Homework
0:00:00.0 Professor Walden: We are going live, we are hitting it. Turning things down. Perfection. Alright. So we are about 10 seconds in, 11 seconds in. So I’m letting everyone kind of find their way here and find their way to us, guys. So I’m just making sure everyone’s good, alright? So letting everybody pop in. So hello, hello and good evening. Boy, we are excited tonight. We are excited to see what’s about to happen, and to learn, and to listen. So as you guys drop in, we’re gonna do just a slight check-in, right click. So hopefully, everyone is doing well. It is the summer time, and that means vacations for a lot of us. Vacations. So if you have not already planned your vacation or just some time away, please make sure that I encourage you to do so.
0:01:00.9 Professor Walden: Even if you’re watching this and it’s December, make sure that you have planned your vacation. It is important. You are a caregiver, and quite frankly, we talk a lot about self-care but self-care is a lot of things. Part of that is disconnecting. And so, I need you to disconnect, reset, regroup, so that you can go back out and take care of your patients. Alright, so perfection. So here we are, we are here another day. I am excited… I’m just excited. So tonight, we have OMG, and I’m gonna explain to you who OMG is. But we are going to be talking about branding. So you probably know branding in the sense of a business, but we’re gonna be talking a lot about personal branding.
0:01:45.4 Professor Walden: If you are new to us, you know that we’ve been saying lately, “Hey, go back and watch the videos, watch the job videos. There are some things we want you to learn there.” This ties into all of that. And so, I want you guys to understand this. Learning how to personally brand yourself and align yourself with your interviews and things that you are about to embark on, even if you are currently in a position and moving to another position, becomes really, really important. And as I learned through our research… Remember, there’s about 15% of nurse practitioners out there, who are not working bedside. That means they are doing either their own business, or they are doing something with someone else.
0:02:31.4 Professor Walden: So this is all very, very relevant. And remember, part of this group is about building confidence. So this is what we are going to be talking about today. So let me talk to you about OMG. So we are talking about Olivia M. Gonzalez, that’s who we call OMG around here, at LOS. She is the founder and CEO of… Wait, and she is brand optimizer of OMG Brand Story, a brand consulting agency designed specifically to serve entrepreneurs. She and her team are on a mission to unleash scores of purpose driven brands that will change the world by creating more engaging, inclusive and meaningful brand experiences for all.
0:03:14.9 Professor Walden: Through her signature process, Olivia and team OMG help businesses clarify, develop and optimize their brand guidelines, brand purpose, position and messaging. OMG brand story gets to the heart of the brand and dares entrepreneurs to believe in the power of their own story, so they can show up and show out for their ideal clients. Backed up by over 20 years of corporate industry experience, Olivia has been a trusted advisor to household names, including Toyota USA, GameStop, TGI Fridays, I love that restaurant, Rave Restaurant Group, and North Texas Food Bank. She and her team now help entrepreneurs and corporate clients rock out their authentic selves.
0:04:00.2 Professor Walden: Olivia has been featured in Plano Magazine, Voyage Dallas, and as a guest reporter on Dallas ABC affiliates, WFAA Verify program. When OMG is not rescuing brands from the edge of structural burnout and setting them on the path of profitability, she’s kicking back in North Texas sun, with her husband, cats, Crazy and Mousey, and a breakfast taco in hand. My girl. Alright, so let’s go ahead and introduce Olivia. Hey, Olivia.
0:04:31.5 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Hi, how’s it going? I’m so excited to be here. I am so, so, so stoked. Thank you for the invite.
0:04:35.9 Professor Walden: Absolutely, absolutely. So guys, Olivia is not only a trusted brand advisor, she’s also a very good friend and is someone who I went to when I needed help with the business, and re-branding. However, not only does she align with the business. Again, that personal brand that is so very important for us these days, especially as we all embark on this social media world, is very important. And as you guys go out there and you start introducing yourselves and building, even if you’re not purposely trying to build an audience, you will in general, have people who follow you as nurse practitioners and you are building your brand, whether you wanna believe it or not. So that is what Olivia is gonna talk to us about today. Okay. I’m excited.
0:05:24.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: I’m excited too. And I’m so glad you said the things that you did, ’cause I’m like, “Oh, all those things are gonna pop up when we go through my little slide-show here in a minute.” So I’m excited about that too. Alright, I would love to put something on our screen for the start of the rock and rolling-ness.
0:05:42.4 Professor Walden: Yes, yes. Well, we’re gonna get started, and I’m gonna hand it over to you. Alright. Take it away.
0:05:46.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Thank you friend, I appreciate you. Awesome, okay. Well, super exciting. I would love to have that introduction every day, that would be awesome, ’cause it really built me up [chuckle] with confidence to talk to you guys about how to brand yourself like a boss. So exactly what we’re highlighting here today is, how to really build a personal brand, so that you can bag the job of your dreams. Because as a nurse, it is such a competitive market, it’s so, so important for you to be able to stand out with your own personal brand. So, high level overview of what we’re gonna be covering today is just what is branding. When you come to think about it for a business, versus personal branding.
