You’re at a meet-up and someone asks, “So, what do you do?”
Well you came to the right place because I’m going to help you come up with the perfect answer to that question.
Your personal tagline is a short and sweet sound bite that says what you do and why you do it.
It’s your mission, the purpose of your work.
It’s not about impressing people and getting them to hire you. It’s about getting a conversation started.
A tagline is inspirational because magic happens when you have a strong intention to make a difference.
Let’s write your tagline right now.
The easiest way to create a personal tagline
Say what you do and why you do it
Do you have the same job title as a million other people? Find something special about how you do your work that makes it more effective.
For example,
- What problem do you solve?
- How do you make other people, clients or your employer look good?
- Do you make people more successful? How?
Maybe you offer better customer service, more engaging user experience or improved team collaboration.
Your tagline shows people how you use your mission or superpower to make a difference for others.
Examples of personal taglines
Superman: I conquer super villains and make the world a safer place.
Social Media Expert: I build Facebook pages to help companies engage with their customers.
App Developer: I write mobile apps that solve every-day problems. I’m working on one right now that helps people get to sleep.
Web Developer: I help people set up online stores that get lots of traffic and sell stuff.
What’s your job? Personal tagline ideas from Seth Godin
Not your job title, but your job. What do you do when you’re doing your work? What’s difficult and important about what you do, what change do you make, what do you do that’s hard to live without and worth paying for?
- “I change the people who stop at my desk, from visitors to guests.”
- “I give my boss confidence.”
- “I close sales.”
If your only job is “showing up,” time to raise the stakes.
How to find your superpower
Your superpower is a combination of what you do plus the special thing you do that makes it great. It makes you irreplaceable.
Here’s how to create a personal tagline that holds the magic of your superpower:
- Use The Tell Me About Yourself Checklist to jog your memory about the great things you’ve done. This puts you in the right frame of mind.
- Watch Simon Sinek’s TED talk, How to Know Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes
- Brainstorm 10 personal taglines that say what you do and why you do it.
- Choose the one tagline that makes you feel the most confident.
So, What Do You Do?
My job as web manager for Stafflink involves a lot more than writing blog posts. I can narrow it down to this:
I connect tech professionals with their next opportunity.
What’s your personal tagline?
How can I communications team guy introduce himself to a campus hire/student
What do you bring to the communications team that makes you unique and valuable to them? Do you have a certain approach that helps them to be more effective? That’s where you may find your tagline.
Hi Ananya,
The skill of writing a tag line is going to come in handy with your communications career. Here’s a simple way to come up with your personal tagline (inspired by Neville Medhora’s post How to create a great tagline:
Step 1) Describe what you do in a few sentences
Step 2) Trim it down
Step 3) Trim it down some more
You can use this technique when you’re working with businesses and organizations too.
I wish you the very best with your communications career!
Laura
I am looking looking for a job right now and I studied business administration.. i have worked as office manager and marketing director.
I have my own photography business that i want to do part time when i start working.
I have taught for 13 years at school: primary, middle and secondary. I want to be my own boss in this career and open a tutorial class online. I am very good at teaching Mathematics. The ages I want to include in my tutorial classes range from 8 to 15 years of age. I have difficulty writing up my tagline. Would please flick me some ideas on how to write up my tagline?
Hi Laura,
Thank you so much for your help.
They sound great!. I think I am going to go with “I clear the way for success by helping offices get organized”.
Thank you again.
You’re welcome! Every office needs someone like you.
Hi,
I am a recent graduate in Office Administrative and I been trying to come up with tagline but cant find the right words to say. I am looking for an office assistant position and have great organizational skills. Could you please help me with a tagline.
Thank you.
Hmmm…I like your idea of highlighting your great organizational skills. Maybe something like, “I bring order to a messy office.” Or, “I clear the way for success by helping offices get organized.” Have you seen Marie Kondo’s book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”? You could say something like, “I transform offices by helping them tidy up and get organized.”
Hello,
I have been in sales as a key account manager in the consumer products industry in the convenience and grocery channels.What might be a phrase that gets me to stick out from the rest?
Sorry Donna, I can’t help you because I just don’t know enough about what you do or what you offer that’s unique.
’am working as a broadcast analyst for a Repucom Media Analysis
company.
How is this for a tag line:
Can you help me better it maybe?
A tagline is more than an job title and an employer. You’re missing the key ingredient that makes your tagline interesting — the problem you solve for your clients.
Hello!
I am a student looking to find an internship and one of the questions they’re asking me is “what is my tagline”. I’m not sure if I should write a tagline on what I do as a student or what I hope to do once I graduate. This would really help a lot if you can help me out.
Thank you
Hi Natalie,
Great question!
