Introduction
My name is Alina Juarez and I am a junior pursuing a degree
in Accountancy. I am currently studying abroad in Singapore for the Spring 2017 semester. This self-branding assignment had me think about myself in ways
that I have not spent much time reflecting. I spent time completing a personal
assessment about my strengths and weaknesses. I also created a survey for my
friends and family to fill out and give their input on what they think about
me. I made the survey anonymous, and encouraged everyone to be completely
honest. I learned how I am perceived in other’s eyes, and have summarized my
findings below.
Strengths
I have always had trouble determining my greatest strengths.
I have wondered whether what I consider a strength, is actually seen as a
strength by others. After taking the time to think thoroughly, I have come up
with a few qualities about myself that I see as strengths.
When I think about strengths, the first thing that comes to
mind is my determination. I am very goal-focused, and once I set my mind to
something I do everything in my power to achieve it. One of my favorite hobbies
is to run. I used to run leisurely until I signed up for my first half
marathon. After a couple half marathons and an injury, I set a goal of
completing a marathon before my 21st birthday. I spent a long and
tiresome 6 months during spring semester and summer break training for the
Chicago Marathon, and completed it this past October. I turned 21 the first
week in November. However, I did not stop there. I have already signed up for 2
more marathons this upcoming year. My determination and being goal-focused were
also highlighted by my family and friends as my strongest quality. I was happy
to read that others saw this as my most prominent strength, because I feel it
is something that truly defines me.
Although this was not mentioned by my friends and family, I
believe that another strength of mine is punctuality. Whether I have
assignments due for class, a meeting I need to attend for work, or simply
showing up early to where I need to be at, I am aware of what needs to be done.
Being punctual helps me stay organized and aware of what I need to do in my
daily life.
Finally, a strength of mine that I had not thought about,
but was mentioned by my friends and family is my independence. Even though I do
consider myself as an independent person, I had not considered this to be a
strength of mine. Many responses from my survey mentioned that I don’t rely on
others, and will seek to reach what I feel are in my best interests. I do
believe this to be true. Whenever I want to achieve something, I tend to seek
advice from others, but if it is ultimately what I want regardless of what
others say, I will go ahead and do it myself. I don’t like to wait around for
others when I could be doing it myself.
Weaknesses
When interviewing for a job opportunity, you are always told
to “think of weaknesses that are not actually weaknesses” in order to make
yourself look better. So naturally, that’s what I do in an interview setting.
However, this assignment has helped me think out of the box, and determine what
my actual weaknesses are.
When thinking about my weaknesses from an internal point of
view, my mind immediately went to sociability. I consider myself to be an
introvert. When placed into new settings, I tend to stick with people I already
know, rather than branch out and meet new people. If there is no one that I
know, I have trouble introducing myself and engaging in conversation. When you
first meet me, I am a very shy person. It takes a while to crack my shell but
once I start to form relationships, I open up and my personality shines.
I also believe that loyalty is another weakness of mine, and
this was highlighted the most from my survey to family and friends. I tend to
trust others easily and even when they don’t deserve to be trusted. In certain
situations, being loyal can be a good thing. But there are times when it is not
a good thing, and find myself being taken advantage of. I am working towards
picking out situations in which it is not in my best interest to be so loyal
and trusting.
Feature Benefit
This project has allowed me to think of myself outside the
box. I am grateful that my friends and family were open and honest with me in
their feedback. This has opened up potentially possibilities as what could be my
feature benefit. If I were to market myself as a product, I believe that my
feature benefit would be my drive and dedication. These are the qualities that
I show everyday no matter what I am doing. I am a dependable person, and
definitely am someone that individuals can count on.