0:06:29.3 Olivia M. Gonzalez: And then also talking about how to really brand yourself. Why personal branding matters, especially to you, and what exactly do we need to even include when we’re talking about building a brand story, or how do we even share our brand, our personal brand? And then we’ll wrap with some high level points for you guys, about how to prepare to bag your dream job. What are the things you need to be doing ahead of time, prior to going into the interview, to speak confidently about your personal brand? So that’s just a high level overview. I’m super excited about this. So first thing we’re gonna dive into is, what is branding?
0:07:01.9 Olivia M. Gonzalez: When you think about branding on a business perspective versus personal branding, you would think there was gonna be a lot of differences. So let’s just talk high level and go through the ABC basics of branding. So when we think about branding, most people are thinking about colors, and logos, designs, their slogans. When we think about these big buildings, or we think about Coca-Cola organisations, or these big large global… The Toyotas, or the TGI Fridays, I love TGI Fridays too, when we think about those things with branding. But really and truly, when you put everything together, and when you’re talking about the overall story, branding essentially, is a way to identify the personality of the brand, that’s who the brand really is. What exactly do they do? What do they stand for? Why do they even exist? And it’s all about that personality, when you come think about it. So when we think about branding, there are three main areas when it comes to branding for a business. So, high level, I wanna give an introduction to what are the things that we’re thinking about, when those three main areas pop-up. They are going to be your brand voice, your brand visuals and design, and then the heart of your brand.
0:08:19.6 Olivia M. Gonzalez: So when we break this down and we’re thinking from a business perspective initially, just to get to level set, it’s really… And the brand voice is the way brand sounds, so are they casual, conversational, are they very formal, those types of things, the tone, how… Do they actually interact or engage with their clients or their customers? The cadence, I’m a fast talker, so my cadence is pretty fast, when I’m going through, but there are a lot of people who do not have… Or a lot of, I should say, organisations who are very formal and structured so their cadence might be a little bit different, and then things like key messaging, what are the slogans that we know that have a coke and a smile, and I’m using that ’cause it’s… Global organisations that we’re all familiar with it. It’s always Fridays and here it’s always Fridays, when we think about TGI Fridays. Those are things that you know that are associated very specific to a brand because of their voice, because of what… The things that they say and engage with their clients or their customers all the time.
0:09:19.3 Olivia M. Gonzalez: That second component is that brand visuals and design, and this is really what we normally think about, we think about the colors, the way things look, the fonts, the logos, even the type of imagery, so the pictures that they have out on the… Across the inter webs and advertising, when they’re doing their social media, all of those things have to align a certain way to tell the story about who they really are when it comes to branding, and finally, the heart of the brand. Now that is what does a brand really stand for when you think about their purpose, why exactly do they exist? The mission, what exactly are they here to do? When you think about OMG Brand story, and you think about, we’re here to unleash purpose-driven brands to create more meaningful, inclusive and engaging brand experiences for all… That’s a big vision. It’s like a vision, mission statement, it’s like why we’re here and what we are looking to do in the future and looking to contribute to in the future, and then your core values… What do they stand for? Most people think of things like for instance, integrity, or they think, for me, it’s relentless resiliency, it is playful creativity, it’s the things that you prioritise in your life for a brand would be those core values.
0:10:36.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Now, let’s think about the main areas of branding when it comes to personal branding, and lo and behold, they are the three same main areas of branding, and that’s all for a very specific reason, we’re always looking for certain things. So here, when we’re talking about personal brandy, that’s for you, your brand voice still does matter… Oh no. Goodness gracious. Now it’s gonna be every single… There we go. Okay, we’ll go back one. The cooking didn’t go do as magically as I wanted it to, but that’s okay, we’re gonna roll with the punches. When you think about your brand voice, it literally is your tone, how do you engage with your patients? What type of conversations do you have with them? How do you speak with your peers or with your supervisors, even your attitude, that is your personal brand voice, just like a business, when we expect certain phrases or we expect certain… There is an air of attitude in certain brands, some brands have swagger, some brands are very formal and put together, other brands are more conversational… Same thing goes for you. So when you think about your personal brand voice, you really are talking about how do you engage with your patients, how do you communicate with your peers, and with your supervisors, especially… And then key phrases, so we all know we have friends who have certain phrases and certain things that we carry ourselves with, and we all have them.
0:12:03.3 Olivia M. Gonzalez: I don’t have… Not one conference call in my lifetime that I haven’t signed off with, Okay, well peace out. Everybody’s saying goodbye, have great afternoon, blah blah blah, whatever. My key phrase, my personal brand is, that’s how I sign out for most things. You will be known for these certain phrases that you usually communicate with and people get to know with you, now, even in employee situations where you have to kinda… There are things that you have to take very, very seriously, but you also have moments where there’s some levity and your personal brand comes out, that is your brand voice that you’re communicating. Next is brand visuals and design. Now, when it comes to personal branding, that’s really just the way you carry yourself, and all… It is the way that you carry yourself, whether it is in uniform, and I’m talking like, have you ever been in a situation where you have seen someone else on staff or in a uniform that looked really disheveled, that’s completely not put together, we know that that’s not the standard, the alignment with the standard with the organisation that they’re working with, that’s part of their personal brand, that’s communicated, the optics of your personal brand is how you carry yourself.
