I initially felt rather cynical about attending the career workshops on offer at Ryerson University, but it turns out I’ve found them very helpful. My big take-away (for you pedants: the way I just used take-away is not correct according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary): creating my own personal brand is a requirement. Yup, just the kind of thing I typically despise. But I learned that I need to be very clear about what my story is: what I have to offer, how I can communicate to others what I have to offer, and what I want and value in a job. So what if it’s called branding? If I’m not clear on these things, there’s no sense in looking for employment.
(Incidentally, this personal branding stuff has been particularly helpful to me because, according to the Enneagram, I’m a three, and we threes can be mighty unclear about who we are and what we want because we’re so adept at molding ourselves to what others deem desirable.)