This summer in the UK saw a new move by the agents and PR staff for a UK soccer player Michael Owen – A 32 page Personal Brand Portfolio!
Owen was being released by his then soccer club, Newcastle United and was looking for a new home – ideally in the UK Premier league. The UK sports press was not very complimentary about his chances as he had a recent history of injuries and poor performance that did not warrant his then $250,000 a week salary!
His 'people' put together a very glossy, 32 page. portfolio brochure addressing these concerns and also highlighting such positive aspects as his Brand Values. You can see the brochure by clicking here.
Having come from the UK, I know the general reaction and approach to personal branding is a little more reserved than here in North America – but overall I think that Owen has done a good job. After all it got the biggest soccer club in the world, Manchester United, interested enough to sign him.
Naturally it remains to be seen if the club have made a shrewd investment. But in the meantime – are you doing enough to promote the value of an investment in you?
Take a moment to look at Owens portfolio and take the pieces that you like and see what you can put together for your career.
This type of online or electronic document is something professionals should be seriously considering as a way to differentiate themselves in a market that will continue to be tough, but full of opportunities to those prepared to take a little bit of a risk.
When I was in recruitment many years ago in the UK it was unusual not to see the best interview candidates with some form of portfolio or brag sheet – it made them memorable.
What are you doing to be memorable when your company is looking to make that next promotion?
Paul, I think your concept of having a personal brag sheet is outstanding. It’s a great way to help clarify and promote ‘you the brand’ as a problem solver. For Michael Owen, it was clear that if you had a team needing goals scored, Michael could and would do a great job both scoring and promoting the club as well. While people may want to use more politically correct but vapid language, calling their brag sheet their ‘Profile’, something to consider is having one that uniquely spins your accomplishments in appropriate ways for each type of role or job you might be after. Now getting the wording right is really important in my opinion – but of course, that is where you, Paul Copcutt, come in with the services you offer!
Tony – glad you liked the concept. I think you have hit it in the head – he is a value to the club both on and off the field. I always enjoyed watching Owen play and hope that he makes it at Man U – although being a Liverpool supporter makes me say it through gritted teeth 😉
Another way to think of this is as a second level resume. Your first resume gets someone interested by following all those crazy resume rules (is it back to one page or can we still do two??). Then the link at the top of your perfect resume is to your career site that let’s you do the smart marketing shown here.
Your categories would be different — you wouldn’t talk about goals per start, for example — but you would have accomplishments to point to, reports to show, etc.
So extend this from your resume as the next step in showing your work and put yourself ahead of the pack.
Good catch, Paul.
Thanks Scot. The only danger with the resume first approach (and I believe two pages is still acceptable!) is that you get bundled in with all the other same looking documents.
What I liked about this approach is it’s uniqueness. Blow the competition away first, then it does not become a game of my resumes better (or shorter – lol!) than your resume.
Paul,
Thanks for a great article. I always get a golden nugget reading through your posts. I always say it’s all about leadership and branding is a key component.
Domenic