Stand Out from the Crowd

Let's face it - this is not the time to take your job fro granted. Jobs that were aplenty in Singapore are now dwindling as more companies are downsizing, or should we say “rightsizing”, and merging; some even closing down “overnight”. The Straits Times reported on 29 October 2008 that economists expect that the jobless rate will reach 3 per cent by end 2008 and early 2009, rising close to 4 per cent towards the end of 2009. No, I don’t intend to be a harbinger of doom, but let’s face it – dream jobs will be harder to come by, and you would need to have a foolproof strategy to get the job you want… and keep it!

First and foremost, you’ve got to start crafting out a personal brand for yourself that will set you apart from other job seekers. You need to stand out so the interviewer would notice you, and hopefully give you that dream job with the big fat remuneration package.

Personal branding used to be a nice-to-have edge, rather cool for the Oprah’s and Beckham’s, but not for the ordinary man or woman on the street.

Not anymore, says Tom Peters in his book Reinventing Work: the Brand You 50 – it’s now life or death. If we don’t start planning our personal reinvention N-O-W, we’ll be left far behind in the corporate world. We simply can’t afford to be ordinary anymore; ordinary has become a formula for disaster.

Here are some quick suggestions how you can get noticed:
1. Passion Sells!
-assion for your job gets you noticed and takes you places. Look at Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and countless others who have caught the world's attention. the one thing that people who are Brands have in common is – Passion. Passion for what they do, passion for life, passion to make a difference.

Have you ever wondered why the world’s richest and most successful people keep on working? Bill Gate’s net worth runs in tens of billions and even if he and his wife spend $100 million a year, it would take them hundreds of years to finish off just the principal sum. The same goes for people like Oprah Winfrey, Anthony Robbins, Steven Spielberg, Bill Cosby and countless others. They still go in to work most days of the week, and in fact, I’m certain if you were to follow them around for just one day, you’ll be exhausted by how long and how hard they work.

There’s only one logical answer: Passion! As another of my favourite authors Steven Scott says, (people who are passionate) love what they’re doing so much that even when they could put their life on cruise control, they never take their foot off the accelerator. You will be hard put to find a dream-maker who does not have an all-consuming passion for his or her dreams.
Passion is the fuel that keeps us going, no matter what adversity we encounter, what obstacles come in our path, what pot-holes we see on the road to success. It is what drives us to take that few more steps, exhausted though our bodies may be, battered though our emotions may be. It is the one secret shared by every great achiever who has reached out for the stars and got it.
So if you are searching on what is the one thing that could help you stand out from the crowd, that could set you apart from your competitors, the answer could be found in your passion!

2. Craft out your USP
Let’s take a closer look at YOU. A good personal brand for you may be something which works just for you and no one else. That’s because all of us are unique. Madonna created a fantastic brand that has spelt great success for her. But if someone else were to come along and copied everything exactly as what Madonna does, and is – dressing as she did, even singing the same way; they would be doomed for failure.

So although each of us will have our role models to look up to and emulate; we must still work on a brand that truly belongs to us and no one else. And the best way to do that is to look at what our unique selling proposition or USP is.
In sales, the USP can be defined as why your customers buy from you and not your competitors.

Now, before you say, “Oh, but I’m not in sales” let me assure you that yes, you are! Every one of us are in sales if we want to be successful in life – every day of our lives, we are, or should be, selling ourselves and our ideas, if not actual goods and services.

* If you are an employee, write down why your employers hired you instead of someone else.
* If you are a wife/husband, write down why your spouse/partner chose you instead of someone else.
* If you have ever won any competition, write down why you won instead of someone else.
* If you are someone’s best buddy, write down why you and not someone else?

3. Look good, feel great!
It’s time to quit looking sloppy! Unless you want to stay mediocre for the rest of your life. If not, it’s time to start paying attention to how you look and the image you present to others. Now I’m not asking you to start splurging on expensive clothes, or take drastic measures to look like Miss Singapore or James Bond ( whatever is the male equivalent of Miss Singapore).

Simple things you can do: Start wearing colours that suit you; you can’t get noticed if you’re wearing safe black or grey everyday. Get an updated hairstyle that suits your face shape. Learn to dress for your body shape. It’s a simple philosophy that I subscribe to: when you look good, you will project yourself well; when you project well, people respond positively to you; when that happens, you feel great; and when you feel great, you look good! This is called the Circle of Success.

Article was featured in The Straits Times Singapore on 17 March 2009. To register for the Get the PERKS workshop or coaching, sms PERK to 8228 8938 or email jessica@imagecoach.com.sg. Website: http://www.imagecoach.com.sg