Expat Careers: Your Personal Brand - The Devil's in the Details

As a personal branding strategist, one of the things that I advise my clients to do is try and express their personal brand in everything they do. I tell them that if their personal brand is truly an authentic expression of who they are, then taking every opportunity to express their brand is just about being as true to themselves as you can be in every aspect of their life. 

The reason why I stress this is because I really believe that details matter.  And it is often the things that we think others don't see or notice that can actually have a great impact on how others perceive us.  I think because I am an expat and often operate in cultures different from my own, I am - and must be - more aware of such details and differences. I mean, who knew how important not having your belt and bag match could be (for those of you who understand the fashion codes in Italy I hope you are laughing too)? 

But seriously, think about all of the times that just one little detail about someone led you to make some conclusions about what kind of person they were. Often it's a detail that either really attracted you, or really repelled you. The kind of attraction or repulsion we get when we think about certain brands...

We all have parts of us, or blind spots, or things we think no one else notices...that we don't necessarily want to look at. But in the interest of being sure that we are aware of all of the messages we are sending out to the world, its a good idea from time to time to do a little "detail inventory" on ourselves and all the things we think others can't see. Recently I had an experience where I had to show a part of myself to others and it reminded me how powerful details can be.

Over the summer I participated in a photography course taught by David Allen Harvey. He's an incredible photographer and charged each of us with developing a photo story around a concept.  One of the women in the course had chosen to take portraits of women and the inside of their handbags as her project. She asked if I would participate and of course I accepted. 

I was surprised when the time came for me to spill my purse that I felt a little hesitant - was there something in there that I don't want anyone to see?  These pictures were going to be showcased to the entire school at the end of the week...and if she published this project more people would see it. Should I run to the bathroom quickly and make sure there was nothing I should remove?  Well I threw down my purse, and this is what came out:

 

What was so interesting to me was that the contents of my bag really did say so much about me. I still had my and my husband's boarding passes from our recent trip to India, business cards, a card for an agroturismo (like a bed and breakfast in the Italian countryside), coins from different countries, a small camera lens (a lensbaby for those photo folk out there), a metro receipt, a taxi receipt, a stub from a ticket to a film, notes with a friend's number and email address, pens, gum, lipstick, keys, and my black wallet.

And it became even more apparent how much the inside of a handbag could be telling when I got to see the pictures of other women's handbags.  There were prayer cards, screw drivers, candy, journals, children's books...each very different, very distinctive, and most of the time there was at least one surprising thing that made me wonder why that person would have that object in their bag.

Now I don't expect to be throwing out the contents of my purse on a table for all to see on a regular basis, but this experience of having others look at the contents of my bag and me theirs reminded me that we never know what, when, or how others might see parts of us we never expected to be exposed.  The more we are aware of all of our "touchpoints" - public and private - the more we are aware of the messages we are sending out to the world.

So YOUR SUCCESS TIP for today is to take some time to do a "detail" inventory and discover what messages you might holding in your "bag" and hence could be sending out to the world. Take the next 24 hours and try and notice all of the little things about what you do, what you wear, what technology you use, expressions or gestures you make...be sure to look in those nooks and crannies you think no one else can see....write it all down.  Now imagine you were reading this inventory about someone else?  What sort of feedback would you give them?

YOUR THOUGHTS? Do you think the inside of a woman's handbag says a lot about who she is as a person? Are you ready to do a "details" inventory? Come back and share what you found.  Feel free to include a picture of the inside of your handbag as well!

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Comments

[Diane Epstein]

I was very amused by your latest blog on photographing the inside of your purse. I was intrigued by what you found in your bag and wondered if mine would be half as interesting. I hope that I will soon have a ticket to India but until then this is what I found.

Before emptying the bag I thought I had been traveling light. But instead, there was:

An Italian newspaper "La Reppublica" with "Obama Verso La Casa Bianca," with his big win in the White House and his arms spread wide with joy; a Focal Press article, a small camera, a menu that I put together for one of my culinary adventures, keys with a chunky peace keychain, a wallet, pen, lipstick,New Yorker magazine, a cell phone, and a notepad with pages of notes from questions I am thinking about (and also asking my coaching clients to contemplate): Where am I now? Where do I want to go? Why am I going there? How can I make a difference? What changes can I make to make the world a better place and keep me and my family happy and living well? Which by the way, I must get back to now.

Thanks Megan for keeping us focused on our careers by choice. Now I just need to concentrate on my career as a photographer and culinary and creative coach! (photo inside my purse to follow.)