Branding your Postdoc
before your Postdoc brands you
CHRIS J. HASS, Ph.D.
NAKHE Leadership Development Workshop
Bruce Lund
Damon Andrew
Jody Langdon
Gwendolyn M. Weatherford
Applied
Neuromechanics
Laboratory
Frontal Lobe
Executive Function
Basal Ganglia
Cerebellum
The 10-15 year process of obtaining a Permanent position
Graduate work (4-7
years)
Post-doctoral work (2-7
years)
a 2nd post-doc?
Faculty / Research
Position!
Tenured / Director
My Path to Tenure
Fundability
‘Connections’
Chalk talk quality
Seminar quality
Research plan
Research
pedigree
Speaking skills
Teaching
strengths
Research
Accomplishments
Departmental
‘fit’
(provided you meet all the requirements)
Social ‘fit’
Publication record
Funding record
Writing skills
Hard Facts
Harder Facts
Hardest Facts
New Approach to Old Problems
 Personal Branding
•
Brands and taglines we know
•
Part I: What is PB & why it’s important in Higher Ed Now & the
Future
•
Part II: What is YOUR Personal Brand
•
Self-reflection
•
Part III: Unique Ability Exercise
 Marketing
Think different
The breakfast of
champions
Great taste… less filling
Where’s
the
beef?
It’s
the
real
thing
Just do it
For the Gator Good
Personal Branding Definition
 The ongoing process of establishing a
prescribed image or impression in the mind
of others about an individual, group or
organization.
 American Marketing Association: “name,
term, design, symbol, or any other feature
that identifies one seller’s good or service
as distinct from those of another.”
Brief History of PB
 Tom Peters in Fast Company – 1997 A Brand Called You
 “Everyone has a personal brand whether they realize it or
not”
 Most competitive, saturated markets to date for young
professionals (50% unemployed/underemployed)
 More resources than ever to both stand out through and
to manage (social media)
 If something bad (Brand Destroyers) happens people WILL
find out & FAST.
Branding serves at least four important
functions:
 Creating instant recognition of an organization’s name
(you or your lab) within target audiences (hiring
partners, sponsors, donors)
 Differentiating an organization from its competitors
 Promoting an understanding of what an organization
does and the value of that work
 Establishing an emotional connection with current and
prospective stakeholders that motivates them to place
their trust in an organization and support it.
Part I: Personal Branding in Higher Ed
 Brands within Brands
 Public Figures
 Presidents, Deans, Department Chairs, Program
Coordinators, Faculty Members
 Online/Offline Brand Management
 Grow Awareness for the University
 “Free Agent Nation”
 Job Jumping (Organization Man Becoming Extinct)
 Lifespan of Deans & Department Chairs
 Trends moving forward (younger faculty members)
Brand Promoting or Destroying
 Reputation
 On-campus
 In the community
 Professional networks or settings
 More Resources than Ever
 Professional Online Tools (Platforms)
 LinkedIn, Chronicle Vita, Research Gate
 Social Media
 Pictures
 Negative Posts/Comments
Vision/Mission Statements
 Statements that explain who we are
 Type of organization
 Products/services
 Needs we fill
 Statements that explain our direction, our
purpose, our reason for being
 What difference do we make?
 Statements that explain what makes us unique
 Values
 People
 Combination of products and services
Vision vs Mission
The vision is more broad and future oriented – the goal
on the horizon
The mission is more focused – how you will get to the
horizon
Examples of Vision Statements
Ben & Jerry’s
Product: To make, distribute, and sell the finest quality all natural
ice cream and related products in a wide variety of innovative
flavors made from Vermont dairy products.
Economic: To operate the Company on a sound financial basis of
profitable growth, increasing value for our shareholders and
creating career opportunities and financial rewards for our
employees.
Social: To operate the Company in a way that actively recognizes the
central role that business plays in the structure of society by
initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life of a
broad community: local, national, and international.
Examples of Mission Statements
Wyffels Hybrids
Wyffels Hybrids is a
regional agricultural
seed company
providing elite corn
hybrids, high oil corn
seed blends, and
premium alfalfas to
farmers of the U.S.
midwest.
Exercise #1
What Message Do You Want Others to
RecognizeYou For?
Message = Brand
Recognize = Reputation
Part II: What is your brand?
 Strategic planning session provides confidence in:
 Who WE are, what WE do, and why WE matter
as Post docs and scientists
 Personal Branding session provides confidence in:
 Who YOU are, what YOU do, and why YOU
matter
Brand Equity
 When other people hear your name what is
the first thing they think about?
 Should be:
 Consistent
 Unique
 Valuable
 Google Yourself: Want to be top of page/mind
 Employers are searching online (90%)
 Better that YOU manage the message you want
conveyed and not others
Introducing Unique Ability Concept
Four Main Characteristics of UA (Dan Sullivan):
1. Superior skill – Other people acknowledge that you
are really good at this
2. Passion – You enjoy doing it
3. Gives you energy – when you do your UA you have
