place to start out for me to take the term seriously. New and catchy buzzwords and other abuses of the english language are always something that make me want to cover my ears and shout 'LALALALA!' as I try to tune them out as best I can. Therefore, it had no chance with me, references to farts or not.

My first encounter with the term was actually on Penelope Trunk's blog, which I began reading during my flailings to try and figure out how to break into a new career path early last year (still have not broken in, by the way). I don't recall at this point how elaborate my introduction to the concept was, but after that I began to see it all over the place, officially crowned the buzziest of the buzzwords in the career building and networking world. I've generally tried to pretend the term didn't exist since then, as mentioned above, I find it as obnoxious as using the term 'green' when one means 'environmentally friendly', or the prevailance of all new companies and products trying to sound cool by gluing a lowercase 'e' or 'i' to the front of another word.

"So just why are you writing about this if you find this sort of stuff so odious?" you may ask.

I won't lie, I was approached by a fellow at Brazen Careerist to have the opportunity to be a 'featured blog', (likely picked at random, but the paranoid section of my brain tells me that it was out of pity for the fact that I don't have a lot going for myself in the career department, or for being almost thirty.) Either way, I was also given the prompt to write about Personal Branding. This felt oddly academic to me, but the prospect of having some impetus to write for once, and the fact that someone might actually read what I wrote was too much of a carrot for me to not bite at.

And now that I have dispensed with the longest preamble on the internet, what about this 'branding' business?

The gist I'm getting from most people bandying the term about is that 'Personal Branding' refers to defining one's career persona in a very distinct matter. When I think of a brand, I tend to think of a box of Kraft Macaroni and cheese (it is the cheesiest). If I make the jump to picturing 'personal branding' I somehow see the name "MIKE L." emblazoned across the blue box in happy yellow letters and the smiling face of the aforementioned Mike L., thumbs up, with the motto 'he's the cheesiest'... you get the picture. The Personal Branding philosophy is exactly that -- to have one's face and name elicit the same reactions in people that a successfully marketed brand does. We know the blue box, we know what is inside, how to cook it, and what it will taste like. We know that 'it's the cheesiest.'

The philosophy encompasses making strong definitions of what are your personal 'product definitions' in regards to your career -- your work ethic, your best modalities of working, your beliefs about your field. Like a good resume, strong, simple, short. You market yourself based on these points, and emphasize your reliability to deliver what's expected. No one picks up a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese expecting variation -- the brand is there and established to give you exactly what is known and expected of it.

I highly doubt that this is a new concept -- few things are. I doubt macaroni and cheese was a new concept before Kraft marketed it to housewives strapped for time with kids who had cravings for simple-flavored cheese pasta. The idea of purposefully taking the time to define yourself to better be able to sell yourself to an employer has likely been part of all sorts of career advice over the years, and I know that I've seen similar things in books on resume writing. Repackaging an old idea to make it seem fresh is common, and though you all know how much I hate 'new hot terms', for many people, a new way of saying something is the difference between an idea being considered and an idea being thrown away. I'm an adult -- I can appreciate something for it's merits even if I don't like it.

One thing that I have been pondering on since I've set myself down this little mental rabbit-hole -- is it really possible for someone who lacks experience or self-knowledge to successfully 'brand' themselves? I had two situations in mind:

The first is myself. The embarrassing details: I am on the down-slope of my twenties, I am just finishing my AA in accounting in hopes of kick-starting a career in said field, but I completely lack experience and background in this area (not for a lack of trying -- my daring change coincided with the general financial meltdown of 2008, so there's been no jobs down at the job factory for poor people like me). I know quite a bit about myself and who I am as a person, but to try and define my career persona? It's not much beyond: "Will work in accounting. Desperate, not picky. Promise to work hard and not disappoint." I'm the brand equivalent of a Sunny Select can of undefined mixed veggies down on the bottom shelf over at the local Safeway -- cheap, but not what you want or where you're looking.

I may not be trying hard enough (always possible), but I don't have much to sell beyond some theory and what little translates over from my old work, which isn't much (I was a vet tech). Can I brand myself successfully lacking the knowledge of my field?

The other situation: I was snooping briefly around the internets about Personal Branding and happened upon a very fine looking blog where the author of which was going on like a cheerleader about the subject, giving advice, etc. Upon further reading I discovered that this person isn't even out of college yet (gasp!) I know I'm getting old when I chide the youthful exuberance of those not yet out of college -- who knows, this girl could be some sort of blossoming career advice wizard -- but the whips and scorns of life over the past five years since I emerged from the safe little cocoon of college have taught me some very valuable lessons in the school of Knowing Thyself.

So here I posit, can the average neophyte successfully brand themselves if they don't even know if they are Mac 'n Cheese, or Hamburger Helper, or Preparation H?

Do I have all these answers? Heck no. But these are interesting questions.

Either way, I think any of us who are trying to get out there and fight our way in can take home this message from picking apart the idea of Personal Branding: be prepared, be sharp, know what you want, and know who you are. These are all great goals that anyone can stick to, from grizzled old almost-thirtiers like me to the wide-eyed and tenderfooted college grad and then some.

Anyhow, kudos to the five people who made it to the end without exclaiming TLDNR and going back to seeing who updated their facebook in the last three minutes. I'm hungry now -- where's that last box of the Cheesiest?