Branding Me!

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 21^st 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.