0:13:14.9 Olivia M. Gonzalez: And that includes confidence as well, so that’s really important in how you carry yourself, how you align with those standards when it comes to your brand, visuals, first impressions, we talk about that, that is all about personal branding, so you have to keep that in mind too whenever you present yourself, it’s not just about how you sound, the tone in your attitude and how… It’s about how you carry yourself in total as a whole, but the most important thing, the absolute most important thing that is exactly the same, you’ll notice that the brand voice is a little bit different, the brand visual design is a little bit different because you’re not a business, you’re a personal brand, but when it comes to the heart of your brand, everything’s the same, because it boils down to who you truly are, what is it that you stand for? Your purpose. Why did you become a nurse? Why is this your career path? Your mission. What is it that you do that you want to… That you do that is different and separates you in the sea of sameness with everyone who has a standard skill set, and we’ll talk about that in this next slide here, but you really have to stand out with what you do as an individual that makes you different, than your peers, than your competitors in the market.
0:14:30.3 Olivia M. Gonzalez: And that’s what you stand for. Your personal statement. Your vision is, how do you see yourself in the future? From a personal brand perspective, you may be entering a job, it might be at an entry level, it might be at a management level, the question is, where do you see yourself in the future? Are you gonna grow in this position? Are you looking to get into leadership? Is this… Do you wanna have your own business? Independent business? And all of those things are about your vision, and then your core values are what are the things that you prioritise as your… What is important to you? Again, going back to core values, similarly with the business where we talk about integrity, we talk about these are catered specifically for you, for you, what are the things that you stand for? For me, I have a really strong Justice phone. I wanna make sure that we do things the right way, that things are fair, that there’s… That things… That we are absolutely doing things in all fairness. Again, playful creativity, I approach things in a fun, upbeat… That’s important to you.
0:15:31.3 Olivia M. Gonzalez: That’s a value that we have some fun when we are engaging and we’re interacting in my business, relentless resiliency is part of my core values, I never give up, I’m not gonna… We will find a solution, we will find an answer, that might be one of your core values, but it’s all part of your personal branding, so you can see there’s a lot of similarities between what a business brand looks like… Branding looks like and what your personal brand looks like, it’s got the same three main elements, it’s just seeing through a little bit of a different lens, how you carry yourself is a huge part of it on the voice and the design, but really and truly who you are as an individual, because you are more than your skill set, matters. It matters a lot. And why does… Speaking of, why your personal brand matters. Well first and foremost, healthcare and nursing they’re competitive markets, let’s be honest. Your personal brand matters because you are more than your skill set, like I said a second ago. In a market where everyone has to meet those standards, everyone takes these certain exams, everyone goes through these certain training, it’s your personal brand that helps you stand out, especially in job interviews and how you carry… Again, how you carry yourself, the type of interactions and engagement you have with patients, your peers, your supervisors, that’s what helps you stand out in the process.
0:16:49.7 Olivia M. Gonzalez: You’re more than the resume, and there’s only so much that a resume can tell when you go into these interviews, you have to show up and show out. So really, really big, important thing is embracing your personal brand really positions you for success, if you know who you are and you do the work to understand, why did I become a nurse? What is my story there that I can actually position myself just so that I do stand out a little bit different, that’s what’s gonna position you for success, those are the things that are gonna catapult you forward, it’s when you show up and show out in your interviews by knowing exactly how to communicate the following. So these are gonna be really important pieces that you’re gonna wanna have to dig into and take time to ask yourself these questions, what is your purpose? Why exactly did you become a nurse? What is it that happened? If you come from a family of medical professionals, do you come from a family of nurses? Is this something that you always wanted to do, that you’ve dreamt of? Was there a circumstance in your life that made it imperative or that shifted your passion so that you wanted to focus and become a nurse, you have to really understand what exactly was that pivotal moment, that’s going to be important to talk about when it comes to sharing your personal brand story. And the next the… You have to be confident in communicating your mission.
0:18:13.6 Olivia M. Gonzalez: So what exactly your personal mission is in your position, so what is it that you do that is different from others when it comes to treating and caring for your patients, what do you do that’s a little extra… A little different. How is your approach gonna be more memorable to your patients so that they’re gonna understand that you truly do care for them, that you truly do… You’re invested in their well-being and their recovery, that’s important for you to be able to say, “Well, I take extra time to get to know my patients a little bit more in the process,” and while yes, things are rocking and rolling and things go really fast, and furious. And sometimes you can’t every single… You personally, it’s important to you to learn a little bit about your patient, that you don’t treat them as a number, you don’t treat them as someone that’s just in and out of the process, but you actually try to get to know them. That’s part of one of the things that you might do that will have you stand out a little bit different than everyone else who might be transactional, they’re in there to do their job and get out and move on to the next patient.
