My personal brand has been made so much easier with the help of many people. I have to say a big thank you to The Face for producing a fantastic campaign, to Raz Chorev, My Personal Marketer, for all his support, to Louise Pope and Kim Seeling-Smith for pointing me in the right direction and a ‘Big Cheers’, 
, to my colleagues and friends for all their support and feedback over the years otherwise there would be no personal brand for the Business Analyst.
My personal brand has slightly changed since JobCAMP as I have been discovering the BA but that is all part of the journey.
My Personal Brand…
1. Headliner
Who am I? What is the first thing I want people to think about me? True to me so my friends and colleagues can automatically identify as Colleen Chan. My second attempt at the headliner was again a very poor effort as noted by the same person who mentioned it the first time, 
. The headliner is the attention grabber as recruiters scan through many profiles of potential candidates.
Colleen Chan, ‘Colleen’ in Irish means girl then ‘Chan’, Chinese. People who meet me for the first time or I know as a connection, ask how long have I been in the country and where I am from originally. If they have only heard my voice over the phone, then I am Anglo-Saxon with a strange surname or I did not keep my maiden name. This happens often, doesn’t matter who or which continent, it puts a smile on my face. I am unexpected.
One of the hardest myths to overcome is the stereotype of a boring Business Analyst sitting in front of a computer looking at their numbers or being pedantic about some process flow. When recruiters advertise for roles they ask for personality, interpersonal skills and you have to put that through a cover letter and resume. I have a very Australian sense of humour and I like to share my thoughts and sometimes it puts a smile on a face. I like telling stories like this one I am sharing now. Experiences are there to be shared so we all can learn and funny ones are there so we can have a smile.
Raz, introduced me as the Business Analyst with a Difference to his twitter followers.
So here I am,
Business Analyst with a Difference.
2. Elevator Pitch
The one statement that describes what I can do for a business.
I can measure and understand an organisation’s ambiguous and complex data so they can make concise decisions for the business.
This statement is not seen on my profile but if I had only a brief moment to impress somebody, what would I say to them so they would not forget me.
3. Target Audience
Who do I want to work for? I think back at the jobs in the past and find the people I enjoyed working for were C-level executives. I learnt from these people and discovered different views that allowed me to understand the business and added to my knowledge base making me more qualified for my job.
I have a unique career DNA, statistician meets business analyst. This means I am the go-to person for C-level executives who need data transformed into insightful advice right across their business.
What makes me stand out? I have a “Unique Career DNA” as I am a statistician with post graduate education in accounting & finance and have a good business acumen working in the corporate environment.
What can I do for them? “Insightful advice right across your business.” I provide quality information for decisions to be made in all areas of the business.
4. Sell items
Why would a company want to hire me? Will I fit into their organisational culture? The people that know me should be able to see the person they work with on a day to day basis in my personal brand. How do these people perceive me? When I have been given a problem, my conclusions and approach to my work?
I’m a logical thinker and have a heightened awareness. I’m about details and am results driven. I’m smart, confident, nice and personable. My style maybe a bit left-of-centre but I am great to be around and you’ll really like working with me!
How do I consider a problem? “I’m a logical thinker and have a heightened awareness”. As a business analyst I have to understand the data flows where the data begins and where data flows intercept. The end point of the data flow is management where I have to understand the decision they are trying to achieve.
My conclusions are “about details and results driven”. Decisions can be made through the data with the knowledge the analysis can be understood and is motivated to attain business goals.
How do I deliver my work? “I’m smart, confident, nice and personable”. I am an Excel master with a ”Unique Career DNA”, I am logical and detailed so I am confident of my conclusions, I am nice and personable as I am approachable and modest when understanding or explaining the data.
How do my colleagues perceive me as a work mate? “A bit left-of-centre but I am great to be around and you’ll really like working with me!” I am not a typical business analyst but my traits are not a reflection of my work or who I am, you will enjoy working with me.
5. Creative Proposition
What can I do for your business?
I can take complex problems and make them simple. I can understand and measure the ambiguous!
Data problems may come from any number of sources, not digestible in its current format and appears to have no solution. I can take the ambiguity out of the data so precise decisions can be made.
6. Creative work
Why should your business have me as a part your team?
I am a visual person so I can take all kinds of complex data and make it understandable not only to financial people but to everyone in the business. That makes me a critical part of every decision making process.
In fact, no organisation should do business until they…Check with Chan
I have worked in many areas over my career and many different people with different types of education, engineers, accountants, sales and even doctors so everybody has been taught differently how they perceive the numbers. I can visualise the data in all aspects of the business so everybody can understand, that is why nobody should make a decision until they… 
7. Check with Chan
The online campaign would click through to the full page ad which was also the one that appeared on page 4, Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 23rd May. The online campaign ran from midnight Friday night to midnight Tuesday night on the home pages of MyCareer.com.au and TheBigChair.com.au
8. Is it Me?
Can I achieve all that I have stated above? Do I have the personality that is expressed in my personal brand? My resume, my profile on LinkedIn, my connections and the recommendations I have from my colleagues prove my experience and who I am.
Am I bragging? Yeah, I’m bragging, 
. But I have to demonstrate I am the best candidate. My personal brand has to describe who I am, what I have accomplished and what I can accomplish. I am competing against other candidates.
My Personal Brand is an important part of my identity. I must be able to maintain my identity not only to find work and at work but also my friends and my connections must be able to identify with me.
