Personal branding

You will not be recognized unless and until you have your personal brand, period. Learn how to work on personal branding.

It is important to stand out in the market, whether it is your own personal brand or your company’s. Creating personal branding can be an intimidating and daunting task within itself. You want attention and with everyone striving to gain attention in the current market culture it is a necessity to have a personal brand for you to stand out from the crowd.

One of the best personal branding examples is Oprah Winfrey. Even Oprah Winfrey experimented with various personal brands before becoming one of the most influential personal brands herself. Having a personal brand is a must in this evolving job market. The first and foremost thing that you must know is:

What is Personal Branding

Ask yourself a question, “What do you want to be known as?” someone might be able to describe it within minutes, others can take ages to figure it out. Let me make this simple, Branding is not just for a company. Personal branding in fact is a necessity for everyone a teacher, a coach, an entrepreneur, a student, a housewife, anyone out there who wants to share their stories.

So, what is personal branding you ask, it is MARKETING yourself and your career as a brand. It is a process of developing, it is your brand strategy to make an impact on the world. It is just not your brand name or logo. It is much more than that. It is important to be G.O.A.T(Greatest Of All Times). It is how you promote yourself. Your skills, experience, and personality traits you want your followers to see. One of the best examples of personal branding that I can give is of Michelle Obama, an absolutely brilliant woman who has paved her own path brilliantly; and has become a household name. Not only she has successfully forged her way, but she is also now an established brand in herself. Another relatable example is Mr. Narayan Murthy Co-Founder of Infosys. He is one of the biggest brand names and one of the most looked up to by future entrepreneurs. He is not only having a great personal brand but he made the Indian IT industry also a respectable brand in the IT world.

Careers and Personal Brand

When it comes to your career there are hundreds of people who have the same qualifications as you or some maybe even more qualified than you are vying for the same job, why should you get the job? This is where your personal brand comes in. You need to stay different from the pack. Your personal brand should represent you in fact it should amplify and be a manifestation of what you believe in. Your personal brand is a reflection of your ideology. Be genuine and authentic, your falsehoods will get you nowhere, because it is easy to distinguish people from disingenuous people. Your personal branding can either make your career or break it. Make your brand and own it that is how you will be able to establish yourself prominently in the job market.

Jeff Bezos defines Personal branding in a very simple and powerful sentence.

jeff bezos


Personal branding quote by Jeff Bezos

What should your personal branding represent?

Name and logo are just the outward appearances of your brand, it goes much deeper than that. It is a manifestation of what your beliefs are. What your personality traits are and how you represent them. Does it tell a story? It should not be a question at all, it is crucial for your personal brand to tell a story. Without a story, you have already lost a majority of your audience. Just shouting out random things on social media about your brand will as well as land on deaf ears, but rather you make a story that your audience will relate is the way to go. Connecting with your audience, chatting, and catching up with them will help you engage more with the audience. The best way to do this is through written content and videos.

Interview and Personal Branding

I just have to stress one word here ‘consistency’. Be consistent with your personal brand. Do not digress from it. It will be much easier to be recognized for one topic if you consistently create content and brand voice around it. Whether it is online or offline your personal brand must stay consistent. Your inconsistency can majorly setback your personal branding. You can have maybe a visual consistency maybe a mascot; if we have to consider an example; the Amul girl, she has become a constant representation of the brand Amul, we think of Amul immediately the girl comes to our mind. That is consistency. Also be ready to accept failure too, failing teaches us all a lesson a tough one but a lesson all the same. Even Walt Disney had to face multiple failures in animations before that the world of animation to where it is currently. Let me tell you a little cheat sheet here, always carry your Personal branding toolkit, this generally consists of your work samples, portfolio, and resume. This shows thinking ahead nature and readiness and will also help you if they suddenly ask for your work samples, technology can sometimes betray you.

Watch our coach Ashwini Dasgupta’s video on how to use your personal branding during an interview.


Take care of the following points related to personal branding during your interview;

  1. Authenticity-Be authentic if you want your name and brand to succeed, it automatically happens when your words align with your actions. You don’t go around saying I am authentic: you either are or you are not.
  2. Consistency-Have something consistent, something that you are recognized with. it can be your logo or your picture anything related to you. Maintain a consistent presence and personality on social media
  3. Story-Tell your story, it is a powerful component. Only if you tell your tell only then it will reach others and then they will tell your story.
  4. Visibility-Have a constant and a strong presence in the media, show the people what you are made up of, and what you can give to them that others cannot.
  5. References-Are very important, people want to know if you are worth the money they are going to invest in you, and have good references or connections that will be able to back you up on your claims.
  6. What are you offering them? What can you give them that is different? Communication is the key. Be clear on what you are offering them in exchange for their time and attention. Do not forget to research the company, what service they provide, who are their clients etc.
  7. Job seeker is aware of their unique skills and talents and recognizes what they’re passionate about and what differentiates them from others. Do not hesitate to flaunt them, show them how unique you are and what skills you possess.
  8. Your posture, and style of dressing showcase how self-confident you are. You must look sharp too. Maintain eye contact but not to the extent that makes one uncomfortable. You are your brand, you must look it too. Smile, it makes you look much more attractive.
  9. Make an impression and end with a bang
  10. People tend to forget this step, always follow up send them an email thanking them, or making connections via social media.

Conclusion:

The experts who build or enhance the biggest brands in the business know that there are no hard-set rules for creating a personal brand. When you create unique personal branding, people simply themselves come flocking to you. Your ideology can attract hordes of followers. It can make a world of difference from people asking ‘Who are you to ‘we are happy to have you here, create the right personal brand and leave your legacy.

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