Sometimes, there is nothing wrong with defining who you are based on NOT being someone else.
Let me explain.
When I was in high school, I didn’t really stand out. Despite how hard I tried. Grew my hair long, dyed it green. Whatever it was I tried, it didn’t really work. I was still the quiet, unremarkable kid in the back of the class.
Then, one day the loud speaker announced, “Will Joshua Waldron please come to the principle’s office immediately.”
I turned bright red. The whole class started to chuckle, “this quiet kid got into trouble?”
“But wait”, I futilely tried to explain, “She said ‘Waldron’, I’m Waldman!”
“Never mind that, go to the principals office.”
And so I got my first badge of honor. Which I didn’t really deserve. So I thought.
But I kept explaining it wasn’t me. There was indeed a Joshua Waldron who got himself into quite a bit of trouble on a weekly basis, and it was NOT me.
Looking back, it was that one silly mix-up and then my defining myself as “not-Waldron” that turned things around for me.
I Am Not this, I Am That
I believe this same principle can be applied in almost any situation based on a principle found in a book called, “Made to Stick.”
It describes the idea of a Meme, an idea-object that is easily grasped by others. The example of, “a pomelo is like a large grapefruit” can be better understood than a lengthy description of the exotic fruit.
By relating to something that others already know about, you can define yourself.
In high school, Waldron was notorious. By defining myself as not-Waldron, I became memorable to many people who I ordinarily wouldn’t have known.
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Who Are You NOT
Just for fun, as part of your personal branding experiments, think of something you would never do, or someone you would never be.
A Meme is an idea-object that is easily grasped by others.
When you are introducing yourself at a networking event, and you are finding it hard to describe what makes you unique, or what it is that you do, try using this negative analogy. Try to describe it in terms of what you are not.
One client of mine is named Tom Cruise. He introduces himself as, “Hi, I’m Tom Cruise, but not THE Tom Cruise.”
I am not a career coach. I am a social media strategist who can really help job seekers stand out from the crowd.
Who are you not?
[This article was originally posted on an earlier date]
Joshua Waldman is the founder of Career Enlightenment and specializes in helping job seekers leverage social media to find work quickly.
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About Joshua Waldman
It’s so true.
It can be so hard to distinguish yourself from the masses, and exponentially more difficult when you have to make distance between yourself and some negative associations (darn that Joshua Waldron!) Brand-yourself was inspired into creation when one of its founders realized that he shared a name with a convicted felon, and when you Googled his name, that’s all a potential employer would see. Brand-yourself can show you your “Google Grade” and help you put your best foot forward online in a world where your odds of being googled before hire are huge!
Love this blog, keep up the great posts!
Great blog! I often find candidates trying to pigeon hole themselves into a job, sacrificing a career. I look at a job as a short term opportunity and a career as the long term opportunity. If you are not a fit for a position then it will never turn into a career.
Great blog! I often find candidates trying to pigeon hole themselves into a job, sacrificing a career. I look at a job as a short term opportunity and a career as the long term opportunity. If you are not a fit for a position then it will never turn into a career.
Nice article.
It's just like a business branding. Find out our uniqueness that stand out from the many…
Nice article.
It's just like a business branding. Find out our uniqueness that stand out from the many…
Interesting approach for differentiating yourself during an interview. :) It would be a challenging exercise to a lot of job seekers so used to explaining “who they are.” I think the average Joe/Jane who may not have accumulated so many accolades as his/her competition nor had as much formal education may find this even more challenging…more examples on your end could really help them a lot in leading them to that direction. That could spark a little creativity, especially when it comes to the idea of promoting themselves.
Karen, The Resume Chick (on Google or Twitter if you need me)
Here's to who we are not. :-)