For people looking to pivot their careers; look for new opportunities or stand out in their current roles, building a personal brand is especially important as people need to buy into you; the value you can deliver and what you stand for.
Understanding the importance of personal branding plays an enabling role as you seek to build a professional reputation and grow your career.
Personal branding is about understanding what makes you unique, identifying your greatest strengths and talents and finding ways to consistently communicate these to your target market. Once you have spent time developing your brand, you will need to actively market it.
Here are some easy ways to build their personal brands for career success:
- Write a brand positioning statement for yourself
What sets you apart from everybody else? Know it, own it, believe, and embody it!
- Build or expand your digital footprint
When you Google your name, what comes up? Being constantly associated with a specific area establishes you as a leader or expert in that field. Find places to comment, share, speak on the topics you know most about. The questions area on LinkedIn is a great place to showcase your expertise. Why not have your own website that showcases your product – you? Maximise the opportunities that being online affords you.
- Pick a few attributes you want to be known for and demonstrate them at every opportunity
Establish a track record of competence in your field and reinforce it in meetings, in writing thought leadership and networking opportunities by sharing your thoughts, asking questions, and engaging with people in a meaningful way. This will keep you top-of-mind for related projects.
- Focus on great service
This includes interactions both within your organisation among your colleagues and employees, and externally with your customers. Be reliable, communicate and deliver on promises you make.
- Love what you do – it shows!
Passion is your personal brand’s fuel and it is contagious. Let your energy motivate those around you.
- Have a global perspective
There is opportunity to learn, gain new perspectives and information at every turn and you will be surprised when that information can be used. Make sure you invest in yourself and in broadening your perspective, whether it is through reading, training or mentorship.
- Challenge yourself
Step outside your comfort zone; learn new things; keep a record of your experiences and the things you have learnt. Challenging yourself will ensure you remain fresh and do not stagnate.
- Develop a personal visibility campaign
Think about platforms you can use to market your personal brand, whether that means facilitating a workshop, developing a keynote speech, submitting articles to professional journals, getting active on social media, or joining an industry body.