Creating a brand for yourself means creating an image that represents you as a unique individual. To many, this seems like a daunting task. These days, we have a wide array of skills, different personalities that we activate when we are around certain people (you know what I’m talking about), and other unique attributes about us, so we may feel it’s difficult to create a narrowed-down, specific, and differentiated brand. Let’s reflect for a minute, by asking ourselves these questions:
What are you an expert at?
What do people remember most about you?
What is your skill set?
What makes you different?
You may not know the answer to any of these questions yet. But everybody has a personal brand, whether they designed it, or whether it was assigned to them by default. So let’s take control of ourselves and our own images, by crafting strong brands that define our best selves.
The good news is that you don’t have to narrow your brand down to just one attribute about yourself. Your brand can be a multitude of skills, strengths, and personality traits that make you unique and memorable. When I analyze myself and my brand, I think of all of the things that I can offer that make me unique: I am an extremely optimistic person who applies that same optimism to exceed the goals I set for myself, I am a risk-taker who likes to get out of my comfort zone and tackle seemingly impossible problems, I am an active listener while being an engaged and keen advocator, I am eager to learn and receptive to feedback, and I like to find joy and adventure in every life journey. Although we may not realize it, these qualities about ourselves create our brand.
A great tactic to get you brainstorming your personal brand is to consider: What do people say about me when I leave the room?
What people say about you is gathered from the messages and signals that you send to others everyday, whether they are intentional or not. Do you come to meetings late and come to work dressed unprofessionally? This shows people that you don’t respect their time and you don’t respect the work environment around you, making your personal brand a negative one to others.
On the other hand, when you come to a meeting with your presentation prepared, engage your teammates, answer questions comprehensively, and smile throughout your presentation, people will think you are a hardworking, professional, optimistic, and team-oriented person, giving off a positive brand. Most importantly, if what your coworkers think about you and what you think about yourself are aligned, then you have a really strong brand.
You may ask, how do these opinions and assumptions get formed about you by your coworkers? Personal brand is highly dependent on these 5 interrelated elements:
1. Competency: What is the skill set that is unique to you? What do you bring to the table that others may not? In what areas are you an expert?
2. Credibility: What is your background? (i.e. work experience, college major, certifications, coursework). What is your story, and why are you the best person for the job?
3. Consistency: Will you consistently deliver high quality results? Are your determination and work ethic unwavering? Do you take accountability for your actions and the tasks to which you commit?
4. Currency: Do you reciprocate help to others? Do you look to provide help to others first, and do you exchange ideas with those around you to increase collaborative efforts?
5. Communication: Are you honest, open, and transparent? Do you provide constructive feedback? Do you foster a safe, collaborative environment?
Really take a minute to think about the questions posed above. These 5 C’s formulate your personal brand, reputation, and career development opportunities in the future.
But how do you take your unique brand and market it to others around you? A crucial part of creating a strong brand is being your own advocate, by promoting yourself on social media platforms. But be careful what you post: 55% of recruiters have reconsidered a candidate based on what they find on social media, with most (61%) of those double-takes being negative. The best way to be sure you’re promoting yourself in a positive way is to do the headline test, asking yourself: Would my reputation be ruined if the whole world saw what I posted on social media? Make sure what you post is appropriate, improves your reputation, and is professional. You also want to be consistent across your social media platforms, creating a strong brand throughout.
I hope this post got you thinking about your own personal brand. Good luck crafting it!
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