For this self-branding assignment, I talked to a few of my friends and family for my external analysis. More precisely, I interviewed one family member and two friends. The reason for this rather small sample size is that I don't have a large family. While I could interview relatives and some of my more distant friends, I thought it would be more useful to ask people who really know me and care about me. Below, the sections of the branding of "me" are as follows: self-analysis, external analysis, analysis of the difference/congruence between the first two, and my feature-benefit model.
SELF-ANALYSIS:
For my self-analysis, I will first explain my strengths before talking about my weaknesses.
Strengths
One of my strengths is my sharp, analytical mind. From a young age, I enjoyed solving puzzles and problems. I also really liked reading and was able to garner a lot from it. I liked the fact that one could analyze texts for deeper and symbolic meanings. My good analytical skills came in handy, especially when writing school essays and book reviews which I always scored very high on. Teachers lauded my observation skills and writing, often remarking that I had fresh ideas that they had never thought about. Even now, my analytical way of thinking helps me with schoolwork that requires problem-solving and detailed analysis.
Another strength of mine is my eloquence. This perhaps mostly due to my childhood. I read many, many books when I was growing up, most of which were fiction. After I turned ten years old, I started reading novels from the adult section. While some of them included classics such as Jane Eyre and Frankenstein, most of them were by less famous authors. Nevertheless, because I read so much, I think that is part of the reason why words come very easily to me. As a child, I also enjoyed writing my own novels. After reading a book, I would feel the need to produce one of my own. In my writings, I would use the words that I learned in the books I read to create my own characters and worlds. Also, when I was seven, my father pushed me to expand my vocabulary by having me work through vocabulary books. I worked on my vocabulary almost every week for almost eight years. The work I put into expanding my vocabulary as well as my voracious reading and writing, are most likely the reason behind my way with words. This, combined with my analytical skills, make me a strong writer not just in fiction but in essays as well. My love for words and books is the reason why I decided to pursue an English major--not only was I good at analyzing texts but I like doing it. My good writing skills will be helpful for my future career because nearly every job requires good writing skills.
The other strength I can think of is my good social skills. I think of myself as a pretty funny, humorous person. I usually can make others laugh, even if it is at my own expense. I like being around people and making them happy. Therefore, I think there are very few people who dislike me and lots who like me. Currently, I work at the Intensive English Institute at UIUC, helping international students adjust to life in Champaign-Urbana. This type of job requires one to be outgoing and friendly, which I am. Many students have told me that I've helped them relax and that they enjoy my company and help. Therefore, social skills are important in everyday life--they are especially important in jobs that deal with others.
Weaknesses
A big weakness of mine is that I don't have clear goals and a driving passion that determines my actions. Besides being focused on getting good grades and doing well in college, I am quite unmotivated in my daily life. I know that I am a pretty good student but I don't have any serious passion for my classes, even those in my major. Perhaps I had some passion for the English major in my freshman year of college but not so much anymore. I find myself occasionally intrigued by a topic in class but nothing really holds my attention for long. Therefore, when I see students who are very career-driven and passionate about something, be it their major, their career, or something else, I feel envious because I want to be able to feel that way about what I study. This lack of passion translates into not having clear-cut goals and a rather indifferent attitude to my future. So while I do quite well in college, I'm not trying to better myself daily mostly because I don't feel like there is anything that drives me to be even better than average. This attitude is something I need to change--I also need to find something that makes me feel passionate about.
Another weakness of mine is my lack of organization. Of course, some people may argue that being unorganized isn't really a weakness. But I feel that it is. My lack of organization is often the reason behind missing assignments or me realizing that I have a paper due two hours before the deadline (this is because I don't keep a planner). I usually manage to turn it in before the deadline but the paper is not as well-written as it could be had I started it a week earlier. Therefore, my bad organization affects my quality of work. In the future, this could be dangerous since my job will depend on how well I do whatever needs to be done.
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS:
My family and friends had mostly good things to say about me but there are definitely weaknesses they pointed out. All of them said that one of my strengths is being an empathetic and loyal friend. My friends mentioned the times I was there for them when they needed me and how I was so easy to confide in and talk to. The family member I asked (my father) noted that I cherished my friends and did my best to look out for them when they were in trouble. They also added that I am a great writer, one that blows them away with my ability with words.
As for my weaknesses, my dad said that I lacked perseverance and a strong will to follow through and accomplish set goals. He pointed out that I don't seem to have a clear goal that I've set for myself and one that pushes me to do better and be better. My friend noted that I can sometimes be very negative and pessimistic. She said that I sometimes fail to see the good and exaggerate the bad. After receiving their input about my strengths and weaknesses, I couldn't help but wholeheartedly agree with their assessments. There is a lot of congruence between my self-analysis and external analysis. I agree that I am liable to seeing things in a negative-skewed light and that I don't really have any sort of passion or goal that drives my life. I also agree that I am a good friend, one who cares about their loved ones. I also agree with their assessment of my analytical thinking and writing skills.
FEATURE-BENEFIT MODEL:
I think a big and special benefit that I offer the world or potential employees is my skills in writing. Throughout the years, through lots of reading and studying, I have slowly honed my writing abilities. I love to write and I think I could bring something to the table--be it a novel or an essay. Further, my writing skills combined with my analytical thinking make me a good candidate for any job that requires those skills.
