Reflection on Thing 3

Ok, so I have some catching up to do.  I have just finished Thing 3 while the most recent topic is Thing 8. I'm hoping that the initial Things are close together to get everyone up to speed with the basics and then the subsequent Things have a bit more time between them.

Thing 3 was all about the professional brand. As mentioned in my post about Thing 3, I wasn't sure that I needed a professional brand of my own. Does the label 'librarian' not speak for itself? Does it not indicate what I can do, my skills and my professionalism? In short, I was a bit dubious about the need for any professional brand.

Maybe the point is not to be tied down by a label. The word librarian sends out one message but in actual fact, I might be able to do a huge number of other things; be offered more opportunities based only on my skills if I didn't use the word librarian. The word librarian has a stereotypical image attached to it: tweed, glasses, hair in a bun, stamps books and says 'shush' alot.

In actual fact:

• I've been known to wear the odd bit of tweed
• I do wear glasses; but only when my eyes are too sore for contact lens
• My hair no longer can be put in a bun
• I don't stamp books 
• And the only time I have shushed someone was in the local cinema (it was effective though)

In 'Not Your Ordinary Librarian: debunking the popular perceptions of librarians' by Ashanti White, it is noted that 'the librarian is one of the most visible yet misunderstood professionals in the world' (p174). Is that why I need a professional brand? In actual fact, it was a recent article in the magazine 'Feel Good You' that hit home. In 'Time to rebrand you!' (p132, Summer 2015), some of the reasons for creating a "me" brand are listed as:

• to build confidence
• to help you get what you want
• to help you get better at your job, promotion or changing careers

Now, this isn't the normal sort of magazine I read and I can't even remember why I bought it, but I was impressed that rebranding appeared in it. The article contains contributions from Jennifer Holloway, who happens to be the author of 'Personal Branding for Brits' and she says that 'having a strong personal brand means you know exactly who you are and what you're about'. In essence, 'your brand is what people are saying about you when you're not in the room'.

And that's why I can now see the importance of a personal brand. It's what you can say about yourself, your skills, abilities, values, behaviours and image without having to utter a word. It can also defend you when you aren't there to defend yourself; to speak up on your behalf. I'm still wary about Linked In. I don't think it's very user friendly but similarly, I don't want to have to learn About.Me. Further on down the line, I may go back and brush up my profile but at least now I'll understand why I'm doing it.

Best wishes,
A.