| When you look at the topic that we are trying to address, it comes across as a cliché. I mean, Who doesn’t want this? Right! However, what we are discussing here today is, how you can “Live More, Win More and Earn More” in your Career and life, in general, by building a ‘Personal Brand’ that people value and aspire. But before we move to those, it is important to get some basic right! So, what is a Brand and why we buy them? You must have heard of Brands. Well, we all love buying items from Brands. Be it, Branded clothing, branded cars, branded food, etc. “A Brand” is a recognizable name, symbol, logo or sentence which companies use to make their products unique from others. Combination of one or more of these elements are used to build a “Brand Identity”, which is easily recognizable and live in the minds of everyone who experience them- let say, customers. Most, if not all, Companies work on their Public Image, they build their Unique Brand Identity. To get more customer attention this in turn gets them more revenue. As you must have noticed, the more popular the brand, we buy it more without judging it! What is Personal Branding? "Personal branding is the practice of marketing people and their careers as brands. It is an on-going personal process of developing and maintaining a reputation and impression of an individual.” Your personal brand is about “How You Promote Yourself”. It is the unique combination of your skills, experience, Interests and personality that you want others to see. Simply put, Personal Branding is taking the concept we discussed about companies and applying it to people. To Build a Personal Brand identify, we work on ourselves and Build Our Unique Image. Why should you build your Brand? Building a Personal Brand can help you gain a lot of benefits, both personally and professionally, and it can also open many doors for you in the future. Even, there are Recruiters’ survey reports showing, people with Stronger Personal Brands are- • Hired much faster • Paid more • Get jobs more easily • Promoted faster How to build your Personal Brand? Now, coming to the million-dollar question - How to build your Personal Brand? As discussed earlier, Personal Branding is a long-drawn, extensive and on-going process. Therefore, building a Personal Brand around your identity and maintaining it is not an over-night job. But, you can get started with a few simple but very effective ways listed below: • The great way to start is refining your social media accounts Avoid posting something which can negatively impact your online presence. Delete stuff which is embarrassing like related to alcohol, drugs or your first years’ party. Because Recruiters and Hiring Managers do check your online presence. • Consider creating a Personal Website or Blog Use your website to build your brand. Write blogs on your interest areas like cooking, traveling or culture, etc. Showcase your skills, volunteer work, achievements and experiences on your website. • Start sharing content and Network Building Have a consistent image on your social media accounts Like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Upload a professional photo on LinkedIn account. Create and share meaningful content on your blog and LinkedIn. Connect with more people, interact with their content and build professional rapport online. Networking can help in many ways in your career. From landing you great jobs to salary hikes. While these are just a few of the simple ways that you can start building a unique brand identity for yourself, you shouldn’t limit yourself to these. The simplest way to build your Personal Brand is by visualizing the future and decoding, what kind of person you want other people to see after 3 years, what they should be talking about you. Just think this and you will find the right answer! Now don’t wait, start early. Hopefully, this article helps you in developing “Your Personal Brand”. |
| About the Expert
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Shikha Sharma is a Leading Educator, an Internationally Certified Career Coach and Soft Skill Trainer. She is also an Experienced Human Resource Professional (with Post Graduation in Business Administration, spec. - HR) and a Listed Coach in India and Canada. She works with Students, Professionals and Businesses in the areas of Career Coaching, Career Development and Soft Skill Training.