How to Build Your Career Brand with the EPIC Career Brand Framework

Everyone has a career brand already. The question is whether you're shaping it intentionally or letting others define it for you.

Lorraine's EPIC Career Brand Framework Worksheet

While the phrase "personal brand" can come with negative connotations, it’s something we all must be thoughtful about during our careers.

That’s because your career brand (or personal brand) is what people say about you when you're not in the room. That reputation opens doors to promotions, facilitates career pivots, and creates opportunities you never saw coming.

Remember: If you don't shape your own career brand, others will do it for you. And, it might not be what you want to be known for.

I learned this lesson during my years at LinkedIn. I was a reliable executor who consistently delivered results. Still, I watched colleagues with less experience get promoted to leadership roles while I remained in the same position. The wake-up call came when I realized competence alone wasn't enough — I needed visibility and influence.

That’s why I developed the EPIC Career Brand Framework, a structured approach you can follow to intentionally build a reputation that truly supports your career goals. Instead of hoping that your work will speak for itself, you can strategically shape how others perceive your value — and here’s how.
Lorraine K. Lee is a keynote speaker, LinkedIn Learning instructor, and author of Unforgettable Presence: Get Seen, Gain Influence, and Catapult Your Career. A LinkedIn Top Voice with more than 300K followers, she has spent over a decade leading editorial initiatives at companies like LinkedIn and Prezi. Today, she teaches professionals and teams how to strengthen their presence, influence, and impact, drawing on her experience working with Fortune 100 companies, fast-growing startups, and global organizations.
Who is Lorraine K. Lee? 

The EPIC Career Brand Framework

creating an EPIC career framework

Building a compelling career brand isn‘t about having the perfect resume or the most impressive job titles. It’s about clearly communicating what makes you uniquely valuable and doing it consistently across every professional interaction.

That's where the EPIC Framework comes in. Unlike traditional executive presence advice that can feel performative, EPIC gives you a practical roadmap for authentic brand building. It helps you articulate what you do, how you do it, and why it matters.

The EPIC framework breaks your brand down into four core pillars:

  • Experiences

    What you've done.
Together, these pillars create a complete picture of your professional value that others can easily understand, remember, and advocate for. Not sure of your answers for each category? I’ve designed the following reflection exercises to help you build your own EPIC career brand.
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One

Experiences

Within the EPIC Framework, your experiences are the career-defining moments (personal or professional) that establish your credibility and show what you‘re capable of. The most compelling career brands are rooted in specific stories that demonstrate your values, reveal your problem-solving approach, and show how you’ve evolved. That goes beyond job titles or daily responsibilities.

Think about the promotion you earned, the project that put you on leadership's radar, or the side opportunity that shifted your trajectory. These moments carry more weight than any job description ever could.

Take my time at LinkedIn. Yes, joining recognizable tech companies like LinkedIn and Prezi gave me credibility, but it is also equally important for my brand that I was a founding editor at both organizations. It’s the connective tissue that builds my story.

Sometimes, the most powerful experiences can happen outside of your job entirely. When I started public speaking in 2021, it wasn't part of my role, but it completely transformed my career trajectory. That decision led to teaching opportunities, podcast appearances, and industry recognition.

More importantly, it changed how colleagues saw me — from someone who executed well to someone willing to take risks and share their expertise publicly.

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Reflection prompts for your experiences:

  • What are three to five career-defining moments that shaped how you work today?
  • What through-line connects them, even if your roles were completely different?
  • What were you proud of, what did you learn, and how did it shape your path?
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    Two

    Personality

    Your personality is felt in every interaction — meetings, events, presentations, and brainstorming sessions. They’re the things that make people say, “You're the kind of person who...” The strongest career brands lean into this consistency.

    Understanding your personality is crucial. We all operate differently, and these differences affect how others experience working with us. For example, early on, I realized my introversion was sometimes misunderstood as aloofness or disengagement. Being transparent about my personality type helped others better understand and connect with me.

    The key is to balance authenticity with professionalism. While bringing your whole self to work sounds appealing, it’s just as important to understand professional boundaries. You don’t have to disclose deeply personal details, but being honest about how you naturally operate builds trust and clarity.

