Designing a New World of ... Me
a conversation between Ryan Leong & Yoek Ling
Tell me about yourself.
What is a good way to answer this question? It is a common one we encounter at interview panels or when we show up at networking sessions and even school reunions. Yet it is one that can still strike mild unease and afterward induce either dissatisfaction at having undersold ourselves or a nauseating feel of having exaggerated things just a wee bit.
This is exactly what gave DYL participant, Ryan Leong, the impetus to ‘graduate’ from starting an Instagram account that showcases his artwork of the worlds he imagines, to creating a ‘branding booklet’ for himself. Frustrated at the chronic tendency to undersell his abilities and the slippery nature of the elevator pitch he would use to describe himself on various occasions, he decided to create this e-Guide for himself. Uploaded as an introduction to himself on his LinkedIn profile, it is a concise visual portfolio of his works, his skills and his growth philosophy.
On behalf of those of us who get stuck writing even our LinkedIn summary introduction, I had to ask: How long did you take to do this?
As it turns out, it happened slowly, and then it happened all at once. Having mulled over the concept of coming up with his own branding booklet for a month, Ryan sat down and completed it all in one weekend.
External clarity is often both a reflection of and a means of attaining, inner coherence. “The turning point came when I attended Bold’s Design Your Life Workshop in January 2020. Having established a more concrete summary about myself, my qualities, and ambitions… I felt that I could, and had to, brand myself in an eGuide that is most representative of my being.”
At the same time, he urges staving off the pressure by taking a curious learning stance towards this exercise. “Start with the intention of self-discovery”, he says. You may find yourself asking questions about yourself and your purpose, for which you have no easy answers. For him, the exercise also generated feelings of nostalgia and gratitude, for it “also allowed (him) to internalise (his) growth, and appreciate those who made it possible”.
Say, did you have that icky feeling about 'showcasing' yourself and your achievements? “Yes,” he nods, especially in a culture that tends to perceive ‘showcasing’ as ‘bragging’. However, he got over this limiting belief by reframing the situation as building a climate of openness and focusing on the value that it can bring to others. Ultimately, rather than pay the price of missed opportunities, he would rather “show up”.
Ryan is a strong advocate for ‘showing up’ and hopes more will take a step to create their own branding booklet. He says that ‘while resumes and portfolios tend to showcase your best achievements, their formats don’t best articulate who you really are.’ On the other hand, a branding booklet can help people to relate to ‘the human on the journey’, through “revealing the other (and more interesting) dimension of you; your personality, your behind-the-scenes slog, your hidden superpowers.”
Some tips from Ryan on building your own branding booklet:
Pictures serve as solid proof of one’s involvement. Look for ‘in-action’ shots. While ‘end-of-event’ group pictures or pictures of end products are commonplace, “your value is best shown when you are candidly engaged during the journey”.
Think of it as taking your audience on a journey. “I visualized myself using my guide alongside a potential collaborator, and decided to start out with my personality, followed by skill sets and finally, my journey. Think of it as a trust-building process with the recipient.”
Clear presentation of data. Every picture comes with a concise description, and the format had to be mobile-friendly to maximise accessibility.
It is not difficult to start! Give yourself some time for self-introspection, then hop onto Powerpoint or Illustrator to create your own branding booklet.
His final word: No one can represent you better than you can!
Design Your Life is a career design workshop curated and conducted by Bold At Work that seeks to equip our youths with the tools and insights that will enable them to build greater clarity of who they are, what they care about and how the confidence to make decisions at various transitions of their life.