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tags: Module 0
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# Intro to your Personal Branding Canvas

Have you ever been asked “*So, tell me about yourself!*” in an interview and didn’t quite know what to answer?

**Don't worry - we're going to work on that!** 

The answer to that seemingly simple question requires a lot of work and preparation. First of all, you have to decide what it is you want to do, and more importantly, why you're doing it. You also need to think about what skills and attributes define you, how you can stand out from your competition, and adapt the message to your audience.

In other words, you need to build a **personal brand** that tells a compelling story.
 
## Job hunting is sales
**Looking for a job is, essentially, a sales process. Instead of software, you sell youself. You are the product.** You are selling yourself and your ideas, or in other words, your personal brand.

Good personal brands such as Oprah Winfrey or Barack Obama have one thing in common - a lot of design and preparation behind them. Creating a strong personal brand requires time and dedication, but once it's done you will have a secret weapon that will help you succeed much faster.

This is an exercise that will be ongoing and serve you for the rest of your professional life. It will be our focus in this initial section.
 
## Your Personal Branding Canvas

We have created a canvas so that you can design your personal brand in 6 easy steps:

- **Step 1: Your values -** We discover what provides you with meaning and purpose in your work.
- **Step 2: Top skills -** Just as important as knowing your weak spots is knowing where you shine - and being able to give yourself credit for those skills and attributes at which you excel.
- **Step 3: Defining your brand attributes -** Once you've done some self-reflection, it's time to see how other people perceive you. Decide which attributes define your personal brand best, understanding not only yourself but also how you are perceived by others.
- **Step 4: Your goal -** Once you understand who you are and how others see you, it's important to clearly define your goal: what is your desired outcome?
- **Step 5: Know your target (ICP and IBP) -** Once you know your values and your objective, you need to adapt it to your audience. We will focus on the decision makers who will be part of the process of achieving your goal.
- **Step 6: Personal branding statement -** With all of this in mind, we'll create your first draft of your branding statement. It should communicate not just who you are today, but who you want to become.

Throughout the rest of this section, we're going to help you complete each step in your personal branding canvas.

*Please note: This is a personal document.* It's internal and for your use only. In the next section we will focus on translating this personal brand into your public profiles.

Like your personal brand, this is a dynamic, iterative document. Feel free to come back and change things around in each section as you evolve.
 
## Creating your canvas

- [Access your personal branding template here](https://www.notion.so/headstartacademy/Personal-Branding-Canvas-5e80cf5206e4485680fa17ab8c2cc776)
- On the top right corner, you can click on "Duplicate".

Ready to go! Time to move onto step 1: Your values!

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