Your Personal Brand Starts Here & I’d Love to See You in Person

If you’ve been meaning to clean up your resume, finally tackle your LinkedIn profile, or figure out what to say when someone asks ‘so, tell me about yourself’, this post is for you.

I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be speaking at QS Discover this March at 2 events. First in Salt Lake City and then in Palo Alto. My presentation is all about something I’m passionate about: building a personal brand that actually works for you.

Whether or not you can make it to an event, I want to make sure you walk away from this post with real, actionable tools. So I’ve put together 3 free downloadable handouts you can use starting today. More on those below.

See Me Live at QS Discover

QS Discover is an event series designed specifically for students and recent graduates who are ready to take their next step, whether that’s landing a first job, transitioning industries, or simply figuring out how to stand out in a crowded market. I couldn’t be more excited to be part of it.

My session is titled:

Developing Your Personal Brand: Stand Out Before You Even Walk in the Door

In just 25 minutes, we’ll cover the 4 tools that make up a strong personal brand — and how to make sure they’re all telling the same story:

• Your resume: a marketing document, not just a job history
• Your LinkedIn profile: your digital first impression
• Your value proposition: what makes you the right fit
• Your elevator speech: 30 seconds that can make an impression

Here’s where you can find me:

Salt Lake City – Saturday, March 7th, 2026 | 2:30 -5:30 pm at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City. 

Palo Alto – Tuesday, March 10, 2026 | 5:30-8:30 pm at the Crowne Plaza Palo Alto 

These events are part of the QS Discover series. Click for registration and ticketing information. 

What You’ll Take Away from the Session

This presentation is designed for recent graduates and students who are stepping into the job market, but honestly, the content applies to anyone who wants to show up more intentionally in their career.

Here’s a peek at what we’ll dig into:

Your Resume Is a Marketing Document

One of the biggest mistakes I see is treating your resume like a list of things you’ve done. But a strong resume doesn’t just describe your past, it sells your future. We’ll talk about how to tailor it for every role, how to write accomplishments that get noticed (with numbers, not just duties), and how to make sure it’s actually getting through applicant tracking systems.

LinkedIn: Your Digital First Impression

Recruiters are looking you up. The question is, what are they finding? A strong LinkedIn profile goes way beyond listing your work history. We’ll cover the elements that matter most: your headline, your About section, your skills, and the one small thing most people overlook: your custom URL. (Yes, that random string of numbers needs to go!)

Your Value Proposition

This is the piece most people skip, and it’s the foundation on which everything else is built. Your value proposition is your answer to: “Why should we hire you over everyone else?” We’ll use a simple formula to help you write one that’s clear, confident, and specific to your field.

The formula:  I help [type of employer/team] achieve [result] by using my [top skills/strengths].

Your Elevator Speech

Networking events, career fairs, chance encounters, you need a go-to introduction that feels natural, not rehearsed. We’ll build a 30-second elevator speech using a three-part structure: who you are, what you bring, and what you’re looking for. The goal is a version you can actually say out loud without sounding like a robot.

How It All Works Together

These 4 tools aren’t separate tasks on a checklist. They’re all expressions of the same story, your story. When your resume, LinkedIn, value proposition, and elevator speech are all saying the same thing, your personal brand becomes consistent, credible, and memorable. That’s when things start to click.

Free Resources – Download and Keep

Whether you’re joining me at QS Discover or finding this post on your own, I want to make sure you have something tangible to work with. I’ve put together 3 free handouts you can download right now:

Handout 1: Value Proposition & Elevator Speech Guide

This handout walks you through both formulas with four real examples each covering a range of fields and career stages. Perfect to bring to a career fair, a networking event, or just to work through on your own.

Handout 2: How to Customize Your LinkedIn URL

This is one of those quick wins that makes a big difference. Your default LinkedIn URL is a mess of numbers and it takes about two minutes to fix. This step-by-step guide walks you through exactly how to update it with illustrated instructions for every step.

Handout 3: Resume Dos & Don’ts

A quick-reference guide to the most common resume mistakes and how to fix them. From formatting to wording to what not to include, this one is great to keep handy any time you’re updating your resume for a new role.

A Little About Me

I’m Kathy Bailon, a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) based out of KB Career Coaching. I combine industry knowledge with a genuine love of storytelling to help people at every stage of their career present themselves with clarity and confidence.

My background spans fashion, footwear, product design, retail management, human resources, marketing, consulting, technology, and education, which means I understand what strong candidates look like across a wide range of industries. I work with designers, creatives, consultants, entrepreneurs, recent graduates, experienced professionals, and high-level executives.

My approach is personal. Your career journey is unique, and your documents, your LinkedIn, and your story should reflect that. I’m not here to hand you a template; I’m here to help you figure out what makes you stand out and put it on the page.