tremendous energy
4. Never-ending improvement: because you have the
passion and the energy to get better
Exercise #2:
Self-Reflection
 I am talented at?
 Other people often compliment me
 I enjoy doing?
 Energy compounding
 Unique Ability = Both
 List the things that intersect
Part III: Unique Ability Exercise
 Exercise #3
 Write A Unique Ability Letter
 Email/Social Media/Handwritten
 Friends
 Mentors
 Mentees
 Family Members
 Colleagues
 Coworkers
Unique Ability Letter
UA Response Example:
Exercise #4
1. Partner with someone you know:
 Give them a couple minutes to think about your
STRENGTHS
 Share with each other
 Repeat with 3-5 people
2. For those who are new or do not know anyone talk
about your own unique abilities as a group
 Why is it important to know your unique
abilities in higher education (particularly early in
your career?)
Further Advice for PostDocs
 Perform a market analysis
 Pick 3-5 people in your industry and study them
(vitas)
 Reach out to them or speak to them at conferences
 Manage your own materials
 Keep cover letter and vita updated
 Natural motivator
 Have and speak with your mentors regularly
 Voice of reason
What’s the Point?
 Grows confidence b/c others validate your UA
 Stay focused on strengths:
 Strength finder / strength quest
 Gain clarity & direction
 Play more in your “fun” zone
 Talent/Passion
 Delegate out
 Surround yourself with others who compliment
weaknesses (Unique Ability Team)
Exercise 5: Group Discussion
 Since all in this room are considered future
scientific leaders what are common threads of
abilities and personalities
Why is Marketing Important?
 Marketing:
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Impacts Sales
Increases Awareness
Clarifies Metrics of Value
Impacts Consumer Trust
Builds a Social Asset
Clarifies your Market and Customer Profile
Builds your Organization’s Brand
Internal versus External Marketing
 You have two main audiences:
•
Internal audiences include the faculty, staff, current
students, and administrators of other academic
programs in the department, school, college, or
university,
•
these audiences have varying impacts on the potential
for your academic success
Internal versus External Marketing
 You have two main audiences:
•
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External audiences include alumni, prospective
students, peers in the field, granting agencies,
donors, legislators/politicians, and other
stakeholders in the general public, and
these audiences also have varying impacts on the
potential for your academic success
 A key principle of marketing is to tailor your
message to your target audience
Internal Marketing
 What does your university value?
 What do administrators at your university who
have direct impact on your operating budget
value?
 Does your immediate supervisor hold you
accountable for things valued by the university
and its decision-makers?
External Marketing
 Scientist must determine how best to communicate
with the following audiences:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
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Alumni
Prospective students
Donors
Granting agents
Legislators/politicians
Businesses (particularly those who commonly employ
graduates)
Accreditors
Non-profit organizations
Other stakeholders in the general public
UF Science Communications
Academy
The Importance of Branding
 Products have life cycles, but brands outlive products
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•
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No branding = no differentiation
No differentiation = no long-term profitability / success
People don’t have relationships with products, they are
loyal to brands
Brands can activate passion in ways that products cannot
How is your college or university branded?
 Whether we realize it or not, your field has a brand
•
What is Engineering’s brand, and how is it perceived?
Does it vary by sub-discipline?
Taking your brand to market
Focus on the Big 4
Social Media Used in Higher Education
 Pros and Cons
 In the Classroom
 School Pride
 Potential Students
 Professional Development
 General Outreach
 How Professors Use It
How Well is Social Media Being Used?

Certain sites can be
monitored

In the classroom, discussion
is more easily conducted

Invitation to produce
content for prospective or
current students

Lack of authenticity

Lack of features that allow
for interaction

Daily maintenance required
What Does the Research Say?
 71% of online adults use Facebook
 40% visit multiple times a day
What Does the Research Say?
 42% use more than one social media site
Why Use Social Media Marketing?
 Constantinides and Zinck-Stagno (2011) suggest:
 From a business model:
 Improved communications
 “Customer engagement”
 Increasing “brand loyalty”
 In higher education:
 3 different types of users
 Beginners, Social, and Informational
 Among this sample, many did not attribute choice of
college to social media interaction
 Why?
Question & Answer
 Email:cjhass@hhp.ufl.edu
 Twitter: @CJ_Hass
To-Do’s:
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Update social media profiles
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Send Out Unique Ability Letter