Love Him or Hate Him, There are Three Personal Branding Lessons from Donald Trump
Unless you live in a mountain in the woods with no Wi-Fi, you know that Donald Trump leads the crowded pack of candidates for president for the Republican Party. Agree with him or not, you have to admit that he has brought a lot of attention early on to a political race that usually, at this point in the competition, gets very little press coverage.
The first GOP debate last Thursday night had 24 million viewers, shattering all previous records for any primary debate in history, even surpassing the audience watching the last World Series. All political pundits are attributing that large audience solely to Trump’s participation in the race. In fact, on Sunday morning’s “This Week” on ABC, George Stephanopoulos led the hour with a phone interview with the Donald, and then had three other contenders for the Republican nomination… and what was his first question to these other candidates? “So what do YOU think of Donald Trump?”
Donald Trump’s perception by the public is polarized – either you love him or you hate him. As abrasive as he is, though, more people love him than hate him, as he’s still far ahead in state and national polls.
Executive job seekers can learn a lot from Trump’s triumphs, and even gaffes, because what he has more than anything is a strong personal brand. This strong brand garners him more air time on television, and therefore more attention overall, than any other candidate in the race for president. Here are three personal branding lessons from Donald Trump:
Sound Bites
Trump naturally speaks in memorable quips; these are ideas that come across and make their points in less than 10 seconds. Sound bites are what the media calls “sticky.” In other words, they stick in the brain of the listener. According to a recent study, an executive job seeker has about six seconds of a decision maker’s attention before they move on to another candidate. When contacting an employer or recruiter, can you get across your value proposition, or what you can do for a company, in less than 10 seconds?
Shock and Awe
A major contributing factor to Trump’s appeal is his entertainment value. People listen to him because they don’t know what he’s going to say next. In looking for your next six-figure position, it will help you to share with the decision maker an achievement that is nearly unbelievable but true, or ask forward thinking questions that no other candidate is asking. This will keep an employer thinking about you long after the interview is over.
Stand Out
In a crowded forum of 17 presidential candidates vying for the Republican nomination, every one of them is attempting to stand out from the crowd, to be known for SOMETHING, no matter what that something is. Most are running on their past achievements, and we saw this during the first debate when they spouted their success record in various topics.
Donald Trump has a very strong personal brand, and it’s not his slogan of “Make America Great Again,” and it’s not even his orange spray tan and that thing he calls his hair. It’s the brand that he’s not afraid to be politically incorrect, and that he says what many people in America believe but are afraid to say. This is the key to his popularity. It’s so influential, that when many of his supporters are confronted with his mean-spirited comments about Rosie O’Donnell, Megyn Kelly and Mexican immigrants, those remarks didn’t affect their support of him as a candidate.
The number one hurdle job seekers face when trying to obtain a six-figure job offer is also getting initially noticed above the sea of competition attempting to do the same thing. These days, you’re competing with not only people in your geographical area, but everyone who is willing to move to your geographical area. Any searching approach or written material that is novel, rare or unique can go a long way to gaining that valuable attention. I have found this to be a key attribute in our success rate with our clientele at Career Resume Consulting.
Overall, in building a solid personal brand, it’s important for politicians and job seekers alike to maintain consistent messaging throughout their promotional campaign. For politicians, this is often done by sticking to their memorized talking points, no matter what question is asked of them. For job seekers, it’s maintaining a consistent message with all written materials, like resumes and cover letters, all online presence pieces and verbal messaging when networking. Everything needs to be consistent, so that there are no surprises for the decision makers during any hiring process.
If you would like help with your own personal brand to ensure that in your next job, you're paid what you're worth, contact us at (816)600-2478 or email me directly at Tammy@BeyondJobSearching.com .