    Digital interactions are also a part of your personal brand, and they matter. In remote or hybrid work environments, consistency in your virtual interactions — through emails, Slack, or Zoom meetings — is crucial. Being mindful of this helps solidify your professional reputation in every interaction, digital or in-person.

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    Reflection prompts for your personality:

  • What do people thank you for after working with you?
  • What adjectives show up in feedback, reviews, or shoutouts?
  • How do you show up under stress or during high-stakes moments?
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    Three

    Identity

    Your identity within the EPIC framework is your professional promise: It's what you’re known for and what distinguishes you from everyone else with a similar background or skill set, especially under pressure.

    For example, when someone collaborates with me or recommends me for opportunities, I want them to associate specific qualities with my name: exceptional reliability, clear communication, trustworthiness, and follow-through on commitments.

    Identity also encompasses your cultural background and unique perspective. As an Asian American woman, this shapes both how others see me and how I approach my work.

    I'm proud of this aspect of my identity and find that sharing elements of my cultural background helps people understand my approach and values. For instance, my tendency toward careful, thorough work reflects cultural values I grew up with, and explaining this context helps colleagues understand me better.

    Not sure if your brand aligns with how others see you? I recommend asking trusted colleagues simple questions like, “If you had to describe me in three words, what would they be?” Their answers might reveal gaps between your intended identity and your actual reputation.

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    Reflection prompts for your identity:

  • What kind of problems are you best at solving?
  • What can people expect when working with you?
  • If someone introduced you to a hiring manager or podcast host, what would you want them to say?
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    Four

    Community

    This is perhaps the most crucial piece. A strong career brand doesn't exist in isolation. It lives in the minds of your network. And, at the end of the day, perception is reality. Remember: The strongest brands are amplified by communities that know, trust, and advocate for you.

    I discovered the strength of my community when I experienced a layoff. The overwhelming support and job opportunities that came my way through LinkedIn underscored just how valuable and powerful a well-cultivated professional network could be.

    Recently, I witnessed this power again. An applicant for a role that my company posted on LinkedIn asked former colleagues to share their experiences working with her. The enthusiastic responses gave me more insight into her capabilities than any resume ever could.

    Investing in these relationships means consistently engaging and showing up. And to be clear, it’s not enough to just attend networking events. It’s about offering help, sharing knowledge, and putting in time without expecting immediate returns. When your network sees you as someone who adds value, they'll naturally support and advocate for you.

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    Reflection prompts for your community

  • What does your network say about you when you're not there?
  • How can you engage your network consistently to stay top of mind?

    • Putting It All Together: Your Unique and Powerful Introduction

    To practically apply the EPIC Framework, create your Unique and Powerful Introduction (UPI). This is a concise one-to-two sentence statement encapsulating your experiences, personality, identity, and community-driven brand elements. Practice it until it feels natural, then apply it consistently to reinforce your career brand in every professional interaction.

    A corporate example: I'm Lorraine, and I lead the editorial team, which means that I collaborate with business leaders and keynote speakers to help them create Prezi content that inspires and educates hundreds of millions of users.

    A current example: I’m really passionate about helping ambitious professionals go from overlooked to unforgettable. I do this through keynote speaking, content, and courses. Before I became a solopreneur, I spent a decade leading editorial teams at top tech firms.

    A compelling UPI helps you confidently introduce yourself in meetings, networking opportunities, and online platforms, continuously reinforcing your brand narrative. (Note that you can change it up depending on context and audience.)

    Examples of Unique and Powerful Introductions

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    Try it yourself

    Lorraine's EPIC Career Brand Framework Worksheet

    Your Career Brand Journey Starts Now

    The difference between those who advance and those who stay stuck isn‘t talent or hard work alone. It’s intentionality about how (and where) they're perceived. The EPIC Framework gives you the tools to take control of that narrative, but the real work happens when you start living your career brand consistently.

    Don‘t wait for the next performance review or networking event to think about your reputation. Start today by asking one trusted colleague what three words they’d use to describe you professionally. Their answer will show you exactly where your brand-building journey begins.