0:19:23.0 Olivia M. Gonzalez: That is a the huge difference, and I’m gonna wanna hire the person who I know is gonna be compassionate and caring for the patients when they come in, so it’s important for you to be able to communicate that during your interviews and being able to speak to that with confidence. Also again, your vision, right? Where do you see yourself contributing to the bigger organization and where you see yourself in the future? So when you sit down for these interviews, just like in a brand or a business where there’s a big vision of how they’re contributing to the future, you also have to be able to speak to, “I’m gonna come in and I’m gonna join your team as a nurse, and this is what I want to do, I want to grow in this position, I wanna be part of the leadership team.” I want to be able to communicate where exactly you see yourself in the future and how your not only skill set, but your brand voice as well like, “What do you stand for, the heart of your brand, and how you come across, how you engage with your patients.” all of those things are gonna matter because you’re gonna be able to contribute to the organization in a positive way, you have to able to communicate that effectively so that they understand, “Oh, this person is a little bit different than the last five candidates that came in here and they were literally… “
0:20:38.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: And we’ve all been there, I know we’ve seen it, we’ve seen it and, or experienced it, where people sit down in an interview and they’re waiting to answer questions instead of engaging in the process and talking about, “You need to hire me and you wanna hire me because this is how I’m gonna contribute to the future of this organization, because this is where I’m going to in the future.” that is personal branded, that is being able to communicate that big, big vision picture, especially during an interview. And then finally, your core values, what do you stand for and how do you roll when it comes to both your personal and professional life? And I will say this 10 times over, you are more than the job, you are more than your skill set, that is why a personal brand is so important. On paper, again, it’s a big market, a big competitive market, there are a lot of individuals who go through the process and get the right certifications and go through the training, but when it comes to personal branding and it comes to what do you believe in, what do you stand for, how are you gonna do things differently? You are more than the skill set, you are more than the job, and why it is so, so important that you bring your whole self to work, that means they’re gonna understand you in personal life too.
0:21:49.5 Olivia M. Gonzalez: It is not just all about the job, you have to bring your personality, because that’s who’s gonna show up. Let’s be honest, that person is gonna be the person who shows up, you’re not gonna be able to clock in and clock out as a nurse, you all are dealing with such a high level of emotion and physical… You’ve got a lot of things that are going on together, your real self is gonna have to show up for that job, so you’re gonna have to be able to know how to communicate, what do you stand for? Who are you really when you come to work? So I wanna make sure that you are able to speak to that and then also, back to what I said, leadership can read your resume all day long. A piece of paper is one thing, it’s great to have those accomplishments and those accolades and those achievements, but at the end of the day, they wanna know who they’re working with, who am I inviting into my house? And that is going to be important and why your personal brand means so much. So, high level, that is the key components that you need to include, and why your personal brand matters whenever you’re going into these organizations and having these interviews, so what exactly are we needing to include, when we talk about sharing your personal brand story, what are the things…
0:23:04.7 Olivia M. Gonzalez: When they say “So, Olivia tell me a little bit about yourself.” When you sit down for the interview. The things that you’re gonna wanna work in there is number one, Who are you anyway, that’s what they’re asking. They’re asking about who are you as an individual, not just as a nurse, but as an individual with your personal brand, make sure at the very beginning you’re speaking with confidence and that you’re able to communicate exactly who you are and why you became a nurse to begin with. That’s gonna be really important because that’s really gonna position you to let them know that you care, this is more than just a job to you, it is a passion. You would not have chosen this… It is a tough career you all chosen. A very tough career, and not everybody is cut out for it, right. You know that.
0:23:48.2 Olivia M. Gonzalez: So why did you become a nurse? There’s something important to you that you need to convey during that interview. The next thing you wanna make sure that you’re able to communicate when you’re speaking about personal brand story is what experience or specifically specialty experience you might have. So especially, look, the world went through a cast with this pandemic, the last year with COVID, and so many things happened. Hospital budgets were cut, jobs were lost because they had to make financial cuts in order to bring PPE equipment, and so a lot of nurses, a lot of hospitals that had to either move out specialized in certain areas to figure out these certain things, you have to bring that to the table and say, “I have extensive experience now in safe infection control or extensive experience now in NICU or ICU or ER.” be able to speak to those things. When you sit down to share your personal story and say, “These are the types of experience I have.”
0:24:46.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: We’re gonna tie this back, by the way, when we talk about preparing for your interview, look at your job description, if they are looking for specialty experience in certain areas, even if it’s in parentheses at the end of the job description, pay attention, and if you have that specialty experience, speak to it during the interview, make sure that it is said and on the table as part of your personal passion, your personal brand story. If that’s an area that you would like to focus in on. Let it be heard. A lot of things… You don’t get what you don’t ask for. And it’s important that you make sure that you present that upfront and you let them know, “Hey, I have a lot of experience in this particular area, and I want to work in this particular area as well.” when you’re communicating your brand story. Next is, why is your core value aligned? Okay, again, speaking to this next, I’m gonna… I’m crossing these things too, but when you’re in preparation of looking for a position and you’re looking either at a location… This particular location in the different state or whatever, or maybe a specific hospital care, a facility, an organization, do you align with their core values or rather do their core values align with who you are?
