Represent: A Student Perspective on Portfolio Branding

Guest Blogger and Former CUPID Associate Maggie Achey ’14

Hello, my name is Maggie Achey and I am a student in the CUPID 282 class for the fall 2013 semester. I am a senior English major concentrating in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and worked as a CUPID Associate for a semester last year. As I continue to work on my professional portfolio to showcase my writing and academic work to potential employers, I am thinking about my personal brand. As a professional writer, I have realized how important it is create a brand, both visually and rhetorically.

In the context of professional writing, branding focuses on creating an identity through the presentation of documents to a specific audience. The main themes of personal branding are being consistent and deliberate. It is the purposeful use of something to persuade a certain audience. In my case, it is the presentation of experiences and skills through certain documents to influence future employers.

When we think of branding, we often think of large companies and their use of an image, font, or color. It is the consistent presentation of a physical aspect that we recognize as consumers. Therefore, the first way to create a brand is a visual theme that runs throughout the documents in the portfolio. I have picked out a classic font and the color purple as a visual design that weaves through my portfolio. I used this theme in my portfolio banner and in the header of my resume. This ties the pieces together and gives the audience a strong impression of my work. Branding can also be achieved by creating a logo or monogram that appears in the portfolio. This can be created in programs such as InDesign and Photoshop available in the CUPID lab.

maggie_Pheadermaggie_RheaderAs well as visual branding, it is important for professional writers to work on rhetorical branding. The identity that we create professionally and personally is important, but I really saw the importance of personal branding in the recent article “What It Really Means To Have a Personal Brand” by Jim Joseph published on Entrepreneur Online. The author argues that the branding process starts at birth and is a constant process of connecting, evolving, and building values. Joseph explains, “The choices we make in life are no different than the choices brands make when marketing their products…The stakes are more personal and arguably higher than with a “commercial” brand, but the process is nearly the same whether we are talking about growing a business or ourselves.”

The article can be applied to professional writing through the importance of creating a rhetorically sound portfolio. Arguing about the importance of establishing credibility, the piece articulates the idea of ethos when creating a personal brand. This is vital to curating a portfolio for future employers, because writers must seem knowledgeable and adapt for the target workplace. One way to establish credibility is to deliberately pick the documents to highlight. The portfolio for a certain job is a demonstration of your best work, not all your work. I am in the process of narrowing down my documents but am asking questions such as ‘How will this add to my professional brand? How about my personal brand?’ And what does this piece argue to the audience about my skills?” I am making sure to pick out documents that showcase my identity and, as the article pointed out, how I have grown over the past four years.

The success of personal branding is in presenting a consistent, deliberate theme that runs through the portfolio. Whether that is through a visual element or a rhetorical element, the key is to convey your identity to the audience in a way that is interesting, informative, and memorable.

As well as visual branding, it is important for professional writers to work on rhetorical branding. The identity that we create professionally and personally is important, but I really saw the importance of personal branding in the recent article “What It Really Means To Have a Personal Brand” by Jim Joseph published on Entrepreneur Online. The author argues that the branding process starts at birth and is a constant process of connecting, evolving, and building values. Joseph explains,  The choices we make in life are no different than the choices brands make when marketing their products…The stakes are more personal and arguably higher than with a “commercial” brand, but the process is nearly the same whether we are talking about growing a business or ourselves.”

The article can be applied to professional writing through the importance of creating a rhetorically sound portfolio. Arguing about the importance of establishing credibility, the piece articulates the idea of ethos when creating a personal brand. This is vital to curating a portfolio for future employers, because writers must seem knowledgeable and adapt for the target workplace. One way to establish credibility is to deliberately pick the documents to highlight. The portfolio for a certain job is a demonstration of your best work, not all your work. I am in the process of narrowing down my documents but am asking questions such as ‘How will this add to my professional brand? How about my personal brand?’ And what does this piece argue to the audience about my skills?”  I am making sure to pick out documents that showcase my identity and, as the article pointed out, how I have grown over the past four years.

The success of personal branding is in presenting a consistent, deliberate theme that runs through the portfolio. Whether that is through a visual element or a rhetorical element, the key is to convey your identity to the audience in a way that is interesting, informative, and memorable.

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