Personal Branding Plan
Josh Barnett
MKT/421
April 21, 2015
Wendy Bullock

Personal Branding Plan
Work ethic, reliability, and results. These are three of the important character traits that I feel separate me from other candidates when it comes to competing for a job. The time that I spent in the military is what I credit a large part of my work ethic to. From Day one in the military you are required to do everything to the best of your ability and to continue to do so until the task is completed. Even as a child, I was told that that if I say am going to do something or be somewhere, then I am to keep my word and follow through with every commitment. Once again the military further hammered in that mindset and even introduced me to the phrase; “if you are 15 minutes early, you are on time. If you are on time, you are late.” Both of these influences have molded me to value the characteristic of being reliable not only by presence but by carrying my own weight as well. The third trait that I feel solidifies my value as an employee is my ability to produce results. Of course the first two characteristics play a role in my ability to get results but I have always had a competitive nature as well. Coming from an athletic background and excelling at sports my whole life, I developed a hunger to be the best at whatever it was that I was doing.
If I were to make a list of dream companies that I would like to work for, the first job that would have to be at the top of the list would have to be working for the Phoenix Suns at a corporate level. My first dream job that I ever remember having was to be a professional basketball player for the NBA and I kept that dream alive for about 25 years until I came to face the reality that my NBA hopes and dreams were not meant to be and the closest I will be able to reach is a semi-professional team in Arizona for one season. The next best thing I can think of would be to work for my favorite NBA franchise and my hometown team, the Phoenix Suns. I do have an extensive knowledge of what it takes to become a good enough basketball player to make it to the NBA. I have always had an ability to notice the potential for a player and have done a pretty good job at predicting why they will succeed or why they will fail. I also happen to have a connection with the organization through my Sister-in-law who was a former employee and worked for the promotions department and has several remaining relationships to the organization. With her connections and references based on her referral I will be able to get a stronger opportunity than most would initially. Of course it is ultimately up to me to convince the organization that I would be a valuable asset for them.
My next choice of companies that would love to work for would be for a company like Lockheed Martin’s military division. My job in the military was as an aerospace maintenance journeyman on the C-130 cargo aircraft, or better known as a C-130 crew chief. Lockheed has been an industry leader in military aircraft and aircraft parts, so with my extensive experience and my fondness of all things military related combine to make working for Lockheed a dream come true. The best method for contacting Lockheed is to look at the job postings that are available through their website, and even more specifically, through the military careers section of the website (Lockheed Martin Corporation, 2015).
The third job that I would have to consider a dream job would have to be to own my own company. I have had an idea that I came up with about 3 years ago and it is something that I could definitely see myself being successful at due to the fact that it is something I am passionate about. The idea I came up with was to convert or build a movie theatre style sports bar in which alcohol and food is served while spectators watch a sporting event on a movie screen and from a bar top table. With my current experience as a manager and my leadership skills I accumulated while in the Air Force, joined with the knowledge I will have once I complete by business degree, will all give me the tools I need to assure I am a successful business owner, operator and leader. The method for contacting for this career is a bit different than the previous two because it consists of many start-up expenses and most likely an investment from a third party to get the company up and running. Other costs will include gaining certain licenses and permits for both the food and alcohol. My first action would be to come up with a business plan that includes all of the possible costs associated with stating this business and then establishing a solid business plan to present to the bank in order to secure a loan.
I am confident that in the next year I will be able to have the opportunity to pursue one of these opportunities because I will have all of the tools and experience that is required for each career once I have finished my business degree. I specifically chose three different careers because I wanted to give myself as many paths to choose from as possible so I would know that the career that I chose was truthfully the one I desired because that is how I will know I will be happy with my job for the rest of my professional life.

Works Cited
Lockheed Martin Corporation. (2015, April 19). Lockheed Martin Careers. Retrieved from Lockheed Martin: http://search.lockheedmartinjobs.com/