0:26:00.1 Olivia M. Gonzalez: That’s going to be important, what is important to you? Do not sign up anywhere or submit anything anywhere where you know for sure that you’ve done your research and you know that’s not the organization that you’re probably gonna thrive in. It’s not worth it. Knowing that you’re aligned with your core values, knowing that the organization that you’re walking into is really important. So when you’re communicating during your interview, that needs to be stated, “What’s really important to me about this job is that I understand that one of your core values is compassion, and it’s very important for me to get to know my patients when I’m treating them and it’s important that I’m very compassionate in my caregiving, I don’t want to just be clock in and out kind of thing. I wanna get to know my patients so that I can make sure that I serve them to the best that I possibly can, and I meet their needs where they are. And that’s why it’s really important that I work with X, Y, Z organization, because I know that’s important to you too.” See what I mean?
0:27:00.0 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Making sure that those mesh and that you’re aligned with those values. You will be surprised when you don’t check and you’re like, “Oh,” because you talked to the leadership and you’re in the interview and then you show up and basically brand culture, it is the vibe of the organization that you work in, and that’s in corporate, and that’s in healthcare, that’s all cross hospital organizations or medical centers, it’s a vibe, it’s the culture. It’s the brand culture, so make that you are aligned with whatever that culture is that their they’re core values prior to even walking in, and then if you do align, make sure you speak to it. That’s super important. And then where do you see yourself contributing as part of the team? Again, going back to that purpose, mission, vision, core values, those relatable things that comes to about the heart of your personal brand is, how do you see yourself contributing, what are the qualities that you personally carry as part of your personal brand that you can bring and engage in with that organization? You’ve gotta be able to communicate and speak to that.
0:28:05.1 Olivia M. Gonzalez: So take a second to step back and say, “I have a… One of my greatest attributes is I’ve got a really optimistic personality, I’ve got a positive personality, I’m very optimistic, I love to incorporate humor where I can, but I know the difference, I know when I need to be really serious, but I like to use levity because I know that being in the medical workforce, that is quite literally a life and death industry, and there’s a lot of seriousness to it, but there’s moments where you can incorporate your personality and the levity and bring in an optimistic and positive personality to the forefront to be able to work and know that I’m gonna be positive and engage with people and have great collaborations, and da-da-da… ” To be able to speak to those things, that’s gonna give them, “Okay, this person is gonna be able to work with cross-functionally and in different teams, and be able to collaborate with different parts of the organization.” That’s important for you to be able to communicate in addition to, if you remember your vision, right? So remember that if you know that you’re applying for a particular job description, where there’s room for growth, speak to it, speak to it and say, “I know that I’m coming in, this is the first step. But I really see myself growing in this position and contributing because I’m very passionate about da-da-da… “
0:29:25.0 Olivia M. Gonzalez: To be able to speak to those things and let them know. You’re not again in there for clock in, clock out. Look, there is a sea of people out there who are absolutely clock in, clock out. That is not who you are. You would not be in this group if that is was who you were. It is important for you to do what you do, because what you do matters a lot. So keep that in mind when you sit down and you want to share your personal brand story, make sure they know that it’s important to you, make sure that they know that you understand how valuable you are and how important your job is and your responsibility is to not only your patients, but your peers as well, ’cause that matters.
0:30:09.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: I would say when we do interviews and things, when you’re communicating to someone, when you’re prepping… Think about how is this going to… We always say, “What’s in it for me right there with them?” Not only find out, we’re gonna have this job, what’s it gonna be in for you? But how are you gonna contribute to team, and how is that gonna contribute to the patients, and how is that gonna contribute to the organization? So keep that in mind, it’s you, the team that you work with, the patients you will care and treat, and the organization as a whole. How will you contribute to them by your joining their part of the team? That’s all part of your personal brand because that you can’t speak to them on paper, you have to be able to communicate that by sharing your story, sharing your passion, your purpose of why you became a nurse, your mission of what exactly you do to serve your patients differently than everyone else, the vision of how you see yourself contributing and what you truly stand for as the values that you carry yourself with every single day as an individual, as an individual, not just part of the job but as an individual, as a person. That is how you share your personal brand story and how you stand out in a sea of sameness.
0:31:21.9 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Now, once you have all of those things put together, let’s talk about… We figured it all out. Now, how do I bag my dream job? How do I get in there and make sure that I’m A, in the right place and B, able to communicate my brand story effectively, so I’m able to bag the job that I really, really want. First and foremost, research the organization. Number one, before you just randomly put stuff out there, okay, and just apply to any or anything, research the organization to ensure that they align with your values. Again, brand culture is important, a lot of people don’t look into that, they get the job and go, “Oh my gosh, what did I just sign up to do and to participate in.” So it’s important that you research the organization ahead of time. Review that job description closely, right. So you can align with that description, remember when I said a second ago, where if there’s anything that’s called out with specialty experience or anything that you specialize in specifically, or especially like I said, coming out of the pandemic and still continuing, I should say the pandemic, any additional skills that you were able to take on and or would like to because you’re going into as an entry level position, those are going to be important. Pay attention to that job description, so you can align specifically to that and speak to it.
