How To Develop Your Own Personal Branding For Career Success
You want to be successful in your chosen field. Right? Use this guide on personal branding for career success to put you on the right path for success.
Hi Trish Davies here from Trish Davies International & Build Your AU. Today I want to talk about personal branding for career success.
You may be actively job searching or simply trying to advance your career. Therefore developing a personal brand can have an enormous impact on your success.
Your personal brand is the way that others see you and represents how others will respond to you in any given situation.
It could be at risk at any point as it’s not just about what you say or do. It’s also about what others think about you when they meet you for the first time.
In today’s job market, it is more important than ever to cultivate a positive personal brand. It can help open doors, secure new opportunities and even potentially lead to a promotion.
Think of your personal brand as your own unique version of “elevator pitch”.
This is a statement that succinctly describes who you are, what makes you stand out and why an audience should care.
Personal Branding For Career Success – What Is A Personal Brand?
A personal brand is the impression that you make on others in any given situation. It’s not just about what you do or say, but also how others feel when they interact with you.
It’s a combination of your personal and professional reputation. When put together, paints a picture of who you are as a professional.
Your brand is an essential part of your career because it can impact how others view you. Also how you’re perceived in the workplace and even how your future employers view you.
Your brand can affect whether or not you’re able to secure a new job or promotion. Or even how much you’re able to earn.
Defining Your Personal Brand
The first step in effectively building your personal brand is to figure out exactly what it is. You can’t effectively cultivate a positive brand if you haven’t clearly defined it.
When trying to define your personal brand, there are several things to keep in mind. You need to think about what you have to offer, what sets you apart from others and how you want to be viewed by others.
First you need to think about what you have to offer.
- What are your unique skills, abilities and strengths?
- What do you like to do and what do you feel passionate about?
This is the baseline of your brand.
Once you know what you have to offer, you can then begin to think about what sets you apart from others.
- What are your strengths compared to your weaknesses?
- What differentiates you from your peers?
How To Develop Your Own Personal Brand
To effectively develop your own personal brand, you first have to understand what your brand should look like.
Your brand should be memorable, consistent and instantly recognizable. Your brand should also reflect your unique strengths and what makes you unique.
It should be easy to understand and convey why someone should care.
There are lots of different ways to go about developing your personal brand. One way is to use the SWOT Analysis method.
It’s an easy way to view your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and potential threats.
Another way that can help you create a more comprehensive personal brand is to create an elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is a quick summary of who you are and what you do that would take the length of a typical elevator ride.
It’s designed to be short and sweet, but also convey exactly who you are and what you do.
Start By Researching Target Companies
Before you can begin to develop a personal brand, you need to first determine what industry or companies you want to work for.
Start by researching target companies, from both a macro and micro level. Look at the overall landscape of industries and evaluate which ones you would like to work in.
This is the macro view, and it’s important to take stock of your overall goals and ambitions before you dive into the micro view.
Once you have a clear idea of the industries you would like to work in, you can begin to research the companies that operate within those industries.
This is the micro view, and it’s important for two reasons.
First, it helps you to identify specific companies and industries that you would like to work in.
Second it helps you to figure out which industries provide the best opportunities for your brand.
Find The Opportunities That Fit Your Brand
Once you’ve identified the industries and companies that are a good fit for your brand, it’s time to look at specific opportunities.
This is the point where you can begin to truly cultivate and develop your brand. Also it’s where the branding process actually begins.
The most important thing to keep in mind when deciding which opportunities to pursue is that they must fit your brand.
They must match your strengths, abilities, passions and personal brand. If you try to pursue an opportunity that doesn’t fit your brand, it will hinder your success rather than help it.
Make A Conscious Effort To Showcase Only Your Best Work
One mistake that many people make when branding themselves is that they showcase everything. They take every opportunity, no matter how small, and showcase it.
This does more harm than good. It reflects poorly on your brand because it gives the impression that you’re desperate for work.
When you showcase only your best work, you are demonstrating confidence and capability. By showcasing only your best work, you are demonstrating an ability to discern what is most important and worthy of your time.
This demonstrates a high level of professionalism and will help build your brand.
Even If You’re Not Looking For A Job, Constantly Educate Yourself
Even if you’re not actively job searching, you still need to keep your brand top of mind. You need to constantly be thinking about ways that you can improve your personal brand.
That starts with consistently educating yourself. Constantly work to learn new skills, stay up to date on industry trends. Read books and blogs related to your industry. By doing this you are actively strengthening your brand.
Keep in mind that it’s important to seek knowledge from multiple sources. Be sure to actively seek out articles, blogs and publications that offer opposing viewpoints on current issues in your field.
By consuming perspectives from a variety of sources, you have a better chance of forming your own educated opinion.
Personal Branding For Career Success – Conclusion
Your personal brand is an essential part of your career. It can impact how others view you, how you’re perceived in the workplace and even how your future employers view you.
In order to cultivate a positive personal brand, you have to first understand what your brand should look like.
Once you’ve identified your brand, you can begin to develop it by showcasing only your best work. Also you can identify target companies to find the opportunities that fit your brand.
Even if you’re not looking for a job, you still need to keep your brand top of mind and stay educated on current industry trends.
For more information on personal branding for career success check out my free training program called Build Your AU.
Register for the program here.
Trish Davies
Trish Davies International
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