Your tagline should be about your unique approach to the work that makes you awesome! Like maybe you have a knack for solving problems. Or maybe you’re great at mediating disagreements. Or maybe your great at connecting people. Or maybe you’re great at seeing the big picture. Or maybe your good at expressing solutions visually, or in writing.
For example, let’s say your a math major going for an internship in with a bank. You could say something like, “I find opportunities in data.” (Be prepared with an example that proves you really have that superpower.)
Think about a problem the organization needs to solve. Is there a super power you bring that they need?
Hope that helps and good luck!
Laura
I’m a Quality Assurance Analyst. I make sure the applications/software’s are delivered in the right way without issues to the clients.
Can my tagline be something like: I’m a QA Analyst and I help in delivering a quality product to the client.
Thanks,
Sharath
Hi Sarath, I think a less formal tagline works better. Maybe something like, “I’m a software tester. I test every possible situation to make sure we deliver a product that works.”
I am stock broker,i have to open demat & Trading accounts of different people with their different financial goals.we will give very good service,advisory &technology to our clients,i want a indirect tag line to increase my sales.
Hi Bhaghavan,
Thanks for your question. You point out the problem that many sales people have with coming up with a personal tagline — you don’t want sell too soon and come across as verbal spam. You want your tagline to be natural and truthful so people will stay in the conversation.
Let’s see if I can help you with your tagline. I don’t know much about the trading industry. But I do know that you help people build wealth. How about a really simple tagline like, “I help people grow their wealth.”
Laura
Am a Human Resource manager- IT industry. My experience includes complete life cycle of employee management, bench sales, vetting contracts , etc. Can you please help me find a tagline for my self?
Jayaa
Hi Jayaa,
Thanks for your comment! You’ve give your job title and key responsibilities. But I need to know what makes you special in that role. Is there some way that you go above and beyond expectations or solve a problem for people. You could start with, “I’m an HR manager.” Then add something like, “I’m all about improving communication so people love coming to work.” Or whatever it is that you do that makes you great at your job.
Laura
Hello Laura,
I am a engineering manager, project manager and engineer. How is this for a tag line?
“I provide technical, project and business leadership in developing successful products, loyal customers and motivated employees.”
Too long? Is this better?
“Leader of technology based engineering, a problem solver, inventor and designer.”
Thanks for your input.
Hi Paul,
I do think your first tagline is a bit long. The second one is better for sure: “Leader of technology based engineering, a problem solver, inventor and designer.” That sounds like a good conversation starter but it’s a bit unclear. The “Leader of technology” part sounds like a tagline for a company, not a person. Also, it would help if you were more specific about the problems you solve, or the kinds of solutions you invent. It’s sounds like you’re both a leader and a creator. Would you rather emphasize the leadership part or the inventor part?
Just brainstorming but how about something like, “I lead a tech-based engineering startup.” Or “I lead a team of engineers and design technology solutions.” Or “I invent apps and lead projects for a engineering firm.”
In any case, it sounds like you’re involved with interesting stuff.
Laura
I am a woman “of a certain age” who finds myself job seeking. My background has been non-profit fundraising, management, marketing and sales. This tagline thing is a new bump for me, and I’m a wee bit lost. I want to leave non-profits behind and focus on the .com world. I feel that my greatest asset is my talent in creating/building relationships for both marketing and sales situations. Now finding myself with an opportunity for a job for “the rest of my life,” and retirement clearly off my horizon, I want to market myself as succinctly as I can…but I’m stuck. S.O.S? And thanks for any life preserver coming my way!
Hi CJ,
Thanks for your comment! I like the part where you said that your greatest asset is “creating/building relationships” for marketing and sales. That’s an incredibly important skill that few people have. So, I think you can focus on that for your tagline.
These might work:
To move to the dot com world, you might want to learn some of the online marketing skills that are in demand. The post How to Hire an Online Marketing Specialist.
A few skills most businesses need:
Hope this helps!
Laura
P.S. After you say your tagline, hopefully it will spark a conversation. This post will help you figure out what to say: Tell Me About Yourself Checklist : http://blog.stafflink.ca/job-search-tips/tell-me-about-yourself-checklist
I’m working as a project manager for a banking IT company.
How is this for a tag line:
I help brainstorm, develop and deliver products to banks.
Can you help me better it maybe?
Hi Rahul, I like it. You could also say, “I brainstorm, develop and deliver products to banks,” because that sounds a little more dynamic. But I see that you want to put the project management part of what you do in there. So maybe you could say something like, “I manage a team that develops products for banks.”
Am a Talent Acquisition Lead. Having experience in Sourcing & Recruitment both. Not finding a Tagline for my self . Can. get some help
Hi Sweta,
Yes – I’d love to help you think of a tag line. Here are some that might work for you:
– “I connect talented people with jobs.”
– “I help companies hire the right people.”
– “I help my clients connect with the right people for their jobs.”