0:32:43.5 Olivia M. Gonzalez: You all would not believe. You would not believe. I have, oh… You wouldn’t believe the people who don’t read the job description. That alone is gonna help you stand out. Is if you go in and you really study what is it exactly they’re looking for so you can speak to it during the interview. You’d be surprised how many people don’t do that. You would be surprised. Google yourself. So Latrina was talking about it a little bit, and I don’t know what you call her Professor Walden… Pardon me. Professor Walden now I’m a [laughter].. She said we were friends you all, remember that. Professor Walden was talking about how a lot of people… Now, when you have your personal brand as a nurse practitioner, you go out, you can actually have your social media platforms where you can share certain things that’s part of your personal brand, Google yourself because they will. Whoever you’re applying with is going to Google you.
0:33:39.7 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Make sure that you know what is your current brand right now, ’cause that’s what they’re expecting when you walk in the door, and if that means you need to do, whether it’s a little clean up or whether it’s a little adding some things to build up on your brand so they can actually see these things that are important to you, just make sure that you do your own research on yourself as well and Google, because again, they will Google you before you arrive, you already have a personal brand out there, believe it or not. Make sure you know exactly where you stand, so that you can speak to it and or build up on your personal brand and make sure that it’s really, really effective.
0:34:17.3 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Again, identify any key areas for high demand roles that you have experience in and highlight that experience, goes back to the job description and what we were talking about a little bit earlier, you wanna make sure that you stop and speak to those specific roles, if there’s something that they have called out, because a lot of people, again, won’t necessarily… You only get what you ask for, remember that. You only get what you ask for, so be sure to speak to those areas if that’s a position that you want to be in, or that’s a specialized area that you would like to work in. And then share your brand story confidently. Professor Walden was talking about that at the very beginning. She was like, it’s all about building confidence. And it is, it is, it is. So number one, and I hope this is okay, that this is on the screen, remember who you are, a badass nurse. Look, people cannot do your job, people can’t… You are a special, special kind of individual who goes into this industry, strength and compassion and wisdom, and the scientific intellect of all of these things, plus you have to deal with different personalities, day in and day out, all the different types of patients.
0:35:28.5 Olivia M. Gonzalez: I mean, you do everything, you do everything. Remember who you are, you are qualified, you are qualified, and more than stand by your core values, remember what is it that is important to you, speak to that in preparation for when you’re wanting to align with whatever their core values are, make sure that they know that they’re aligned with you, make sure that they know that you did your homework and you know their core values, and that’s why you’re sitting in that chair because they’re your core values too. That’s important. And then finally, when it comes to preparing to have your dream job. Look, people get nervous, people get nervous just because, but nervous energy is just energy, you have the ability to shift that into excitement, and sometimes when we’re speaking about our personal brand story… I’m a fast talker to begin with, but if I’m nervous about something and I shift that energy into how I’m talking, I have to control how fast I’m speaking, be cognizant of those things and understand that if you are kind of nervous, just shift that into excitement about the position and excitement about talking about who you are and your personal brand, so that whenever you’re speaking, you’re speaking with confidence, that means concentrating on… By the way, so two little tricks.
0:36:46.3 Olivia M. Gonzalez: And you might see something, I wrote something and it might be shared as well as part of this, is that when we’re speaking and you’re shifting that energy into excitement, when you concentrate on enunciating everything that you’re saying, you will naturally slow your pace down because you’re concentrating and you’re converting that energy already. You’re not letting yourself go all over the place, but you’re focused on enunciating as you’re communicating your personal brand story, and that in itself will make you sound confident because you’re being cautious in how you speak, and you’re being exact in how you speak. And that in itself, the ability to communicate clarity… Clarity, clearly. [laughter] It’s a sign of confidence. So again, high level for preparing to bag your dream job, make sure you research, look at that job description and align with it, Google yourself ahead of time, ’cause believe it or not, you already have a personal brand established out on these inter-web streets. So make sure you Google yourself. Highlight those key areas, especially those specialized areas, because you don’t get what you don’t ask for, and then share your brand story confidently, understanding and remembering exactly who you are because you are incredible and you are far more than your skill set. So speak to that personal brand and let people know what you stand for and why they need to hire you and be confident about it when you’re speaking.
0:38:12.0 Olivia M. Gonzalez: So that’s really high level. If we wanna go back, we have any questions about it, that’s just what I wanted to make sure that I communicated and ensured that we were able to speak to when we talked about personal brand and the difference between a business and a personal brand. So I hope that was enjoyable and you got a lot of information from that, and I see Professor Walden is back.
0:38:37.3 Professor Walden: Perfection. No, it was great. I was taking notes, of course, as usual.
0:38:42.1 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Good. Good.
0:38:43.4 Professor Walden: But I do have a question. So I believe it was under the mission, and you were talking about really trying to speak to what you do differently, when you are asked or when you’re proposed that question, what if you are not sure because… Let me say… One of the things that I like for people to do is figure out this question before they get into the interview, because as a nurse practitioner, tell me why I should hire you. Because I’m good, because I care about my patients. We all care about our patients.
