I was speaking at a job club in Utah recently and someone said they had an awesome personal motto… something that would fit in their email signature and LinkedIn Professional Headline.
I doubted it was awesome. So he told me… and I agree… AWESOME. What do you think (I added the highlight)?
I LOVE THIS.
This tagline, or as Aryl says, “personal motto,” says so much.
There is no jargon or cliche. It is understandable by anyone but meaningful to anyone who works with project managers and/or engineers.
Now that he has this (it came from a brainstorming process) he can use it in multiple places, and really help people understand his brand.
What’s YOUR personal motto?
This is a great branding tag line, many people have branding statements today but many miss the fact that their statements must be in context to be understood Once context is given then a cool branding statement will be thoroughly appreciated
Here are a few from our customers:
A home improvement specialist/architectural engineer -“Ridding the world of butt ugly homes.”
A chocolatier – “Delighting taste buds with delicious chocolate treats for 20 years.”
A copy writer/marketing specialist – “Copy so good your brain can taste it”(tm)
Main Frame Specialists – “From Mainframe to the Future using UV software.” Loves 1099 jobs and is always in demand also gets free support from UV for the promotional bit.
State of Maryland POAC (my operation) – “Your Success is Our Only Business!”
Steve,
I like these, although I think yours is actually the weakest (which is a relative statement). The problem with it is there are lots of companies that can say the same thing (or aspire to the same thing). Given what’s going on in the world (and keep in mind this is a knee-jerk idea), how about “We care…when it feels like nobody else does.”
Mine is Senior Marketer who shows companies and individuals how to differentiate themselves in an information-saturated age.
It probably doesn’t need the “senior marketer” part but part of my goal is SEO-related. I’ve toyed with using the tagline from my business card, “What Makes You Remarkable?” but it works better with a list of services.
But I have to tell you, I’m sick of all the job titles, company names, and functions that most people seem to be using. Great post, Jason. I hope this gets people motivated to take a second look at theirs.
Peter
Hi, Jason,
Mine is ” Helping adults find a career that fits their personality, fires their passion, and fills their pockets!
(Note the words fit, fires, and fills are italicized for emphasis in my materials.) I get a lot of compliments on this tag line. It speaks to a job seekers primary needs.
Best,
Kathy
Jason. I’m a big & regular user of LinkedIn and have read thousands of “personal mottos” The one you quote in this post is simply terrific. It’s given me much to think about. Thanks for sharing.
Perhaps I am dating myself , but it is not in my generations work ethic to brag , humor, or comply with the ADD issues of short one liners , bullet points or scanning databases of today’s resume.
A person may be perfect for the job and a hard worker , but the employer never sees the resume , because some twit thought you were “boring”.
It is a shame that the resume is only as good as the “CV”, (in old school it is called a SUMMARY ), and unless you can entertain their brain in less then 50 words, (in a FONT that resembles my granddaughters handwriting) forget it. No interview.
I find that many companies loose site of the professional aspects of a resume and would rather be humored with unusable tag lines or a personal motto.
If you own your business, use a tagline in your marketing, that’s great ! But in reality, when looking for employment with a fortune 500 company, where individuality and humor are not assets, the tagline should read:
“A subordinate that shows up for work everyday and will do what ever you tell them to do”
OR
” Have been employed for 3 decades. Ask me how!”
Is the professional headline / personal tag line for the employing company (they already have one) or for the bored recruiter?
I see nothing “professional” about it, and frankly find it embarrassing to use in a resume.
mine is “the voice of reason” 🙂
Teresa. It’s simple, but I’m not sure what you’re selling. I couldn’t find your Profile on LinkedIn (although when I searched on your name I came across someone else (Tia Dobi) who’s “PT Barnum in a skirt producing intelligent creative to sell your stuff.” Not sure how’d I have found here with a search targeted at her, but the Summary was really interesting.
Christine, I don’t think anyone was suggesting you use your tagline in a resume, but I do wonder what you have against letting people know what makes you unique. I have to disagree with one observation; I’d be stunned if any HR executive for a company with self-respect would move your resume to the top of a pile with a headline that characterizes you as a cubicle-anchored drone. Now if you said, Support Person Who Makes My Manager a Hero, you might get my attention.
I don’t think this is generational…unless you’re in your 60s or 70s. If that’s the case and you’re in the job market, you might want to consider changing your approach because you have a lot of other strikes against you. I’m on the ugly side of 50 and Jason will tell you I spent a lot of time thinking through my personal brand and the way I was selling myself and think I’m much better off than I might have been. I think people who share your attitude are doomed to end up at humorless, boring companies where you’ll be miserable and constantly looking over their shoulder whenever layoffs happen. And that’s a pity, because I’ll bet you’d have a lot to offer a company if you’d loosen up a bit and give personal branding a try. And I mean that in a nice way.
— Peter
Peter – I am on linked in and quite regularly…there are a number of Teresa Marshall’s but I wouldn’t dare be so COCKY to use “voice of reason” in a public forum….in short I would hope that I am presenting a sane approach to complex issues as a project manager. I like to think that I have some skill in facilitating large groups to a place of reason…hence my tagline of “voice of reason”. I have been successful so far and am continuing to educate myself and learn from others.