Understanding your personal brand

Following on from understanding self and investing time in researching your target market, it is important to understand how you present yourself to the market i.e. your personal brand.

If you’re just beginning to think about your personal brand, it’s crucial that you understand that personal branding is the means by which people remember or discover you. 

Personal branding is a hot topic, but a lot of students can find it baffling. Your personal brand includes Google search results related to your name, all of your social media accounts, your CV and your professional reputation.

Start by gathering your professional story, which includes your education, work experience, volunteering, clubs and societies and other personal achievements.

This is the framework and you control the narrative around your brand.

A little bit more on Personal Branding…

1. Embrace Authenticity
   Don’t become different versions of yourself depending on the circumstance or people. Keep your personal brand consistent, authentic and positive. You would have seen from our previous blogs positive language to describe your personality and your unique strengths. 
2. Understand Your Values
   Pay close attention to the personality and values of the industry you want to break into. Look at job descriptions and career pages of target employers to develop a sense of the industry, and be sure your brand is on point. 
3. Build a professional online image.
   You’re most likely going to be Googled by any potential employer, so make sure your online identity is consistent with your brand. Check your social network privacy settings, and review your postings. Be sure to create a strong profile and become active on LinkedIn, the place where most professionals hang out.
4. “Tell me about yourself” (TMAY)
   TMAY is a much harder assignment than it seems, especially in professional situations. Learn how to concisely, confidently state your name, your recent history and your goals . . . then practice, practice, practice until you’re comfortable telling your own story.
   Pull together your career history – and future: Many people have diverse and sometimes conflicting educational and career histories, and there’s no problem at all in that, providing that you can weave your experiences together to make a coherent career story. From all your experiences what did you learn, how did you change, how has it brought you to a clear sense of where you are now and where you are going? In the end, all successful branding is about story.
   Learn yours well so that you are comfortable telling it. 
   Practice until saying it becomes second nature.
5. Building your Reputation
   You want the people you work with to perceive you as someone who cares about the work you do and the people you work with. It is up to you, each and every day, to bring the best version of yourself to work or college.
   People form an impression on what they hear and think about you-even before they have actually met you in person, and for them, this is what that matters. There are many things in this world that can be achieved but a good impression/reputation levels are not one of them, it can never be achieved overnight; it is a consistent behaviour. It is earned by those who deserve it truly.

Bring your best self to work/college every day.