0:39:17.5 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Yes, totally.
0:39:18.8 Professor Walden: We all are great, how would I go about really kind of dissecting that and figuring that out so that it’s a defined and good answer that it’s unlike anything else someone has heard.
0:39:32.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Absolutely, I think it’s maybe one step back. So I think when you think about why you became a nurse to begin with, that really does correlate and drive why you do what you do. When you understand why you became a nurse, what are the things that are important to you that you do more effectively than others. And so something that I mentioned a little bit earlier about how I would stop and say things like, it’s very important for me to get to know my patients personally, because I wanna ensure that I truly understand their needs and they understand that they don’t feel like just another number, just another patient that’s going through, that correlates to why I do what I do, because that level of… And yeah, you’re right. You’re supposed to have care and compassion when you go in, right, but it’s supposed to draw back to Why do you personally care and have compassion. Part of your core values, it could be part of why you became a nurse, it could be part of… That’s where you can actually share a little bit about who you are as an individual, and I’ll give you a perfect example of when my grandmother was in hospice.
0:40:40.4 Olivia M. Gonzalez: I got in a conversation with one of her nurses that was there, and one of the reasons why she became a nurse was because her grandmother went through hospice when she was younger as a teenager, and she had a negative experience, and it was important to her, she wanted to make sure that no one ever had that negative experience, and so it was important for her that every one of her patients understood that they were so special to her, and she wanted to make sure that everyone… Even as crazy as it was, where she was working, that she spent special time, individual time as much as she possibly could, even if that meant slowing down a conversation, even if that meant sitting down for five more minutes than she probably… She had a story to tell about why she actually became a nurse.
0:41:26.3 Professor Walden: That you say that because most people do say that and they do say, you know, I had an experience… Usually, it’s a positive experience, so I’m very… I love that she… The fact that she took… And was open about the fact that it was a negative experience that kind of drove her this way, but I think what you said is very important, and you kind of just touched on it, this is the area where when you think about those core values, if you don’t know what to say and you haven’t figured it out, we start talking about our core values because that’s who we are. And so that allows you to answer that question as well as tell them who you are.
0:42:09.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: ‘Cause it’s what’s important to you, it’s how you prioritise what you care about when you’re entering that space, and that’s so, so true, your core values, no matter what happens… And by the way, this is a really great direct correlation too, just the overall brand businesses most of the time when you start your business, or in general, it’s the personality of the founder or it’s the personality of the C… You are the CEO of your personal brand. And so your core values, is that’s who you are and how then you will carry yourself in the work that you do, in the work that you offer, the engaging, the communications that you have, the collaborations that you have, all of those things… And you bring up a really excellent point that I think is very important, and I did not necessarily speak to this, but I think it’s important when people say, “Well, it’s because I’m good at it, or it’s because I really like it.” or things like that. There’s something called situational feedback or behavioral feedback or situational outcomes. Yeah, situational outcomes, and behavioral feedback. They’re one and the same when it comes to the interview process, and I don’t know whether you’ve ever…
0:43:14.4 Olivia M. Gonzalez: If you guys have spoken about it or talked about things like that, but basically you can get ahead of an interview by offering them a situation and an outcome, so when they ask you start thinking about things ahead of time, just like you’re talking about before you even get in the room and they present the question to you, know who you are, know why you became a nurse, know some of those things and have a situation associated with it. So you can say, I do this because I’m very… I’m passionate about caring because… And have a story to tell that is basically, provides feedback based on behaviors or actions that you took in that situation in order to create a good outcome. I did A, B and C, and as a result, my patient felt more secure or even if it has nothing to do with the patient, it has to do with a personal thing like, “I was able to [0:44:08.1] __ for my sibling or something, and because I took the time to da-da-da-da-da… ” If you don’t have nursing experience from the get-go, is what I’m trying to get at, that situation, that outcome for you to be able to tell a story about what you did what behaviors did you act on in order to help and support this particular situation and be able to share that there was a positive outcome, as a result of your actions, that right there is telling the story and giving them an actual example of how you will show up to work and how you will show out.
0:44:39.3 Professor Walden: I think we’ve talked about that and maybe we just didn’t know the terminology that was associated with that because I’m very big on being prepared and answering the question, having that situation already mapped out just in case, so that you can answer appropriately with the right outcome that you came out with.
0:44:58.1 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Absolutely.
0:45:00.3 Professor Walden: I think it’s so important kind of these core values, and I know we don’t talk about it enough and companies have them, but these core values, and you talked about you having them but the company also needs to align with your core values. You may not know that directly, in an interview, a lot of people are like, Well sometimes you don’t know until you already get into the job, let’s take a step back, sometimes, we get a sense, but we operate out of desperation, where we are like, We just need a job, I got bills to pay, I have family. When you operate like that, you open yourself up and that red flag that was waving in the back becomes bigger and bigger and bigger until you just gotta… Let it go.
