October Monthly Meeting: Personal Branding with Dr. Janée Burkhalter

By Patrice Romano

Last week, on Wednesday, October 20, Womens’ Leadership Initiative hosted a lecture on personal branding led by Dr. Janee Burkhalter.  Dr. Burkhalter is the associate dean for and a beloved professor in the SJU Marketing Department.  The meeting was held in the Forum Theatre, and welcomed participants with pizza and snacks.  

Dr. Burkhalter’s  presentation began with a brainstorm of how we all defined the term “personal brand”.  The term is used to refer to the way a person presents themselves online as well as in person, and can be used to talk about connecting your personality with your professional life.  One of the big takeaways from the presentation was that any trusted person or brand needs to be consistently authentic to better connect with their network.  

We learned about how to make the most of our online presence, and Dr. Burkhater had great tips on how to make your LinkedIn page stand out and stay active.  Some pointers were to personalize your URL, add visual interest or color to your page, and keep your feed updated by connecting with friends and classmates and interacting with their posts.

As we are all adjusting to life post-COVID, Dr. Burkhalter gave us advice on how to prepare for and navigate in-person professional events while keeping in touch with your personal brand, then opened up the floor for everyone to share advice with the group. She touched on events like interviews and conferences, and how to make meaningful connections and make them last beyond an event.  

Thank you to Dr. Burkhalter for a very informative presentation, and to all those who participated!