What does he know about personal branding?
Alejandro Sanoja helps accomplished professionals communicate their value and expertise with confidence to elevate their professional profile and attract growth opportunities.
He’s an award-winning MBA, has been named 1 of the 6 personal branding experts to follow, and is a guest lecturer at the Cougar Investment Fund, where he coaches stock analysts and portfolio managers on their presentation skills.
Being an immigrant and introvert in a country that values extroversion as one of the top professional traits is like playing a video game in “hard mode.”
Whenever you don’t “fit the mold” of what most companies are looking for in a professional, you will have a hard time winning if you play by the rules.
When I moved to the US to attend an MBA program, it wasn’t because I had always planned to go to graduate school.
The truth is that I hated school. I was a below-average student for most of my life, and I almost did not graduate from university (I dropped out for almost two years).
I certainly did not fit the mold of what America would define as a good professional.
Also, I had never done any extra-curricular or leadership-related activities.
Venezuela was, and still is, going through some of the worst socioeconomic challenges our continent has ever seen.
And these are just some of the most notable stats.
I had no choice but to move forward because going back was not an option, given everything that was happening in Venezuela.
On top of that, if I failed and had to go back, my mother was waiting for me back home with a chancla in her hand.
I planned to do everything I could to get good grades and find an opportunity to work at a good company in any country that was not named Venezuela.
And then, during the very first week of the MBA program, I learned that hard skills and good grades are not enough.
We must have soft skills.
So, I did what any introvert does when faced with a problem.
I started reading books about networking, public speaking, charisma, influence, and everything I could put my hands on.
The critical difference between what most immigrants and introverts do and what I did was putting that knowledge into action.
I started volunteering for several organizations, attending as many networking events as possible, building my LinkedIn presence, and doing as much public speaking as possible (including improv comedy and Toastmasters).
I did everything possible to learn these so-called “soft skills.”
And it worked. I graduated at the top of my class by getting awarded the Outstanding MBA Student.
There had to be a better way to have a successful career without depleting ourselves by playing by the extroverts’ rules.
That’s when I realized that I had to leverage my strengths.
The personal brand I built during those years in business school has helped me attract opportunities such as being invited to speak at events conducted by some of the most prestigious organizations and institutions in the United States of America, such as the Texas Lyceum and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
And this happened because I realized that we can level the playing field with content, especially written content.
We can get the recognition we deserve as professionals without wearing an extrovert mask.
And that’s exactly what I want to help you accomplish.
To help you confidently communicate your value and expertise so that you can start attracting the professional opportunities that will boost your career.
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