0:45:53.6 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Can I just say that there are two… Look, there are two ways to investigate or research ahead of time for these things, every single… And I mean, every single large organisation, whether it is a… It could be a medical center, it could be a hospital, it could be a nursing facility, you name it, has their core values, their mission statement, and their purpose statement, plastered on their website, that all you have to do is go and look under our mission, our values, our story, about us, you will find it as you read it, and then the next thing you do is go look at reviews, go look at reviews for that organisation, ’cause everybody’s on Google, everybody’s on Yelp now, you can go and you can see how are they holding up? How are they holding up to their values? Because like I said, nine times out of 10, we throw caution to the wind. Just like you said, I’m desperate, I just need a job. I’m applying everywhere, it is whatever, and you end up in a situation where you’re like, Oh my gosh, these people are not my people, they’re not… It’s not gonna work well at all.
0:47:06.3 Professor Walden: So you do have red flags, but also let’s talk about those established nurse practitioners who are already in their positions, and maybe it’s the first job, ’cause the first job is always very scary, so their first position, and you are now a new nurse practitioner and you are working in that clinic and you get a hunch that something is not right, you are not quite sure what it is, you can’t put your finger on it, but you know deep down, that gut that we talk about is like, This is not it. That still is a place where you need to be like, “Alright, my gut feeling says, I need to leave, you need to leave.” You need to find a way out. And I understand, again, operating out of desperation, we have bills, we have mortgages, we have families, all those things, but you also have a license…
0:48:00.8 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Exactly.
0:48:00.9 Professor Walden: That you have worked so hard for it and it’s yourself. Do you want to be associated with this clinic or organisation where people know how they operate in the community? I don’t think so.
0:48:13.0 Olivia M. Gonzalez: That’s called brand reputation. Protect your personal brand.
0:48:18.8 Professor Walden: That’s it.
0:48:19.0 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Do not associate it with yourself. That’s another part of the layer too, in the research process is protecting your own personal brand, do you wanna be associated with these people? Do you wanna be associated with this organisation? You have to ask yourself those things, which is why you do the research ahead of time, and I will tell you one thing too, is that gut feeling that you’ve talked about, people say all the time, I don’t know what brand culture is, I don’t know what a toxic… What is a toxic culture? People don’t know how to label it, but they sure know when it’s toxic or they sure know when there’s not a good one around, that is a gut feeling… Believe yourself, you know when there’s something fishy going on, you know, when that culture is just… It ain’t right, and you need to do something about it because you have to protect your personal brand, that is how you protect your brand.
0:49:05.3 Professor Walden: And it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if it is six months into the job, or three months into the job, when it’s there, you need to pay attention.
0:49:12.6 Olivia M. Gonzalez: Absolutely, absolutely, 1000%.
0:49:15.7 Professor Walden: No, this is great, this is wonderful, and it leads up to some good things for you, so hang out, OMG, and we’ll be… I’ll talk to you in one second. I gotta wrap them up. Alright, so I hope you guys enjoyed as Olivia actually talked about, not only business branding, but really talking about aligning yourself and building your own personal brand. While it may sound like, Well, what do I mean my brand for? I’m not selling anything. Yes, you are. You are selling yourself, and like she said in the beginning, it is all in how you carry yourself. When you walk into that interview, and if you are confident and you are making eye contact and you know your core values and you speak to those things, you are more likely, even if you don’t answer the questions correctly, ’cause there’s really no right way to answer questions, but even if you don’t answer those questions correctly in your mind, then you will be confident in their mind and they will likely move you on to the next interview or offer you the position.
0:50:22.6 Professor Walden: That is the entire goal. And if you are currently in a position as a practicing NP and you are nervous and like, I think I need to move out of this position and move to the next one, it’s time… This is how we do that. You will naturally now have confidence because you have built that, you have honed in on your skills, you have learned things and you are still learning things, but however, as you build that confidence, you are able to move into that next interview where you are able to negotiate more money, negotiate more flexibility, and really be confident in the NP that you are, and if you’re really lucky, you’ll have your patients follow you. Alright, so this is super exciting, so you will have homework, I know guys, I know I owe you homework from the last three times, I keep saying that, but it’s coming. Please, please don’t hold it against me, but this also, as we wrap up, I’m excited, you guys know I like things in suspense, so this kind of kicks off a contest, so that is what I’m going to tell you right now, you are in for a contest and you don’t want to miss this.
0:51:36.7 Professor Walden: We will be announcing it… What’s today, the 29th? We will be announcing it, I believe, on the first, so it is coming, be hanging out in the group, checking the group. If you are watching this at a later date, just watch for the announcements, if you are watching this late, please know that the replay will be live and available in your portal. You wanna start with this one and then you wanna go back through the jobs interviews and the other videos that we did, you really wanna watch those and take notes if you haven’t already. It’s all about building that confidence and that personal brand, whether or not you are new or you are old. Alright, so we’re excited. Kicking off this contest, you will get more information tomorrow, so we’re excited. Alright guys, and as always, respectable of your time, and we nailed it today, so I will see you shortly, I think I am gonna do a little something this weekend, my team doesn’t know that, so yay, surprise team. So we will talk this weekend and I will talk to you later. Remember, if you need anything, I’ll be in the group. Alright, see later guys, bye.