Branding Yourself: How To Build A Personal Brand That Works For You
Knowing how to build a personal brand is essential to positioning yourself in your marketplace. Here’s how to do just that.
Hi Trish Davies here, founder of Trish Davies International & Build Your AU. Today I want to show you how to build a personal brand that reflects who you are and one that works for you.
Creating a personal brand is important for every job seeker, but it’ll be even more critical in the coming years. The world of work is changing rapidly and we are seeing the rise of several “non-traditional” career paths.
People are abandoning traditional desk jobs to become freelancers, consultants or entrepreneurs. In other words, we’re moving away from working for a company towards working with one.
This shift has opened up countless new opportunities for people who want to embrace their passion and monetize their skills or expertise. However, it also means that companies will be more cautious when hiring someone.
Given so many options and reduced risk, they won’t just take anyone on. They will only consider applicants who can add value to their organization and make a genuine long-term commitment to their business.
So how can you stand out? One way is by creating your personal brand.
How To Build A Personal Brand – What Is A Personal Brand?
A personal brand is the way in which you choose to present yourself and your skills. It’s how you want to be known and, more importantly, what you want to be known for.
It’s about communicating your value and making sure that people understand what you bring to the table. It allows you to stand out from the crowd and get noticed by employers or clients.
There are many different aspects to your personal brand:
- Your skills
- What you want to be known for
- Your personality
- Your appearance
- The way you communicate and the way you conduct yourself
Your personal brand is a combination of all of those things.
Why Does Having A Personal Brand Matter?
As we mentioned above, there’s a lot more competition for jobs now. Thich means that companies will be looking for the best and brightest candidates. In order to stand out, you have to demonstrate your value to prospective employers and/or clients.
If you don’t already have a personal brand, you may find it difficult to get other people to recognize your value at all. Having a clear personal brand will help you to show prospective employers or clients that you’re a great fit for their organization or project.
If they understand what you can offer, they’ll know whether you’re the right fit for them. A personal brand is also important because it will help you to stay consistent.
When you’re freelancing or running your own business, you’ll be interacting with lots of different people regularly. Therefore you need to make sure that you’re always representing yourself in a positive and consistent way.
Having a personal brand will help you to do that.
Deciding What You Want To Be Known For
There are a lot of different aspects of your personal brand. However the first and most important decision that you need to make is what you want to be known for.
This is the skill or area of expertise that you want to be associated with your name. Or the benefit that you want to provide to others.
For example, you could be an accountant who specializes in taxes for small businesses. Or you could be a designer who focuses on creating logos and branding.
You could also be a writer who is passionate about researching and reporting on science-related topics. Or a blogger who writes about travel tips.
This is a very important decision. It will determine the types of clients and employers that you attract. If you have a very specific skill or expertise, then you will end up attracting clients who need that skill.
However, it’s also a good idea to have a few different specialties in your back pocket, just in case your main skills aren’t in demand.
How To Create Your Personal Brand Name?
Once you’ve decided on a name for your personal brand, you’ll want to make sure that it’s easy to remember and easy to spell. The last thing you want is for people to have a hard time spelling or pronouncing your name.
It will make it difficult for people to talk about you and your work, which means that your brand won’t get as much attention as it would if it were easier to pronounce and easier to remember.
Your name also needs to be consistent. Make sure that it appears on all of your social media profiles, as well as your website and other online platforms.
Finding Your Unique Skills & Selling Point
Once you’ve decided what you want to be known for, it’s time to start thinking about your unique skills and selling points. Figuring out what you’re really good at is what will set you apart from the other candidates applying for a job. Or the clients you want to work with.
- How can you demonstrate your skills and prove that you’re the best candidate for a job?
- What special skills do you have that other people don’t?
- What makes you unique?
These are the questions that you need to ask yourself. Keep in mind that you should be honest with yourself and others. If you know that you aren’t a very skilled writer, don’t claim to be one.
If you aren’t good at public speaking, don’t claim that you are. Having confidence in your skills and selling points is important, but it’s also important that you be honest with yourself and others. Otherwise, you won’t be taken seriously.
Build Up Your Portfolio Of Work
One of the best ways to showcase your skills and prove that you are the best candidate for a job is to build up a portfolio of work.
If you’re applying for a design or writing position, then you should build up a portfolio of designs or articles that you’ve written.
If you’re applying for a programming job, then you should build up a portfolio of programming projects that you’ve worked on.
This is a great way for employers or clients to see your skills in action. It will show them what you’re capable of and how you work. Also it will make them more likely to hire you or work with you because they’ll have a better idea of what you’re like.
Take Care Of Your Online Presence
One of the first things that many employers or clients do when they’re looking to hire someone or work with a freelancer is to Google their name. Your name is your brand, so it makes sense that they would start there.
Having a clean, consistent and positive online presence will help you to make a good first impression. It will also help you to show off your skills.
Having your blog posts and articles or your portfolio on your website is a great way to showcase your skills. Also thy can prove that you’re the best candidate for a job.
That way, employers or clients can easily find it and see what you’ve done without having to Google your name.
How To Build A Personal Brand – Conclusion
The steps and principles that I have outlined shows you how to build a personal brand. By following these steps you will demonstrate your authenticity and authority.
This will help you attract the right audience to your personal brand whether that is consumer or business based.
For more information on the how to build a personal brand check out my free training program called Build Your AU.
Register for the program here.
Trish Davies
Trish Davies International
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