But now I am an occasional blogger and not just a business analyst, . There are two “About” pages, a page for the business analyst, which is why I am here, to find a job for the BA and a page for the blogger with a different profile picture. Hmm… I am sure my personal brand will change over time as my journey into web 2.0 continues. I know if I keep real and true to my personal brand then I will continue to enjoy my social networking experience and all that it has brought me .
Next post in The Story -> The Campaign
Tags: Business Analyst, Employment, Personal Branding, Profiles, Social Networking
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The one thing I always wondered about your ad, why the older gentleman? I understand that he is the C-level exec, but… Wouldn’t you want to show yourself? Your picture gives you that level of personality.
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The response to the older gentleman has been varied, some like yours ‘Why isn’t you?’ and others have said good way of attracting the C-level exec. I think it is split between the sexes from my overall feedback or maybe that is my swayed view
.If, at the time, I was asked to have my photograph in the SMH? I think my answer would have been ‘no’, I was so new to social media and out of my comfort zone, I had enough trouble talking about myself, (notice I don’t have any problem now)
.Cheers, Colleen.
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Hi Colleen –
I am confused about a phrase you use. It doesn’t seem to have much meaning. It’s “I’m a logical thinker and have a heightened awareness.”
Heightened awareness of what? It could be a colloquialism, but I don’t think so.
I keep on wondering why a company hasn’t grabbed you–your qualifications seem very impressive to me.-
“Heightened Awareness” of the data.
1. When a new set of data is presented to me I can understand the issue during the initial discussions of the data.
2. I can understand an issue with the numbers before it is apparent, whether it is a customer, sales or any other issue depending where I am working.
I hope this clears that up for you. As to why nobody has grabbed me, there are a couple of issues here,
1. The economic climate
2. I am not CA/CPA qualified, my work is oriented towards commercial operations and profitability, since I am a statistician, I don’t even get a look in even though the recruiters say that I am more than qualified. Business, to me, is just part of the normal facts of life. We all need to make money, it is part of the society we live in.
3. My background is IT&T so no jobs in any other markets, eg. Finance, FMCG, consulting, etc…
I suppose these are the main issues. I am remaining positive though
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Hi Colleen,
No doubt all your efforts for branding yourself are impressive and we should all make the efforts to define who we are and what we can bring to an organization.
However I’m quite puzzled by the online ad with the gentleman. It definitely has the look and feeling of a political campaign and this is what I don’t really understand. It seems to me this ad is a bit “too much” in a sense that you are looking for a job, not trying ton convince millions of voters to choose you. It gives me the same impression that you try to kill a mosquito with a shotgun. It is a bit too bold.
In the meantime, the aim of an online campaign like yours is really to “pull” the recruiters towards you. Since the “classic method” is rather to “push” yourself, I would think the recruiters may not invest their time in actually being active to respond to a broadcasted ad.
So far, has your campaign been more effective than a classic “browse and send” one?
Best,
Thomas
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The branding exercise has been an experience for anybody who wants to discover the direction and their abilities in their career. I have found it a very thought provoking exercise.
The effectiveness of my campaign so far has been very positive, from recruiters and from companies hiring directly. The campaign and what I have done since, eg, increasing my online presence, has added to my “browse and send one”.
As to your view on the gentleman, I have also received responses like that as well but only a few. As to why the campaign was directed that way? I’m not sure, I am not a marketing person, only a numbers person so I can’t answer your question. I will leave that one to the marketing people.
Thanks,
Colleen.
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So you can run stats for a global company with disparate, if not dysfunctional financial systems spread across multiple countries and cultures. You can package the stats up into a report that is meaningful for a management team that is really only focused on the next 5 days sales, yet get to see intricate trends that you have uncovered over many months of data.
You have stayed sane and personable under the pressure this would create.And you have not been snapped up yet because your not a CPA and there is a GFC!!! Are they mad??? That’s right. They only care about then next 5 days sales, not the long term health of the company
Great blog Colleen, maybe add in some of the real world crap that you have been able to navigate through.
Keep Plugging
Ken-
Great summary Ken, thanks!
Sane and personable because understanding numbers is so easy for me. Some call me mad!
Short term returns is part of a comment left by Sheryar Malik on my blog After sales service. Does it exist?. Needing a “market attitude paradigm shift” and “common long term vision.”
Now, wouldn’t it be simplistic if we all regarded reincarnation to be true. We would look towards the long term goals of the world rather than looking at our short term goals and self gratification. Then I might have a job
The real world crap. Oh, I have to defer to a later date… You can see some of that in my rants.
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Pingback from 7 Article (follow) on 21 September, 2009 at 3:14 am
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I don’t know If I said it already but …Great site…keep up the good work.
I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks, A definite great read..Tony Brown
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For someone who did not know what web 2.0 was only about 3 months ago I am very flattered that I have received a such compliment from somebody who is so knowledgable in the area. Thank you
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Hi Colleen
Great stuff !!!I’m sure you would have had this question in an interview before.
What ‘difference’ do you bring as a BA?
How have you tackled this question?Thanks
Anil-
Hi Anil,
That is an easy question for me.
The difference I bring as a business analyst is that I am a statistician as compared to most other BA’s who are engineers, computer sciences or accountants.
I am able to look at the big picture and not focused in the areas which others bring to the table. It is the tasks and techniques I use in the process, analysis and presentation of the data that makes me different to other BA’s
Hope this answers your question.
Colleen.
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thankk u …
tasks and techniques – what different ones do you use ?
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