My copy of Personal Branding for Dummies by Susan Chritton arrived yesterday, the very same day my sons received their Campolindo High School yearbooks.
I had to smile as I watched the boys skim the yearbook for their pictures, my oldest pausing to reread the quote he’d submitted for under his senior picture before moving on to read what his friends wrote on theirs.
I’d done essentially the same thing when I opened the Personal Branding for Dummies book, looking first for the sections about using LinkedIn and Facebook that I contributed to make sure they looked — and read — well as part of the book as a whole.
What I really like about Chritton’s book is that she culled real world expertise from more than 20 personal branding experts and wove it into a single easy-to-read primer that starts with helping you figure out exactly what your personal brand is. Already as I begin to read the book I am finding information that’s helpful to me.
Fair warning: In a book that has a lot of graphics but few pictures of people, you will find my picture in Chapter 10 because its part of the screenshot of my LinkedIn profile, circa Fall 2011.
Looking at the picture reminded me of what I like best about online tools – they’re easy to update. Pictures in books? Not so much. If you want to see a better picture of me, check out my current LinkedIn profile!
Looking at my picture reminded me of something a mom of one of my graduating senior’s friends said back when the boys were in elementary school. Her son had gotten a super-short Marine-inspired crew cut and she didn’t like the look. Yes – she knew that it was only hair but she had a longer term perspective:
“Hair doesn’t grow out on picture day,” she said.
If you’re looking for a good how-to primer on personal branding — check out Susan’s award winning book! I am sure you’ll find it useful.
