Freakonomics had a great little bit in the movie adaptation of their book about personal branding and how lately, it seems that from the moment a child is born just naming it is like creating a brand. I’m pretty sure that when I was born, my parents weren’t thinking about that – my name rhymed and I frequently wound up hearing Duran Duran instead of my name Joanne Haran. In fact, I was so eager to change it, I didn’t wait until I was officially married before switching some of my cards – as my Costco membership card from six years ago can attest. I’ve now been married five years and am so happy to have a new brand name. With a last name that starts with the letter Z, I relish going by Jay Z. I’m world famous. Boom. Just like that.
But in all seriousness, I have a difficult time discussing my “brand.” I suppose some of my personal qualities would be that I’m kind of dorky (in the adorkable sense, I hope) and have a really dry sense of humour. True story: in French, my first language, a dry sense of humour is not a good thing. It’s dry, as in stale and crumby. A friend once remarked on my dry sense of humour and I was incredibly hurt. It took me a week before telling her how her comment had made me feel only to then find out that in English, it’s not a bad thing!
But I digress, where was I? Yes, my qualities. So, I like to think I’m a bit of a dork, I’ve got a dry sense of humour, I’m a tad goofy and I get really excited about things, which often means I get distracted and will go off on tangents that are only a little bit related to what I was doing in the first place. Like this one time when I … just kidding.
I also like to think that I can be really picky in a perfectionist sort of way. I’m a bit of a grammar nerd. I mean this in the sense that if I read something with the wrong your/you’re or there/their/they’re, I cringe. It’s a visceral reaction that physically hurts. I try not to be a jerk about it and correct strangers on the internet because that’s just silly.
I also consulted with friends and colleagues because I thought it would be kind of fun. On Facebook, I got warm, energetic, positive, adventurous, dynamic and open-minded. I’ll take it! Then I got this list from a colleague who I’ve worked closely with and who has mentored me in one of my past positions. The list is long (I only asked for a couple of words) but I think it suits me:
Funny
Sharp
Witty
Sarcastic
Eye-rolling
Geek
Bibliophile? / Language drill-sergeant (I protest the term grammar nazi)
Projects!
Analytical
Critical
Outgoing
Smiley
Now I just need to figure out the difference between dork and geek…