Soaring on Your Strengths

Discover, Use, and Brand Your Best Self for Career Success

Penguin, 2005

15 min read

10 take-aways

Audio & text

What's inside?

If you do something you like, you will do it well. You also will develop a unique job identity – your personal brand.

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Editorial Rating

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Authors who write career-advice books have a problem, because every person's situation is different. Many such books stick to general, tried-and-true pointers, but Robin Ryan takes a different angle: advising job seekers to turn themselves into brands. Her idea is that since people excel at doing the things they like best, you should identify your preferences and promote your strengths. In addition to discussions of everything from personal grooming to finding a mentor, Ryan includes checklists and self-assessment questionnaires that some readers may find helpful. She omits some issues, such as the problems of older job seekers, or those confronted with nepotism and other career blockades, so getAbstract recommends her manual most strongly to young people looking for their first jobs. However, don't ignore it if you're a midcareer manager who is stagnating in your current position.

Summary

Branding: It's Not Just for Laundry Detergent

Numerous studies show that people who like what they do and do what they like are more successful than others. Therefore, human resource managers now focus on finding people's natural abilities and encouraging them to strengthen those attributes. When employees can use their inherent talents, they become more productive.

Yet, you probably have many talents that you don't use at work and that your job description does not include. One way to advance is to develop a "personal brand" that is not limited to your work identity but that also includes your natural talents - as well as any new skills you acquire, since the best way to grow in your career is to develop yourself and your abilities.

To get your career to move faster, build your "personal brand," which will lead to promotions and better work assignments. You are the only one who can develop your brand, including your resume, and the network of colleagues, supervisors and co-workers who can give you job leads and references. The U.S. Department of Labor discovered that 63% of people who found jobs in 2005 used referrals.

If creating a personal brand has ...

About the Author

Robin Ryan has appeared on Oprah, Dr. Phil, and many cable and network news programs. She is the author of seven books, including 60 Seconds & You're Hired!; Winning Resumes, Winning Cover Letters and What to Do with the Rest of Your Life. Her articles have appeared in Money, Fortune, Business Week, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and the Boston Globe.

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R. A. 1 decade ago

The summary whittles down the essence of the original text quite succintly; the bullet points adequately highlight the "key takeaways" of the original publication. An excellent source of approaches and mantras to use in a training or motivational environment. No fluff, just strong points that remind or inform.

Robin Ryan